When the sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi travelled to America in 1871, to choose a suitable site for the Statue of Liberty, the steamer aboard which he made the voyage bore the name Le Pereire! Like many prominent figures at the time, Bartholdi was a resident of the 17th arrondissement.

And it was in the 17th arrondissement too, at 25 rue de Chazelles, that he set up the workshops and foundry  where he moulded the most important statue of modern times, officially named La Liberté éclairant le monde. While travelling in Egypt in 1855, he had been impressed by the colossal dimensions of the monuments of Ancient Egypt. His friend Ferdinand de Lesseps was about to complete the Suez Canal and Bartholdi was commissioned to make a statue Le Progrès apportant la lumière à l'Asie (Progress bringing light to Asia), to stand at the entrance to the Canal.

Bartholdi was disappointed when the project was abandoned due to a lack of funds, but he took the preliminary sculptures back to Paris in 1869 and used them for a new project, which would bring light not to Asia but to the wretched of Europe, who hoped for a better life in New York and beyond.

Building on rue de Chazelles began with the hand and torch, then came the head, which was exhibited on the Champ-de-Mars during the 1878 Universal Exposition. A huge crowd gathered along the streets during the transfer of the head to the Fair. Le Petit Journal reported on 30 June 1878: "A colossal, fantastic head emerges in the opening of the Arc de Triomphe, while cries of "Long live the Republic" resound in powerful volleys at the far end of the avenue." Viollet-le-Duc, who was in charge of the metal structure of the statue, had died meanwhile and was replaced by Gustave Eiffel, who moved to the neighbouring rue de Prony, so as to be able to supervise the work from close quarters, anxious as he was about its colossal weight (200 tonnes) and fearing that the lady might not withstand the violent winds that occasionally sweep across the eastern coast of the United States.

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