Where Was the Statue of Liberty Built in France?

The Statue of Liberty (*Liberty Enlightening the World*) was **designed, engineered, and fabricated in Paris, France**, before being disassembled, shipped, and reassembled in New York.

Key Parisian Sites

• Design & Engineering: **Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi** (sculptor) – studio at **18 Rue de Chazelles, 17th arrondissement**. **Gustave Eiffel** (internal structure) – **Eiffel et Compagnie** workshops, **Levallois-Perret** (Paris suburb).
• Fabrication (Copper Skin): **Ateliers Gaget, Gauthier & Cie** – **25 Rue de Chazelles, 17th arrondissement** (near Bartholdi's studio). The **thin copper sheets (2.4 mm)** were hammered into shape over wooden molds (**repoussé** technique) in this workshop.
• Structural Framework: **Eiffel's factory** produced the **wrought iron pylon (central spine) and secondary armature (flat bars, angle irons)** – the "skeleton" allowing the skin to move independently (thermal expansion, wind).
• Assembly & Display (1884): **Fully assembled in the courtyard of Gaget, Gauthier & Cie** at **25 Rue de Chazelles**. Stood **complete in Paris for ~1 year** (1884–1885). Visited by dignitaries, public. **Formally presented to U.S. Minister Levi P. Morton, July 4, 1884.**
• Disassembly & Shipping (1885): Dismantled into **350 pieces (214 crates)**. Shipped on French frigate **Isère** from **Rouen** (Seine estuary) → **Bedloe's Island (now Liberty Island)**, arriving June 17, 1885.

Other French Contributions

• Pedestal: **American-funded, American-built** (Richard Morris Hunt design, Fort Wood base). *Not French.*
• Funding: **French public** (lotteries, donations, events) funded the **statue (~$250,000 / 2.25M francs)**. **Americans funded the pedestal (~$270,000)** via Pulitzer's *New York World* campaign.

Paris Legacy Sites Today

• Musée d'Orsay: Original **1/16 scale plaster model** (Bartholdi).
• Musée des Arts et Métiers (CNAM): **Original 1/4 scale model** (used for structural calculations).
• Jardin du Luxembourg: **Bronze replica (1889, 2.5m)** – gift from American community in Paris.
• Île aux Cygnes (Seine, 15th arr.): **Full-size replica (11.5m, 1889)** – gift from U.S. to Paris, faces West (toward NYC).
• Flame of Liberty (Place de l'Alma): **Full-size gold-leaf torch replica (1987)** – informal Diana memorial.

The Statue of Liberty was **born in the workshops of 17th arrondissement Paris**—a collaboration of sculptor Bartholdi, engineer Eiffel, and the craftsmen of Gaget, Gauthier & Cie.