| The Statue of Liberty is a huge sculpture that is located on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. This monument was a gift to the USA from the people of France in recognition of the French-American alliance during the American Revolution.
The formal name of the statue is "Liberty Enlightening the World." It pictures a woman who has escaping the chains of tyranny (the broken chains lie at her feet). Liberty's right hand holds a torch that is a symbol of liberty.
Liberty was designed by the French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. The hollow copper statue was built in France - it was finished in July, 1884. It was brought to the USA in 350 pieces on a French ship called the "Isere" (in June, 1885). The statue was re-assembled in the USA and was completed on October 28, 1886.
There are 354 steps inside the statue and its pedestal. There are 25 viewing windows in the crown. The seven rays of Liberty's crown symbolize the seven seas and seven continents of the world. Liberty holds a tablet in her left hand that reads "July 4, 1776" (1776 is written in Roman numerals, MDCCLXXVI), Independence Day of the United States of America.
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