The icon of freedom from oppression, unity, and friendship between two nations, the Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States. The friendship between two nations established during the American Revolution was turned into a symbol by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi who sculpted the statue and obtained a U.S. patent for the structure. The statue took years to build, starting with the right arm in 1875, being assembled and disassembled in France, shipped to the US, assembled once more and finally officially dedicated and unveiled on October 28, 1886. It took a lot of effort, fundraising and hard work (crews, reportedly, worked round the clock, seven days a week, for nine years to finish the statue), but it became one of the best known symbols in the country, if not the world. The Statue of Liberty is 151 feet 1 inch (46 meters) tall, making it 305 feet 1 inch (93 meters) tall with the pedestal.