LEGO Architecture 21042 Booklet page 7

From Dream to Reality
In 1876, French craftsmen began forging the individual
elements of the Statue. While the outer design and materials
were given, the real challenge lay in the Statue's internal
construction.
Bartholdi turned to the French architect and structural
engineer, Gustave Eiffel, and he proposed creating a
92 ft. (28 m) skeletal central pylon upon which asymmetrical
girders could be attached. Flat metal bars were then bolted
to the girders to hold the copper skin of the Statue in place.
Eiffel would go on to use the same pylon construction
method in his famous Eiffel Tower, which was completed
in 1889.
The entire Statue was completed in Paris between 1881
and 1884. It arrived amid great fanfare in New York aboard
the French Navy ship Isére on the 17th of June 1885. Once
the pedestal was completed in 1886, the 151 ft. (46 m)
tall statue was quickly assembled. The last section to be
completed was the Statue of Liberty's face, which remained
covered until the official dedication on the 28th of October
1886. Rain and foggy weather did not stop over one million
New Yorkers from turning out to cheer the unveiling of the
new Statue.