A family reunion of monumental proportions just in time for Independence Day!
After 135 years since Lady Liberty was first unveiled on Liberty Island, another Statue of Liberty, better known as Lady Liberty’s “little sister” has crossed the Atlantic to join her.
In celebration of freedom and the long continued friendship between France and America, the Embassy of France in the United States, the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (Cnam) and the CMA CGM Group (a shipping and logistics company), are working together to make it all happen.
The bronze sister statue stands 9-feet-tall at 1,000 lbs. It’s made from the original 1878 plaster model by Auguste Bartholdi that’s currently on display at the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Paris.
The statue had been uninstalled from its previous 10-year residence at the Cnam entrance, shipped across the Atlantic after being secured in a custom plexiglass case that boarded an 8,500 TEU shipping vessel (the CMA CGM TOSCA) from Le Havre and arrived in New Jersey on June 29th. There was an official inauguration July 1st on Ellis Island where the statue will remain until July 6th.
Visitors will be able to visit the statue on display right in time for Independence day and before being shipped off again to its final destination at the French Ambassador’s Residence in Washington, DC. See here if you’d like to see the statue before it’s gone!
Follow #ViveLaLiberty on social media or check out the French Embassy’s Instagram to stay up to date on the entire voyage. Learn more here.
featured image source: Instagram/ @nyclovesnyc