The Statue of Liberty is a copper statue on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, given to the United States by France and dedicated on 28 October 1886. Her real name is Liberty Enlightening the World. She stands 46 m tall, or 93 m counting the pedestal. She was never painted green: the colour is a natural coating that formed on her copper skin over about thirty years.
The Statue of Liberty quick facts
- Her real name is Liberty Enlightening the World, not the Statue of Liberty.
- She was built in Paris, taken apart into 350 pieces and shipped over in 214 crates.
- She was never painted. Copper turns green on its own, and hers took about 30 years.
- Gustave Eiffel, who later built the Eiffel Tower, designed the iron frame inside her.
- Broken chains lie at her feet, and she is stepping over them. Most photos never show them.
The Statue of Liberty was not built in America. It was made in Paris, taken apart into 350 pieces, and shipped across the Atlantic in 214 crates.
She has stood in New York Harbor since 1886. Her real name is not the Statue of Liberty at all.
Her actual name
The statue’s proper title is Liberty Enlightening the World. In French, where she was designed, that is La Liberté éclairant le monde.
She was a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States. The idea was to mark 100 years of American independence and the friendship between the two countries.
Whose idea was it?
The idea came from Édouard de Laboulaye, a French thinker who admired the United States Constitution. In 1865 he suggested that France give America a statue of liberty to celebrate its 100th birthday.
It took far longer than planned. The statue was nowhere near finished when that birthday came in 1876. So the sculptor sent over just one piece: the hand holding the torch.
The statue in numbers
| Dedicated | 28 October 1886 |
| Statue height | 46 m, heel to torch |
| With the pedestal | 93 m from the ground |
| Weight | copper skin about 80 tonnes; iron and steel frame about 200 tonnes |
| Made of | copper over an iron and steel frame |
| Steps to the crown | 354 |
| Where | Liberty Island, New York Harbor |
Her nose alone is about 1.4 m long. Her index finger is roughly 2.4 m, taller than most adults.
Her hand is 5 metres long, and her head measures 5.3 metres from chin to crown. Even her mouth is almost a metre wide, and the tablet in her arm is more than 7 metres long.
From the ground to the tip of her torch she measures 93 metres, about as tall as a 22-storey building. All of it rests on a concrete foundation that weighs around 24,500 tonnes.
Liberty by Numbers
- 46 metres — The statue alone, from its base to the top of the torch
- 93 metres — From the ground to the tip of the torch
- About 5 metres — The length of her hand
- About 2.4 metres — The length of her index finger
- About 1.4 metres — The length of her nose
Shown off in pieces
The hand and torch went on show at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia on 18 May 1876, the first piece of the statue anyone in America saw. Next it moved to Madison Square in New York City, where it stayed until 1882.
Her head and shoulders were shown first in Paris, at the Universal Exposition of 1878. People could see parts of the statue years before they could see all of her.
The newspaper that saved the pedestal
The statue needed a huge stone pedestal to stand on. Its cornerstone was laid in 1884 on Bedloe’s Island, the old name for Liberty Island. But the money to finish it was running out.
In 1885 Joseph Pulitzer, who owned the New York World newspaper, came to the rescue. His six-month fundraising campaign raised more than $100,000.
That same year the statue was taken apart in Paris and shipped across the Atlantic on a French navy ship, the Isère. It reached New York Harbor on 17 June 1885. On 28 October 1886, President Grover Cleveland accepted the statue for the United States as a gift of friendship from France.
The pedestal and its base are almost 47 metres tall on their own, about as tall as the statue standing on top of them.
How Liberty Got to America
- The idea Edouard de Laboulaye suggests France gives America a statue of liberty.
- A hand arrives The hand holding the torch goes on show in Philadelphia.
- A head in Paris Her head and shoulders go on show at a big fair in Paris.
- The pedestal The first stone of her pedestal is laid on Bedloe's Island.
- The crates The statue reaches New York Harbor in pieces, on the ship Isère.
- Dedication President Grover Cleveland accepts the statue as a gift from France.
Why she is green
She was never painted. When she arrived she was a shiny reddish brown, the colour of a new copper coin.
Copper reacts slowly with air and rain. Over about 30 years a thin green coating built up across the surface. Scientists call it a patina.
The patina is not damage. It actually protects the copper underneath from wearing away, which is why nobody has ever tried to clean it off.
Her copper skin is only about 2.4 mm thick, roughly two pennies stacked together. For something 46 metres tall, that is astonishingly thin.
The man who held her up
The sculptor was Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi. But a thin copper shell that size cannot stand on its own in harbour winds.
The engineer who solved that was Gustave Eiffel, the same man who later built the Eiffel Tower. He designed an iron skeleton inside her.
His design lets the copper skin move slightly in wind and as temperatures change, instead of cracking. In a strong gale the statue can sway up to 7.6 cm, and her torch up to 15 cm, which is exactly what she is meant to do.
The details most people miss
Look at her feet. There are broken chains and a shackle lying there, and she is stepping forward over them. They stand for breaking free from oppression.
Most photographs are taken from the front, so hardly anyone ever sees them.
- The seven spikes on her crown stand for the seven seas and seven continents.
- The tablet in her left arm reads JULY IV MDCCLXXVI — 4 July 1776, in Roman numerals.
- The torch stands for lighting the way. The one up there now was fitted in 1986; the original is in the museum on the island.
- There are 25 windows in the crown.
Her face was modelled on Libertas, the Roman goddess of liberty. And as one of the tallest things in New York Harbor, she is sometimes struck by lightning.
