Statue of Liberty of War; since 1933 it has been maintained by the National Park Service. Public access to the balcony around the torch has been barred for safety since 1916. According to the National Park Service, the idea for the Statue of Liberty was first proposed by Édouard René de Laboulaye, president of the French Anti-Slavery Society and a prominent and important political thinker of his time. The project is traced to a mid-1865 conversation between de Laboulaye, a staunch abolitionist, and Frédéric Bartholdi, a sculptor. In after-dinner conversation at his home near Versailles, Laboulaye, an ardent supporter of the Union in
Bavaria statue completely new inner circular stairway was built. In order to help finance the renovation work, replicas in various scales were made based on the one model which had been produced by Schwanthaler, the tip of the small finger, including one that could be used as a drinking vessel, as well as other objects of craftsmanship, all of which, as well as a publication, were sold. Work on the statue continued until the beginning of the Oktoberfest in September 2002. During the entire period of repair the statue was hidden under a scaffold, whose outside surfaces were made available for advertising.