From Lady Liberty to the Seine

USPA NEWS - During the 1889 Universal Exposition , Paris celebrated the inauguration of two monuments that would become emblematic : the Eiffel Tower and the replica of the Statue of Liberty on the Île aux Cygnes .The American community in Paris wanted the French Capital to have its own Statue of Liberty , standing proudly on the banks of the Seine .

From Lady Liberty to the Seine : A light across the Atlantic . During the 1889 Universal Exposition , Paris celebrated the inauguration of two monuments that would become emblematic : the Eiffel Tower and the replica of the Statue of Liberty on the Île aux Cygnes . While the Eiffel Tower symbolized modernity and technological progress , the Statue of Liberty embodied the enduring friendship between France and United States .The American community in Paris wanted the French Capital to have its own Statue of Liberty , standing proudly on the banks of the Seine . The bronze statue created from one of Bartholdi `s models , was installed at the western end of the Ïle aux Cygnes , near the Pont de Grenelle . Standing 11,50 meters high , it is approximately one quarter of the size of the Statue of Liberty in New York .The statue was officially unveiled on 4 July 1889 , the Anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence . Auguste Bartholdi attend the ceremony which took place in the presence of French President Sadi Carnot and an enthusiastic public . At the solemn moment when the statue was unveiled , the French Republican Guard performed the American National anthem .