Based on Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, The Statue of Liberty is one of the most well-known gifts received by the United States from France in the 1800s. Since the torch-bearing arm and the head of Lady Liberty were finished first, they were actually displayed in an area of Manhattan, New York – now known as Madison Square Park – during the “Centennial Exposition” in 1876, the United States’ first official World Fair.

Even though Lady Liberty was a gift from France, it was agreed upon that the pedestal on which she sits was built in America and the actual sculpted pieces were made in France. Eventually, after funds were raised enough to complete the pedestal in America, the sculpture was shipped to the states in numerous pieces. Once completed, New Yorkers celebrated the appreciated gift with the nation’s first established “ticker-tape” parade – the popular parades often seen in many movies, held for candidacy of Nixon in 1960, and in honor of the Apollo 11 Astronauts in 1969.

After the attacks on September 11th in 2001 the Statue was closed for security measures and opened again in 2009. The statue then closed again to add safety installations within the Statue and base. The renovation lasted until October 28th, 2012. Unfortunately with the havoc created by Super storm Sandy, the statue and island have been completely closed off to the public by National Park Services.

You can catch a pretty great glimpse of Lady Liberty from a yacht cruise or water taxi along the Hudson River to obtain outstanding images of the structure. With OnBoard Sightseeing Tours New York City, you can see Liberty Statue on our Freedom Tour, NYC See It All! Tour, NYC See It All! Premium Tour, and catch her at night, light up against the sky on our NYC See The Lights tour!