The Statue of Liberty, designed by French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdy in the late 1800s, has stood as a symbol of freedom in New York Harbor for nearly 150 years. Originally intended as a gift from the French people to the United States, it took until 1884 for the statue to be presented due to technical issues and funding delays. The statue was completed on Liberty Island in 1886 after surviving a storm during its transport in 350 sections.
The engineering marvel was supported by a system designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, who later designed the Eiffel Tower. The statue holds a torch and a tablet inscribed with the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. The crown features seven points, symbolizing the spread of freedom across the world.
Declared a national monument in 1924, the Statue of Liberty has withstood the test of time, including significant weather events like Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Today, it continues to be an iconic landmark and an enduring symbol of liberty.
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