What Year did the Statue of Liberty Turn Green?

By 1922 the Statue of Liberty looked its iconic greenish blue. This color is a verde green which occurs when copper naturally oxidizes. Essentially it took 36 years to age from a bright copper penny look to verde green.

Here is a Timeline of the gradual Transformation

• 1876 the arm of the Statue of liberty is unveiled at the cential expo in Philadelphia PA. It will take another 10 years to construct Lady Liberty.
• 1886 dedication The "Copper Lady" as she used to be called unveiled. During the next 4 years it begins to darken from its initial bright copper to a deeper brown.
• By 1906, the oxidation had progressed enough that the statue appeared noticeably green in many areas. Historical accounts note that the color shift was well underway by this point.
• 1910-1920: The transformation intensified. Around 1910, the statue was roughly half copper-colored and half green. By 1920, the full verdigris patina had taken hold, giving it the uniform sea-green appearance it has today

There have been a few attempts over the years to buff the Statue back to the orginal copper look. The iconic verde actually protects the copper from the environment and acts as a natural shield.