On this day in 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrived in Liberty Island. Formally known as “June 17, 2011 | The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor,” she was a gift from France, and was funded by the City Room: The Statue of Liberty Is Being Cloned in France. Sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi first had the idea for a monument to commemorate the friendship between the United States and France in 1865, but he didn’t begin actual construction until the early 1870s; he chose Bedloe’s Island — now called Liberty Island — because the statue could welcome the boats full of immigrants, who would pass by the statue on the way to Ellis Island. He was delighted to learn that the island was the property of the United States government, which meant all the states — not just New York — could claim equal ownership in the statue. ~  June 17, 2011 | The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor.

Can you even imagine New York Harbor without Lady Liberty? I know that I can not imagine this country without the ideals that this statue embodies.

Even after the craziness of the post 9/11 years, I feel there is a closeness between our two countries that cannot be discounted.

So once again…Thank You France for the gift.

Related articles

• The Statue Of Liberty (theamericanlife.wordpress.com)
• City Room: The Statue of Liberty Is Being Cloned in France (cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com)