Statue of Liberty Plaza construction: Fence up, statue soon down

| Alki Statue of Liberty | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

Thanks to David Hutchinson for those photos from Alki, where construction work is about to begin on the Statue of Liberty Plaza, as planned (here’s our report from last week). David says the Parks Department plans to start breaking up the asphalt tomorrow, and that’s also when Parks will take the statue away for temporary storage during construction, scheduled to last two months, with the dedication celebration planned for September 6. (See the latest site plan here; all archived WSB coverage of the Alki Statue of Liberty is here.)

David Hutchinson July 7, 2008 (1:08 pm)

For those who are interested…
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I was told by Patrick Donohue, Seattle Parks Dept. Project Manager, who was on site today, that the plans are to begin breaking up the old asphalt early tomorrow morning (about 7:30 AM) with the Statue to be removed around 9:30 AM.
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The first 700 inscribed bricks have been completed by Kenadar and they are currently working on finishing up the second half of the order.
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Please see http://www.sealady.org for continuing updates as the construction phase of the project continues.
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David Hutchinson

k July 7, 2008 (4:34 pm)

i know that people feel very passionately about the statue. i am not one of those folks. it saddens me to think that area will be torn up for the best months of the year on alki. still think it’s a money waster.

shihtzu July 7, 2008 (4:58 pm)

I agree K. The statue is kind of neat I guess, but to put that much money into it kind of bothers me. I considered getting an inscribed brick, but decided that extra money could be put to better use by giving it to another charity. You know, like feeding a child.

RS July 7, 2008 (5:04 pm)

I agree with k and shihtzu and think this is a waste of money. Is there a reason this is being done during the most high-traffic months for Alki?? Seems about as practical as closing the WS pool for repairs in the middle of the summer…

nunya July 7, 2008 (7:44 pm)

This is a political game they play to affect as many people as possible to justify later requests for more taxes, like the new parks and market levy. The pool could have just as easily been closed from Thanksgiving to New Years with little effect, but summer makes much more of an impact.

acemotel July 7, 2008 (8:08 pm)

I agree with the above posters. How does that saying go: If it’s not broke………

n July 7, 2008 (8:26 pm)

I had some friends visiting a few weeks ago. We were walking along Alki and upon seeing the statue, they laughed and said it looked ridiculous. I had to agree. Big waste of money.

David Hutchinson July 7, 2008 (8:26 pm)

I think it’s great that each of us has an opportunity to support the many worthy causes that are in need of our time and financial assistance. Please see
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dehutchinson/2596525900/sizes/o/ for the geographical distribution of the hundreds of donors that supported the new plaza for the Alki Statue of Liberty.
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When the date of January 15, 2008 was set as the deadline to raise funds for this project, the Seattle Statue of Liberty Plaza Project hoped that construction would be completed and that a dedication celebration could be held on July 4th. The fundraising target was met by the deadline. Unfortunately, complications were encountered that precluded this earlier plaza completion.
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Fortunately, the beach is not closed for “repairs”. The only area affected is the asphalt immediately surrounding the Statue and the drive up to the sidewalk which will be replaced with a new set of stairs. 3 benches that will be replaced by 15 new “benches” will be unavailable till September. The entire promenade is still open on the water side of the fenced enclosure as well as the sidewalk along the north side of Alki Avenue.
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David Hutchinson

rockyracoon July 7, 2008 (9:05 pm)

And it’s gonna take them 2 months to do this? Total waste of money. When are government agencies going to learn to prioritize? Our schools can crumble into dust and we’re installing artsy crosswalk markings and statue pedestals. I just don’t get it.

JanS July 8, 2008 (12:06 am)

so…a curiosity question for those who think it’s a waste of money…should we assume that you’re not going to go visit it when it’s done? or use the benches, or the stairs..that you’re just simply going to boycott it?

For those not originally from Seattle, and to out of town guests…this area is a part of Seattle history…the land and the statue. We should assume that wherever you’re from there are no “historical” markers? I guess I’m just being contentious tonight, but..my sister was from a little New England town that remembered it’s history with parks around historical markers, etc…and they keep them up. Yes , there are a ton of charities out there for you to give your money to, and you’re more than welcome to, as I am. The neighbors of this statue thought that their money was also going to a good cause… their choice. I’m sure it will be lovely when finished…and it’s easier to do this when the weather is warm and dry, than in November when it’s cold and wet…

JanS July 8, 2008 (12:09 am)

and RR…I beleive that the crosswalk at the intersection at Lafayette Elementary was a U of W project…probably not a lot of your tax money used there. There is a thread somewhere on this site that explains it exactly why it’s there, although I can’t locate it right now.

JanS July 8, 2008 (12:13 am)

RR…my apologies..here’s the story from The WS Herald…it was the neighborhood street fund that paid for it..

http://westseattleherald.com/articles/2007/08/13/news/local_news/news07.prt

WSB July 8, 2008 (12:53 am)

our post was here
https://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=3213
as always the comments have even better info than the snippets in what we wrote to go with the pix (which were contributed at the time by Jerry of JetCityOrange) …

For the locals July 8, 2008 (7:36 am)

“I agree with the above posters. How does that saying go: If itâ€™s not brokeâ€¦â€¦â€¦”

Uh…actually it WAS broke. That was the entire point. If you lived here you’d know that. The locals have been discussing this and raising money for YEARS. The original statue, which was/is a landmark, was plaster and damaged badly due to vandalism and weather. The money was raised (by folks who choose to contribute) to replace the statue with a metal one and fix the base too. The statue you see now IS the new one the money was raised to fix. Still sitting on it’s original slightly unstable base…which is the half of the project they’re repairing now.

