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
Statue of Liberty National Monument Statue of Liberty National Monument The Statue of Liberty National Monument is a United States National Monument located in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York comprising Liberty Island and Ellis Island. It includes "Liberty Enlightening the World", commonly known as the Statue of Liberty, situated on Liberty Island, and the former immigration station at Ellis Island, including the Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital. The monument is managed by the National Park Service as part of the National Parks of New York Harbor office. President Calvin Coolidge used his authority under the Antiquities Act to declare the statue a