Rio's Christ the Redeemer Statue Opened 95 Years Ago Today

Ninety-five years ago today, Christ the Redeemer opened its arms to the world from atop Mount Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro. The statue that would become one of Earth's most photographed landmarks almost looked completely different.

Engineer Heitor da Silva Costa originally designed a Christ holding a globe in one hand and a cross in the other. Project organizers accepted the plan but later reimagined it as something more welcoming: a figure with arms stretched 92 feet wide, as if embracing all of Rio below.

Construction took nine years, from 1922 to 1931. The team built the 98-foot-tall statue primarily from reinforced concrete and covered it in soapstone, a type of schist that has weathered decades of tropical storms and blazing sun.

The project cost about $250,000 at the time, equivalent to $4.4 million today. That modest budget created the largest Art Deco sculpture in the world, a title it still holds.

The Ripple Effect

Christ the Redeemer became more than a religious monument. It transformed into a universal symbol of peace and welcome, drawing millions of visitors each year who climb or ride the mountain railway to stand beneath those outstretched arms.

In 2007, voters around the world named it one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. The selection surprised some experts who noted the statue wasn't particularly costly or technically complex to build, but the choice reflected something deeper: people connected with what it represented.

The statue has watched over Rio through almost a century of change. It's witnessed the city's growth from 1.5 million residents in 1931 to over 6 million today, standing as a constant beacon visible from nearly every corner of the sprawling metropolis below.

Today, the monument draws nearly 2 million visitors annually, making it one of Brazil's most popular attractions. Those wide-open arms continue doing exactly what the redesigned statue intended: welcoming everyone who sees it.