Statue of Liberty the United States became a free nation "in reality": When the torch was illuminated on the evening of the statue's dedication, it produced only a faint gleam, barely visible from Manhattan. The "World" characterized it as "more like a glowworm than a beacon." Bartholdi suggested gilding the statue to increase its ability to reflect light, but this proved too expensive. The United States Lighthouse Board took over the Statue of Liberty in 1887 and pledged to install equipment to enhance the torch's effect; in spite of its efforts, the statue remained virtually invisible at night. When Bartholdi returned to the
Replicas of the Statue of Liberty This statue was given in 1889 to France by U.S. citizens living in Paris to celebrate the French Revolution three years after the main statue in New York was inaugurated. In 1937, the statue was turned from looking east to looking west straight to the direction of the New York's statue. The statue is near the Grenelle Bridge on the Île aux Cygnes, a man-made island in the Seine (). It is high and weighs 14 tons. Inaugurated on July 4, 1889, it looks southwest, downriver along the Seine. Its tablet bears two dates: "IV JUILLET 1776" (July 4, 1776: