A gift that took nearly fifty years to become a park

"The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World" was **a gift of friendship from
the people of France to the United States**, and is recognised as a universal
symbol of freedom and democracy.

Three dates, and the gaps between them are the interesting part:

Nearly half a century passed between the dedication and the statue coming
under the care of the agency that looks after it now. What is today the most
recognisable protected site in the country spent its first decades without any
of that apparatus.

Getting there

Liberty Island is in New York Harbour and can only be reached by ferry.
There is no other way on or off.

Ferries are operated by Statue City Cruises, departing from:

• The Battery, in New York City
• Liberty State Park, in Jersey City, New Jersey

What to wear

**It is typically colder and windier in New York Harbour than elsewhere in New
York City.** That is the single most useful line on this page: visitors dress
for the city they leave from and arrive somewhere measurably harsher.

• Winter: cold and damp
• Spring and autumn: chilly to warm
• Summer: warm to hot, and humid

Location: National Monument, New York. Source: U.S. National Park Service.