Liberty Island

The Statue of Liberty is a symbolic monument installed on Liberty Island and it is accessible by boat only from Manhattan Island. Only Statue Cruises allow you to disembark on the island.

The statue was built in France and offered by the French as a token of friendship to the newly independent country.

Officially called “Liberty Enlightening the World,” the large sculpture was shipped in pieces where it was temporarily mounted in Madison Square Park from 1876 to 1882 in order to finance and find a suitable base.

Ultimately, it was an ancient star-shaped fort on an island that was chosen as the ideal base. A pedestal was built inside the fort to install the immense statue in 1885 that stands at 93 meters above sea level.

The island and the statue are on the New Jersey water but it is from New York City, via Statue Cruise, that access is possible.

A major immigration center opened in 1890 on Ellis Island, next to Liberty Island, where millions of newcomers set foot upon their arrival on the new continent. Before, it was at Castle Garden, in Battery Park, that immigrants were welcomed and registered. In 1886, the striking image upon their arrival was that of the Statue of Liberty, which made it a symbol of hope and renewal for many of them.

Originally, the copper statue did not have this greenish color. It is the oxidation over the years that caused it to lose its original color.

From the southern tip of Manhattan Island, on the Battery Park promenade, it is possible to see the statue on the horizon, but it is possible to get closer. For free, from the South Ferry Terminal, you can take the 25-minute shuttle to Staten Island and you’ll get a closer view (sit on the right when departing from Manhattan). Among other things, you can see the crown and the torch a little more clearly. However, you cannot disembark. Only Statue Cruise boats are authorized to stop there. You can get your Statue Cruise tickets at Castle Garden. Plan to arrive in advance as the lines are sometimes long.

There are multiple tour options and ultimately, if time and weather permits, you can climb the more than 350 steps for a view from the statue’s crown towards the city center. Places are limited and access is not easy. Show your ticket to gain access to the Pedestal, Statue Museum and Immigration Museum on Ellis Island. Easily plan half a day for your visit. Backpacks are not permitted and waiting periods can be long.

You can find different versions of the statue all over the world. The original casting is in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. The statue was designed by Edouard René Lefebvre de Laboulaye. Its exterior was designed by the French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and its interior by Gustave Eiffel, a French engineer. The first test model of the statue, in a smaller format, was placed in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris.

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