One of 391 areas in the National Park System, the Statue of Liberty is a top tourist destination in New York City. It's a great place to take kids because of its built-in history lesson and the adventure of riding a ferry boat to get there.
The statue, a gift from France to the United States, was dedicated on October 28, 1886, according to the National Park Service. It was designated a National Monument in 1924.
The statue serves as a symbol of freedom and democracy and was often the first thing immigrants saw when coming to America on ships from Europe in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
As a national monument, the Statue of Liberty is a landmark tourist attraction. The base includes a museum and a gift shop. The grounds around the base include trees and grass, where kids can run around.
The statue was restored for its centennial in 1986. After September 11, 2001, access to visit the inside of the statue was stopped, but the base was reopened to visitors in August 2004. Crown access was restored in July 2009. The statue's torch has been closed since 1916, according to the New York Times.
The Statue of Liberty is located on 12-acre Liberty Island, which is about a mile and a half from Battery Park in Manhattan. Its location provides great views of Manhattan's skyline from the south.
The original concept of the statue's designer, Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, was to place a statue of a woman at the opening of the Suez Canal, according to the National Park Service website.
