Statue of Liberty National Monument, Historic site in New York Harbor, New York and New Jersey, U.S. Covering 58 ac (23 ha), it includes the Statue of Liberty (on Liberty Island [formerly Bedloe’s Island]) and nearby Ellis Island. The colossal statue, Liberty Enlightening the World, was sculpted by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi and dedicated in 1886. This 305-ft (93-m) statue of a woman holding a tablet and upraised torch was given to the U.S. by France and commemorates the friendship of the two countries; a plaque at the pedestal’s entrance is inscribed with the sonnet “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus. The Statue of Liberty was declared a national monument in 1924 and a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984; Ellis Island, containing the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, was added to the monument in 1965.
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