On May 21, 1884, the statue was finished. The journey from idea to reality had taken almost 20 years.
A ceremony took place at the French foundry where the statue had been built. The U.S. minister to France and the French Prime Minister Jules Ferry were both there. The president of the Franco-American Union said: “We commit it to your care, Mr. Minister, that it may remain forever the pledge of the bonds which should unite France and the great American nation.”
During the spring of 1885, workmen took the statue apart. It was packed into 214 crates and shipped to the United States. On June 17, 1885, crowds cheered as the ship Isère entered New York Harbor.
But more than a year went by before the statue was dedicated to the people of America.
