A second 'Statue of Liberty' is on its way to US, courtesy of France
The new statue, being loaned by a Paris museum to cement Franco-American friendship, will be a scaled-down replica of the original and will stay in Washinton DC, where it will stay for ten years as a symbol of Franco-American friendship.
France is sending what it calls the "little sister" of the famous Statue of Liberty in New York, which the country once sent as a gift to the United States. The new statue, being loaned by a Paris museum to cement Franco-American friendship, will be a scaled-down replica of the original and will first be displayed on Ellis Island, later moving on to Washinton DC, where it will stay for ten years, reported news agency Reuters earlier last week.
The 'second' Statue of Liberty, as it is being called, is currently on its way from Paris to New York City, retracing the steps of its "big sister", a colossal neoclassical sculpture that now stands guard on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within the New York City. The new statue is expected to arrive ahead of the Fourth of July, Independence Day in the United States.
The new replica of the Statue of Liberty measures 2.83 meters (or 9.3 feet) in height. It was gently lifted off its plinth on the back of a crane by workers in Paris two weeks ago and situated on the back of a truck, covered with plastic film for protection and wedged in with foam blocks. It was then embarked upon a ship, its destination being the United States of America.
The replica was designed in 1878 by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the same person who - with help from engineer Gustave Eiffel - created the larger version now in New York. The larger version of the Statue of Liberty was given by France to the United States as a gift, and was completed and assembled in 1886.
(With inputs from Reuters)