The Statue of Liberty was a joint effort between France and the United States, intended to commemorate the lasting friendship between the peoples of the two nations. The French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi created the statue itself out of sheets of hammered copper, while Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, the man behind the famed Eiffel Tower, designed the statue’s steel framework. The Statue of Liberty was then given to the United States and erected atop an American-designed pedestal on a small island in Upper New York Bay, now known as Liberty Island, and dedicated by President Grover Cleveland in 1886. Over the years, the statue stood tall as millions of immigrants arrived in America via nearby Ellis Island; in 1986, it underwent an extensive renovation in honor of the centennial of its dedication. Today, the Statue of Liberty remains an enduring symbol of freedom and democracy, as well as one of the world’s most recognizable landmarks.
Statue Cruises is the only provider authorized by the National Park Service to take visitors to the Statue of Liberty. We had our fast pass ticket but had to get our tickets at the ferry departure points in Battery Park in NYC. We then walked over to the dock to wait for our boat.
A self-guided audio tour was included with each ferry ticket and could be picked up at the Antenna Audio booth on Liberty Island. We decided that we would just walk around and read the information at different points around the statue.
