As we mentioned in our detailed report about last night’s Parks Department-organized meeting on the proposed plaza — the remaining time for public comment appears to be short. The official person to send your thoughts to is project manager Pamela Kliment at Parks; but unofficial discussion will continue online at sites including WSB and the Seattle Statue of Liberty Plaza Project blog. Those following the discussion might be interested in a new anti-plaza letter to Parks, cc’d to us and others, from former Alki community leader Cindi Laws:
No FANCY-SCHMANCY, SKATE BOARD PARK masquerading as a Statue of Liberty Plaza:
It was nice to meet you at the unveiling on 9/11. The action of the Mayor, getting the statue landed back on the old base, was one of the best, showing strong and simple leadership, things he’s done since elected.
While I love the lighting concept on the plaza design, that is ALL that I like about it. The Plaza, as currently designed, belongs in Bellevue, not West Seattle. Interesting that none of the renderings show the Bathhouse, the nearby trees, or certainly the local businesses as a backdrop. The glaring contrast of the grandiose, fancy-schmancy plaza contrast markedly with the local businesses and apartments nearby.
There may come a time in the next decade or so when those buildings, like my former cottage and garden at 61st & Stevens (now home to a fortress of condos, complete with a stockade fence), are torn down.
People like the Carrs may want to tear down what little character remains at Alki, and are doing their best to usher in full-scale Californication. While all of Seattle is changing, and Alki will continue to grow it’s value in real estate, we do NOT need a plaza design that contrasts so horridly with the tremendous history that is the birthplace of Seattle.
In November 1851, the schooner “Exact” anchored off what is now the intersection of 63rd & Alki. The Denny party paddled ashore and set up camp, and later built
cabins in the neighborhood. A few gems alluding to this early history still exist: an original cabin remains in the neighborhood. A few years later, settlers constructed a hotel, now the Alki Homestead, and it’s former carriage house, the Alki Log House Museum, which remains, RESTORED AND SPRUCED UP, not unlike the potential of the base at the Statue of Liberty. Near the turn of the 20th Century, Alki was home to Luna Park and a wonderful natatorium. People, perhaps the ancestors of the Carrs, torched the place.Now, evidence of that wonderful history exists only when the rotting piers are visible at extreme low tide, or in photographs at the Luna Park Cafe and Spud Fish & Chips. Mid century, our local historians sought to recognize the Denny Party with an obelisk featuring the names of all the settlers “and wives” the obelisk was SPIFFED UP AND AMENDED with the names of those wives at the Sesquicentennial of the Exact landing).  The Bathhouse, also created mid century, was recently REBUILT AND RESTORED to compliment the original structure, while not straying from its historical origins.
In the early 90s, a group set up through the Alki Community Council, of which I was president, worked for several years as the “Shoreline Park Improvement Fund” (SPIF). Great and dedicated citizens like Gary Ogden, Mark Guerette, and Jackie Ramels (now a parks commissioner) put in hundreds of hours, working with the police department, the Port of Seattle, the Washington State Department of Ecology, the EPA, and others to redesign the Alki strip. The purpose of their work was to return Alki to the people by creating a safer walking environment and wheeled environment, with lanes separated by grass and differing paving. These lanes were grade-separated from auto traffic, which was reduced to one lane in each direction. Bollards were placed throughout to further enhance public safety, and the SPIF consulted extensively with youth to seek ways to lower vandalism. Dozens of benches, garbage containers, and other enhancements were added throughout the miles-long strip. The result of this years-long process are the park we all enjoy today — one that respects Alki’s history with sensitive, low-key, functional design.
The Statue of Liberty Plaza design, as presented, does NOT FIT IN with the ethic, the history, or the design of any of our landmarks and monuments. The project needs to be removed from the hands of people who’s goal is to leverage the Alki Statue into a career. The project needs a straightforward, honest, approach.
Mayor Greg Nickels showed tremendous leadership in directing the Seattle Parks Department to mount the new statue on the old base. The project committee had fought against this effort, but thanks to Mayor Nickels and Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis, reason and common sense prevailed.
Let reason and common sense reject the fancy-schmancy plaza design in favor of something that more accurately reflects the historic nature of Alki and the Birthplace of Seattle.
Cindi Laws
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