Christ the Redeemer stands on the peak of Corcovado, about 2,300 feet (700 m) up, in Tijuca National Park. The engineer Heitor da Silva Costa built it, and the sculptor Paul Landowski created the work. Albert Caquot designed the reinforced concrete structure, chosen over steel. Construction ran from 1922 to 1931, and the monument opened on October 12, 1931.
The statue is 98 feet (30 m) high, excluding a pedestal of 26 feet (8 m). The arms span 92 feet (28 m), and the weight is 635 metric tons. An outer layer of soapstone covers the concrete. The article calls it the largest Art Deco-style sculpture in the world.
A chapel to Our Lady of Aparecida lies beneath it, consecrated in October 2006. Lightning struck the statue in February 2008 and January 2014. Restorations came in 1990, 2003 and 2010, and it was named one of the New 7 Wonders of the World in 2007.
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