The Statue of Liberty Came in Pieces—Literally.

France gifted the Statue of Liberty to the United States as a symbol of friendship and to honor the centennial of American independence. The statue was completed in France in July 1884 and then disassembled into 350 individual pieces, which were packed into 214 wooden crates for shipment. These crates arrived in New York Harbor aboard the French frigate Isère on June 17, 1885. After the pedestal's completion in April 1886, it took workers approximately four months to reassemble the statue on what was then called Bedloe's Island. The dedication ceremony took place on October 28, 1886.