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Cleopatra's Needle

New York, Italy

Cleopatra's Needle

Cleopatra's Needle in New York City is one of a pair of obelisks, together named Cleopatra's Needles, that were moved from the ruins of the Caesareum of Alexandria, Ancient Egypt, in the 19th century. The stele, dating from the 15th century B.C., was installed in Central Park, west of the Metropolit

an Museum of Art's main building in Manhattan, on February 22, 1881. It was secured in May 1877 by judge Elbert E. Farman, the United States Consul General at Cairo, as a gift from the Khedive for the United States remaining a friendly neutral as two European powers, France and Britain, maneuvered for political control of the Egyptian government. The transportation costs were largely paid by a railroad magnate, William Henry Vanderbilt, the eldest son of Cornelius Vanderbilt.

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