Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor

Background. The Statue of Liberty, a colossal neoclassical sculpture, was a gift from the people of France to the United States. Designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the statue was intended to be placed on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor. Bartholdi chose this site because vessels entering New York Bay had to sail past it, allowing passengers to experience a changing perspective of the statue as they proceeded toward Manhattan.

Transportation. The statue was built in France and disassembled for transport to the United States. By January 1885, sufficient progress on the pedestal allowed the statue to be crated for its ocean voyage. The French government agreed to pay for its transport to New York, following the formal presentation of the completed statue to Ambassador Morton in Paris on July 4, 1884.

Arrival. On June 17, 1885, the French steamer Isère arrived in New York Harbor carrying the crates holding the disassembled statue. The statue remained intact in Paris pending progress on the pedestal, which began in 1883. The arrival in New York marked the transition from construction in France to reassembly in the United States.