10/28/2026
America’s first true look at the Statue of Liberty was in Philadelphia.
in 1886, the Statue of Liberty was dedicated by Grover Cleveland with a ticker tape parade in New York City.
France was responsible for creating the Statue and assembling it in the US while the American people would fund and build the pedestal. One of the ways money was raised was at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.
While the statue was under construction in Paris, it’s 42-foot copper arm jutted out of a nondescript white tent and into the sky in Philadelphia. The sculpture’s gargantuan hand held aloft a torch large enough for multiple people to comfortably stand along its base. For a small additional fee, visitors to the fair could climb a ladder to take in the view of the exposition from the torch themselves.
