On June 17, 1885, a ship from France loaded with parts of the famous Statue of Liberty arrived in New York. Of course, this statue was a gift from the French to the United States, and it is interesting that in France it was not only cast, but once even assembled in full size. Namely, the statue was first assembled in Paris, in Rue de Chazelles. Only then was it disassembled, packed in crates, and shipped to New York.
The Statue of Liberty was made by the French as the largest metal sculpture in the world until then. The height of the sculpture is 46 meters, and it is made of copper plates that form the formwork, and inside they are supported by an iron skeleton, composed similarly to the Eiffel Tower. Indeed, the iron supporting structure was designed by Gustave Eiffel a few years before the construction of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The copper shell of the statue is only about 2.4 millimeters thick, but the entire sculpture along with the iron skeleton weighs about 225 tons. These parts were stored by the French in 214 crates and sent to the United States. In total, the crates reportedly contained 350 individual pieces, which were then reassembled at their final location on the Isle of Bedloe in front of New York City. Allegedly, the nails on the fingers of the sculpture are as long as 33 centimeters.
The islet on which the sculpture is placed has been renamed from Bedloe Island to Liberty Island and has an area of nearly 60 acres. The construction of the pedestal on the island was financed by the Americans, mostly with private donations. In total, with the pedestal, the Statue of Liberty is 93 meters high today.