Symbols and Secrets
- Seven spikes on the crown — The seven seas and seven continents
- The tablet — Reads JULY IV MDCCLXXVI, the date of American independence
- The torch — Stands for lighting the way
- Her face — Modelled on Libertas, the Roman goddess of liberty
- The crown — Has 25 windows
The famous poem
A poem called The New Colossus, by Emma Lazarus, is fixed to the pedestal. Its best-known line welcomes “your tired, your poor”.
The poem was written in 1883, to help raise money for the pedestal. It was not put on the statue until 1903, seventeen years after she was dedicated.
The statue became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.
Can you climb to the torch?
Visitors can climb to the crown, but it is a long way up: about ten floors of stairs, including a narrow spiral staircase inside her body.
Visitors cannot go up to the torch, though. It is reached by a narrow ladder about 12 metres long, and it has been closed to visitors since 1916.
The statue was lit up for the first time in 1916. In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge made her a National Monument. The torch she holds today was made during a restoration that began in 1984, and it is covered in 24-carat gold leaf.
Three things people get wrong
She was never painted green. The colour is a natural coating that formed on the copper over about thirty years.
She does not stand in New York City exactly. Liberty Island sits in New York Harbor, and its waters are actually part of New Jersey, though the island itself belongs to New York.
The poem was not part of the original design. It was added seventeen years later, and the meaning most people attach to the statue today grew up around it.
Next, explore the city she stands beside in our guide to New York, or browse more guides on KidzFeed.
Did you know? Her copper skin is only about 2.4 mm thick, roughly two pennies stacked together. Everything holding up that 46-metre shell is the iron skeleton Gustave Eiffel designed inside it, which lets the copper flex in the wind instead of cracking.
Statue of Liberty: Fact or Myth?
- The Statue of Liberty was built in America.
- Her real name is Liberty Enlightening the World.
- Visitors can climb up into her torch today.
- Gustave Eiffel designed the iron frame inside her.
- The poem on her pedestal was part of the original design.
- Liberty Island belongs to New York, but its waters are part of New Jersey.
- Her copper skin is very thick, so the wind cannot move her.
- In strong winds, the statue sways a little.
Try it
Find a copper coin and look at its colour — that is what the statue looked like when she arrived in 1886. Then stack two coins and measure the height: that is roughly how thick her skin is, all the way up.
Knowledge check
Why is the Statue of Liberty green?
Show answer
Because she is made of copper, and copper reacts slowly with air and rain to form a thin green coating called a patina. Hers took about thirty years to form. She was never painted, and the patina actually protects the copper underneath.
What is lying at the statue’s feet?
Show answer
Broken chains and a shackle, which she is stepping over. They stand for breaking free from oppression. Almost every photograph is taken from the front, so most people never see them.
Frequently asked questions
How tall is the Statue of Liberty?
The statue itself is about 46 metres from heel to the tip of the torch. Measured from the ground, including the pedestal she stands on, the total is about 93 metres. There are 354 steps from the bottom up to the crown.
Why is the Statue of Liberty green?
She is made of copper, which reacts slowly with air and rain and forms a thin green coating called a patina. It took roughly thirty years to appear. She was never painted, and the coating protects the copper underneath from wearing away.
Who gave the Statue of Liberty to America?
France. It was a gift from the French people to the American people, marking 100 years of American independence and the friendship between the two countries. She was dedicated on 28 October 1886.
Who designed the Statue of Liberty?
The sculptor was Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi. The iron skeleton that holds her up was designed by Gustave Eiffel, the engineer who later built the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
What does the tablet in her hand say?
It reads JULY IV MDCCLXXVI in Roman numerals, which is 4 July 1776 — the date the United States declared independence. She holds it in her left arm, with the torch raised in her right.
Why does the crown have seven spikes?
The seven spikes stand for the seven seas and the seven continents, so the idea of liberty reaching the whole world. There are also 25 windows set into the crown.
Can you go up to the Statue of Liberty’s torch?
No. The torch is reached by a narrow ladder about 12 metres long and is not open to visitors. You can climb to the crown, which is about ten floors of stairs, including a narrow spiral staircase.
Who paid for the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal?
Money for the pedestal ran short until 1885, when Joseph Pulitzer, owner of the New York World newspaper, ran a six-month fundraising campaign that raised more than $100,000.
When did the Statue of Liberty arrive in New York?
The statue was taken apart in Paris and shipped on the French navy ship Isère. It arrived in New York Harbor on 17 June 1885 and was dedicated on 28 October 1886.
Sources
- Britannica: Statue of Liberty — Bartholdi, Eiffel’s framework and the statue’s full name.
- Ben’s Guide (US Government Publishing Office): the Statue of Liberty — what the crown’s seven points stand for, the tablet, the gold-covered torch and the broken chains.
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre — its inscription as a World Heritage Site in 1984.
- National Park Service: Liberty Island, a chronology — Laboulaye’s idea, the torch and head on show, the pedestal, Pulitzer, the voyage, dedication and later history
- National Park Service: statue statistics — measurements, weights and how far the statue sways
- National Park Service: Statue of Liberty FAQs — climbing to the crown, the torch, her face, lightning and the colour change
Statue of Liberty Final Challenge
- Why did the people of France give the statue to the United States?
- Who was the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty?
- How did Joseph Pulitzer help the statue?
- What is the torch she holds today covered in?
- Who accepted the statue for the United States in 1886?
- Why was the poem The New Colossus first written?
- What was Liberty Island's old name?
- Why is the statue sometimes struck by lightning?
