The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor in 1886 as a gift from the people of France.
A formal dedication ceremony took place on October 28, 1886, with President Grover Cleveland presiding. The colossal statue, officially titled Liberty Enlightening the World, stands on Liberty Island. It depicts a robed figure holding a torch in one hand and a tablet in the other.
French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue, while Gustave Eiffel and his collaborators created its internal iron framework. The copper exterior was assembled in New York after being shipped across the Atlantic in sections. Fundraising for the pedestal took place in the United States, creating a joint Franco-American project.
The tablet bears the date July 4, 1776, written in Roman numerals. That detail links the monument directly to the founding era celebrated by America250. The statue later became strongly associated with immigration, although its original dedication symbolism centered on liberty and the historic alliance between France and the United States.