Oversized attractions – natural and man-made – draw visitors to every state in the union. STATUE OF LIBERTY Lady Liberty on Liberty Island has stood at the entrance to New York City’s harbour since 1886, when it was gifted to America by France. Take a ferry from Battery Park to visit the copper-clad symbol of freedom, climbing the 162 steps to the statue’s crown for views of Brooklyn, Lower Manhattann and the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration where millions of immigrants first arrived. NIAGARA FALLS Get up close to the cascades and witness the might of the Bridal Veil Falls just feet away from the thundering torrent on the Cave of the Winds wooden walkways. Re-laid each year it is open between May and October. Visitors are given a cape but are still guaranteed a soaking. View the American Falls from a scenic overlook or take a Maid of the Mist boat trip to Horseshoe Falls. MOUNT RUSHMORE More than two million visitors a year come to marvel at the 60-foot-high faces of U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln carved into a granite cliff in South Dakota’s Black Hills. The colossal figures were created by 400 men and women over 14 years from 1927 to 1941 using dynamite, jackhammers and hand tools. The national monument is even more impressive at sunset, illuminated by 1,600 LED lights. HOLLYWOOD SIGN Erected in 1923 high in the Hollywood Hills overlooking Los Angeles as ‘Hollywoodland’ to promote a housing development, the oversized sign is now one of California’s most recognisable landmarks. You can hike up Mount Lee for selfie opportunities or view it from Griffith Observatory or Mulholland Drive, or on a helicopter tour. NATIONAL MALL The Mall spans more than 1,000 acres in the heart of the nation’s capital, Washington DC. Walk from the Capitol Building to the Lincoln On clear days, four states – Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan – can be seen from the Willis Tower’s Skydeck in Chicago STANDING TALL The U.S. is a nation blessed with iconic and dramatic landmarks, each one of them offering an insight into a significant slice of the country’s history AMERICAN ICONS PETER ELLEGARD 48 visitusa.org.uk
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