Designed by Frédéric-Auguste Barthodoli, the Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French. He modeled it after his mother. Unveiled on October 28, 1886 in Liberty Island (formerly Bedloe's Island), the statue stood 305 ft (93 m). Its formal name is Liberty Enlightening the World. The Statue of Liberty has an iron frame designed by Gustave Eiffel (who later designed the Eiffel Tower), and a copper shell.
The Statue of Liberty symbolizes freedom throughout the world. This giant statue depicts a women escaping the chains of tyrrany, which lie at her feet. Her right hand is holding a torch representing liberty. Her left hand is holding a tablet with the date July 4, 1776 (US Independence Day) inscribed in Roman numerals. The seven rays of her crown represent the seven seas and the seven continents. The statue of Liberty greeted millions of people entering Ellis Island. The sonnet "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus was inscribed in bronze at the base. It reads:
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land:
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost, to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
The statue was restored in 1986 for its 100th anniversary. Its torch was replaced, but the original one is now in the lobby. There is now a museum and two observation decks (one at the pedestal and the other at the crown).