The statue of King Louis XVI was sculpted in 1829 by Achille-Joseph Valois for the king's surviving daughter, Marie-Thérèse, queen dowager of France, and made its public debut in Montpellier. However, a year later during the Second French Revolution, it was moved to a military base for protection, then at Montpellier University, and finally in the municipal archives' storage basement. In 1899, the statue was found to have deteriorated with a damaged arm, but remained in storage. It was decided in 1966 to give the statue to Louisville, making a seven-month journey between Montpellier and Louisville. The Carrara marble statue weighs nine tons, and is high.