As for why the summer. Have you ever tried to set concrete and asphalt in while it’s 40 and raining?

old timer July 8, 2008 (8:23 am)

IMO –
It will sure be nice when it’s all done and the fences come down.
Two months takes us to October, still plenty of time then to make use of the much needed additional benches.
In a few years, the contention around this project will have cooled, and we will have a very nice feature, thanks to folks who got involved.

Rick July 8, 2008 (8:29 am)

Yo-“for the locals”, been here for a week or two?It’s always 40 and raining except for today. Let’s all get this gentrification thing going. We gotta yuppie up now! It’s only mon$y after all!

acemotel July 8, 2008 (10:15 am)

Oh for heaven’s sake. This is an anonymous blog, no one can claim to know who anyone is, where they came from or how long they’ve been here. No one can claim to represent “the locals.”

It’s not out-of-towners or newbies only who have “issues” with the project, and besides, no one has special jurisdiction over public comment.

I am a fourth-generation Seattle resident, but my opinion has equal value as the opinion of someone who moved here yesterday.

The Alki Statue of Liberty is not a Seattle historical landmark. There are more than 200 such similar statues throughout the United States, stemming from a Boy Scout project that originated in KANSAS CITY (not Seattle) in the early 1950s. There are Statue of Liberty replicas everywhere in the world, including Spain, Austria, Australia, England, Peru, Argentina, Japan, etc etc. Not to mention the REAL landmark statue in NYC. To say that the Alki Statue of Liberty is a Seattle historical landmark is just ha ha funny.

It’s also funny to state that the “locals” have been behind this project for years. wrong. The impetus for the repair actually started outside of West Seattle (discounting the very early efforts of Liberty Deli) as a PR campaign for another unrelated project. There was never any consensus about the what the renovated statue or plaza would look like. Ten or fifteen (or maybe even twenty) people at an obscure meeting sleepily looking at conceptual plans does not equal consensus. There was no groundswell of public opinion clamoring for a plaza around the re-cast statue, and there have been differing opinions (even about the need for a plaza, as well as its form) from day one.

Do you have any idea how many people live in the Alki-Admiral district? Those are the locals. Since Alki Beach is a regional park, the “locals” in this case are actually all the residents of Seattle. A penchant for revisionist history and a fabricated screen name do not a local make.

WSB July 8, 2008 (10:27 am)

Just a point of clarification … this is not an “anonymous blog” any more. We the site operators are fully identified (see the “about” page). If you’re referring to the commenters, yes, like most sites, we do not require real-name ID, so people can be anonymous or use aliases. (And as a side note, as we have been involved in much industry discussion of this lately, public face to face interaction can be as acerbic as online commenting can be – just go to a controversial public meeting sometime; not everyone who stands up identifies themselves or has to.) Just wanted to make a note of that, since we don’t byline everything, but are by no means anonymous — Tracy Record (editor/co-publisher)

acemotel July 8, 2008 (11:12 am)

thank you, Tracy Record. I knew that. And you do a very fine job. I really meant the posters (by and large) are anonymous. Some do meet up and get to know one another, and some do use their real names. But even so, we can’t make assumptions about whether someone is a newcomer, a “local,” a foreign national, or a descendant of Chief Sealth. And in any case, length of residence has no bearing on the validity of their opinion, IMO. Quite often I read opposing opinions being dismissed as those of a newcomer, or “you must not be from here.” First of all, the attitude is neither gracious nor welcoming. Second, it’s dismissive. Third, and to the point, length of residency or frequency of posting does not = credibility. IMO. And I’m speaking ONLY of comment posters. The credibility of the site operators is sterling. I think your research and fact checking is meticulous, surpassing “big media” and more far more relevant.

matt July 8, 2008 (5:48 pm)

I agree with old timer. And the wood benches will be done by Sept 6th, so whether you agreed with the plan or not, we’ll all be able to enjoy the indian summer sunsets at the new place. See you there!

JanS July 8, 2008 (6:39 pm)

acemotel, I get your point…so let’s look at the statue as a marker of a historical place..the original landing place of settlers to the area. It’s a MARKER…not historical itself. So…just like other things in the world, should be taken care of. Is it trivial? Yes, I’m sure it is to some people..but it is what it is, and it will be done..and you’ll get to enjoy it. My comment about out of towners was in reference to someone who said that they had an out of town guest who laughed and said that it was ridiculous.

I’m sorry I’m not a 4th generation west seattleite..have only been here for 33 years..only half a native…

Not a clue July 8, 2008 (8:00 pm)

acemotel doesn’t read this blog. If he/she did they’d know this WAS a project for years (in the making). Yes there are bunches of these statues. Many are gone. What is a “landmark”? Dude there isn’t an official “landmark” committee. A landmark is anything the locals know and appreciate. Ballard Denny’s didn’t quite make it. :)

And there is a specific NY link here. I noticed you didn’t mention it. I won’t explain it since you don’t know what it is…but that spot, Alki Beach has a specific NY connection. I’ll leave it to you to search the net and figure it out…or ask a local. ;-)

d July 8, 2008 (11:09 pm)

not a clue –

I know what the connection is!!! Yeah! I know the answer!!! What do I win?!? What?!?

I have an etching from a Seattle artist from the ’20s which depicts that very reference, commonly known to locals hereabouts. :). Hehe.

acemotel July 9, 2008 (12:26 am)

Actually both the city and the county have landmark boards or commissions. The Alki Statue of Liberty discussions started long before this blog began. If I didn’t read this blog, I wouldn’t be responding. :-O Everybody knows the NY reference, nothing esoteric there. You sn is apt.

JanS, thank you for explaining your reference to out-of-town visitors. It helps to understand that you were responding to a previous post; I missed that.

Sorry, comment time is over.