Facts About the Statue of Liberty

1 The Statue of Liberty was built in Paris, France, over a nine year period starting in 1875 before being dismantled for shipment to New York.

2 Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the artist who designed the statue, was granted a 14 year US design patent for the statue in 1879. This patent covered small copies of the statue which were sold to raise funds to build the main statue.

3In 1885 the French Frigate Isere carried 214 crates containing the 350 pieces of the Statue to New York.

4 Liberty Island, on which the statue stands, has previously been known as Love Island, and Bedloe's Island. It was named Liberty Island on October 28th 1956.

5The iron framework which supports the outer copper skin was designed by Gustave Eiffel, who later built the Eiffel Tower.

6 Prior to the building of the statue, scale models were made. Two of these can be seen today in the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris and in the Brazilian city of Maceió.

7The Statue was used as a lighthouse from 1886 until 1902 - with the light being visible as far 24 miles away.

8 In 1965 a former Canadian television personality plead guilty in Federal Court to transporting dynamite into the United States with the intention of destroying the Statue of Liberty and other landmarks.

9In 1974 14 anti-Nixon protesters barricaded themselves inside the statue for 14 hours.

And.... more facts will be added soon. If you know something I've missed please leave a comment at the bottom of the page. Thanks