A ten-foot tall replica of the Statue of Liberty, dubbed its “little sister,” has started its journey to the United States from France, where it had been on display at the National Museum of Arts and Crafts (CNAM) in Paris, CNN reports.
Retracing the route taken by the original in 1875, the one-sixteenth sized copy will stand on Ellis Island, across from Liberty Island where the 151-foot original sits, from July 1st to July 5th. From there, it will be shipped to the French Embassy in Washington, DC, where it will be erected in the ambassador’s residence before July 14th, Bastille Day. It will stay in Washington for ten years.
Weighing just shy of 1,000 pounds (versus 225 tons for the actual Statue of Liberty), the replica was made in 2009. It will depart France from the port of Le Havre on June 19 and will arrive in New York July 1st.
“The statue symbolizes freedom and the light around all the world,” said Olivier Faron, general administrator of the CNAM. “We want to send a very simple message: Our friendship with the United States is very important, particularly at this moment. We have to conserve and defend our friendship.”