France Is Sending A Second Statue Of Liberty To NYC

NEW YORK CITY — Call it the greatest regift of all time — France is sending a second Statue of Liberty to New York City.

A smaller, 1/16 replica of Lady Liberty will embark on a nine-day voyage from Paris to Ellis Island, where it will be displayed for July 4 celebrations, the Associated Press reported.

The bronze statue called "Liberty Enlightening the World" is a little sister to the iconic monument on Liberty Island. French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi based it on the original plaster cast of his monumental Statue of Liberty.

But while the colossal Statue of Liberty was gifted to the United States in 1885 to serve as a symbol of its acceptance of immigrants and the tie between America and France, its mini-replica stayed in Paris to be displayed at the Musee des Arts et Metiers.

Soon, the sisters will be united across New York's harbor. The museum held a send-off ceremony Monday.

The Statue of Liberty “is a like our Eiffel Tower,” said U.S. Embassy representative Liam Wasley at the send-off ceremony, calling it an icon that symbolizes not just liberty but “the richness of our relationship” with France, the Associated Press reported.

The smaller Statue of Liberty will first go to Ellis Island, then to the gardens of the French Embassy in Washington D.C. in time for France’s Bastille Day celebration July 14. The statue will stay there for the next decade, the Associated Press reported.