The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World) was a gift from France to the United States to commemorate the centennial of the War of Independence. The monument by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi is a remarkable feat of engineering. Prior to tackling the 151' tall masterpiece, Bartholdi first made three smaller versions, gradually grading them larger and adjusting the design as problems presented themselves. His final maquette was 1/4th the scale of the final and from this a plaster copy was made using painstaking calculation. From this plaster model, a wooden mould was created that was then used to hammer the 3/32" thick copper plates into shape. Gustave Eiffel, the renowned bridge builder and namesake of Paris' most famous landmark was commissioned to create an internal structure to support the copper skin, allowing for the strong winds in New York Bay, and fluctuations in temperature.
The Americans undertook the making of the pedestal and both projects saw considerable difficulties in funding. Although the statue was completed 10 years later than the centennial, it was received with considerable pomp and remains to this day a symbol of liberty, immigration, hope and fraternity between nations. You can learn more about the construction here. You can see photos of the construction here.
These two dioramas from the Musée des Arts et Metiérs show the making of the full scale plaster model and the construction of the copper skin.
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