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On this date in history, October 28, 1886, a statue that wasn't green at all was unveiled in New York Harbor.On a rainy, foggy day, President Grover Cleveland officially dedicated the Statue of Liberty, a gift to the United States from the people of France. 🗽The ceremony marked the alliance between France and the U.S. during the American Revolution.But the statue that Americans saw that day was not the familiar green figure we know today. It was a shiny, dull copper color, like a newly minted penny.Over the next 30 years, the copper skin slowly oxidized from the salty air, creating the famous greenish-blue patina that protects the metal underneath.The project itself almost failed. While the French paid for the statue, Americans had to pay for the massive pedestal it stands on, and fundraising efforts stalled.It was Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of the 'New York World' newspaper, who saved the project. He promised to print the name of every single person who donated, no matter how small the amount.The campaign was a massive success, raising over $100,000 from more than 120,000 donors, with most people giving less than a dollar. It was everyday Americans, not the government or the wealthy, who built her foundation. 🇺🇸Designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi with an internal framework engineered by Gustave Eiffel, the statue became a symbol of a new beginning.For more than a century, she was the first thing millions of immigrants saw as they arrived in America, a powerful symbol of freedom and hope.Today, she remains one of the most recognizable symbols of liberty and the American dream in the entire world.Sources: National Park Service, The New York World newspaper archives