Leaving New York: beloved Statue of Liberty miniature finds new home in midwest

Little Liberty, a miniature Statue of Liberty long a beloved feature of the Upper West Side in New York City, has officially moved to the midwest.

The bite-sized version of the New York City landmark has moved to the National Building Arts Center in Sauget, Illinois, a 141-person village just outside St Louis, the St Louis Post Dispatch reported.

The museum, which “promotes public awareness of the crucial roles of architecture, manufacturing, constructions and urban design”, successfully moved the statue from New York after a fundraising campaign.

“Little Liberty’s Big Trip to the National Building Arts Center” raised more than $7,000 for the statue relocation project and has continued raising funds to cover repairs.

The museum has shared updates on the repair and construction process.

The miniature of Lady Liberty is in fact still rather hefty, at 30ft tall with most of its height made up by a 25ft tall base. The actual Statute of Liberty stands at 305ft.

Like the real thing, the mini Statue of Liberty was long housed in New York City – if, from 1902, on the roof of the Liberty Storage & Warehouse Company on West 64th Street on the Upper West Side, rather than in the harbor.

In 2003, when the building on West 64th was converted into condominiums, Little Liberty moved to the Brooklyn Museum.

Last month, the museum shipped the statue to the National Building Arts Center, where it will be permanently housed. Repairs will include a new coat of paint and structural repairs to the bottom of the statue.

“The good thing is it’s really easy to work with – sheet metal and steel,” Michael Allen, executive director of the Art Center, told the Dispatch.

“The bad news is any order of metal is hard to get these days. The supply chain is crazy.”