When it was first erected, the statue was a drab brown tone, reflecting the natural color of its copper plates. However, over the following 30 years, it gradually transformed to the green hue you see today. The change is due to several factors including the corrosion of copper by water, the growth of algae in the harbor, and the presence of certain minerals in the sand of New Jersey used as a stabilizer for the statue's base.
In 1884, when it became clear that another major renovation would be needed, Secretary of the Interior Walter G. Brown petitioned Congress to appropriate money for the purpose. A bill was introduced but never passed into law. In 1897, President William McKinley appointed a committee to study the statue's condition and make recommendations on how to improve it. The committee reported back in 1898 with three proposals: replace the metal parts that were deteriorating due to age and use; restore the statue's hair and apparel; and add decorations to make it more appealing to visitors. None of these suggestions were acted upon at the time because of budget constraints. In 1903, Senator Albert Beveridge from Indiana proposed replacing the armature inside the statue with steel rods. This idea also fell through because it was thought to be too expensive.
In 1917, the American Committee for the Protection of the International Decorative Art Museum launched a campaign to raise funds to save the statue.
The outside of the Statue of Liberty is constructed of copper, and it got that colour of green due to oxidation. Copper is a noble metal, which means it does not easily react with other elements. The copper used in the statue is barely three-thirty-seconds of an inch thick and extraordinarily pure. It came from America because at the time the United States was trying to sell itself as a safe place to live in. They didn't want any old thing that might be dangerous lying around so they sent out scientists to find something suitable for making things out of.
After many attempts to find a better way to make money only one company remained, and they sent out their best scientists to come up with a solution. They called them salesmen and they traveled all over the world selling their idea. This company made lots of mistakes but thanks to them we now have electricity, telephone lines, and airplanes.
The scientist who invented refrigeration happened to be on one of these trips when he discovered how to use ice as a medium for cooling things down. He brought some back with him and showed it to his boss. His boss thought it was a great idea and decided to adopt it as their new business model. A few years later, another guy figured out how to make glass using melted sand as a raw material. He too showed his boss, who saw the potential here too.
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