Why did the Statue of Liberty turn green?

The Statue of Liberty is just one of the iconic landmarks in New York City. It's made of copper, which has oxidised naturally to form a green patina coating which actually protects the copper underneath. It took about 20 years for the Statue of Liberty to change from copper coloured to green!



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At the turn of the century, it took longer to form the color we see today's New York air, it would take about 10 years to achieve, but at the turn of the century, it was nearly 25 years before the patina was full-blown. And, America loved the blue-green look of the Lady.

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That patina shields the statue from the extreme elements of New York Harbor, like high winds, salt water and air pollution. Cleaning the green patina from the Statue of Liberty could do more harm than good, according to National Park Service spokesman Jerry Willis in a statement to AM New York.

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The Statue's shackles and feet. In 1886, The Statue of Liberty was a symbol of democratic government and Enlightenment ideals as well as a celebration of the Union's victory in the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery.

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While Egypt rejected the idea as too costly, Bartholdi's initial vision of an “Arab peasant” evolved into one of a “colossal goddess” that he'd later apply to his Statue of Liberty design ( here ).

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With 31 tons of copper and 125 tons of steel, the scrap value of the Statue of Liberty comes in at $227,610, far below two of the most expensive statues in the world. But that's what happens when you use millions worth of gold and bronze.

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The Statue of Liberty is owned by the Government of the United States of America. The Statue was designated as a National Monument in 1924 (the National Monument additionally includes Liberty Island [1937] and Ellis Island [1965]), and is administered by the National Park Service.

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We're kidding...mostly. It all comes down to chemistry. In her first few decades in the Big Apple, the statue slowly turned from that shiny copper color to a dull brown and then, finally, to the blue-green, or as they'd say back in France, verdigris ; on screen - green of Greece] we see today.

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Did You Know?
  • The Statue of Liberty Is 151 Feet Tall (93 meters)
  • Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi Almost Made the Statue in Egypt.
  • Gustave Eiffel Assisted in the Construction of the Monument.
  • The Statue of Liberty Is Coated in Copper.
  • The Statue of Liberty Was Once a Lighthouse.
  • It Is Closer to New Jersey than New York.


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An illustration of the presentation of the Statue to the U.S. Minister Levi Parsons Morton in Paris on July 4, 1881. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French people commemorating the alliance of France and the United States during the American Revolution.

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There are two genuine statues and several lesser versions of the Statue of Liberty. The original and most famous is the one located on Liberty Island, a gift from the French to America. The second is located in Paris, France, and was a reciprocal gift from the United States in 1889.

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It took nine years to build the Statue of Liberty in France, with construction ending in 1885. Then, it had to be disassembled and shipped to New York City. Once it arrived in America and its pedestal was ready, it took four months to rebuild the statue.

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The truss in statue's right shoulder had seriously weakened and was in danger of collapse. And almost half of the iron armature that supports the copper skin had corroded, in part because the statue had become, in effect, a giant battery.

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