Build your very own life like looking scale model of Statue of Liberty from foam puzzle Your completed puzzle gets lit up from underneath using an LED stand. Full instructions, history and interesting facts and figures included Size when built: 24.8cm x 20.4cm x 24.8cm. Contains 37 paper and EPS core foam puzzle
Did you know? The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the
World; French: La Liberte eclairant le monde) is a colossal
neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in the middle of New
York Harbor, in Manhattan, New York City. The statue, designed by
Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886, was
a gift to the United States from the people of France. The statue
is of a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman
goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a
tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of the
American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. A broken
chain lies at her feet. The statue is an icon of freedom and of
the United States: a welcoming signal to immigrants arriving from
abroad.
Bartholdi was inspired by French law professor and politician
Edouard Rene de Laboulaye, who commented in 1865 that any
monument raised to American independence would properly be a
joint project of the French and American peoples. Due to the
troubled political situation in France, work on the statue did
not commence until the early 1870s. In 1875, Laboulaye proposed
that the French finance the statue and the Americans provide the
site and build the pedestal. Bartholdi completed the head and the
torch-bearing arm before the statue was fully designed, and these
pieces were exhibited for publicity at international expositions.
The torch-bearing arm was displayed at the Centennial Exposition
in Philadelphia, in 1876, and in New York's Madison Square Park
from 1876 to 1882. Fundraising proved difficult, especially for
the Americans, and by 1885 work on the pedestal was threatened
due to lack of funds. Publisher Joseph Pulitzer of the World
started a drive for donations to complete the project that
attracted more than 120,000 contributors, most of whom gave less
than a dollar. The statue was constructed in France, shipped
overseas in crates, and assembled on the completed pedestal on
what was then called Bedloe's Island. The statue's completion was
marked by New York's first ticker-tape parade and a dedication
ceremony presided over by President Grover Cleveland.
The statue was administered by the United States Lighthouse Board
until 1901 and then by the Department of War; since 1933 it has
been maintained by the National Park Service. The statue was
closed for renovation for much of 1938. In the early 1980s, it
was found to have deteriorated to such an extent that a major
restoration was required. While the statue was closed from 1984
to 1986, the torch and a large part of the internal structure
were replaced. After the September 11 attacks in 2001, it was
closed for reasons of safety and security; the pedestal reopened
in 2004 and the statue in 2009, with limits on the number of
visitors allowed to ascend to the crown. The statue, including
the pedestal and base, was closed for a year until October 28,
2012, so that a secondary staircase and other safety features
could be installed; Liberty Island remained open. However, one
day after the reopening, Liberty Island closed due to the effects
of Hurricane Sandy; the statue and island opened again on July 4,
2013. Public access to the balcony surrounding the torch has been
barred for safety reasons since 1916.
Box Contains
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1 x 37 paper and EPS core foam puzzle
1 x Colour instruction manual & fact sheet
1 x LED light base
