West Seattle, Washington
03 Sunday
If you have an engraved brick in place at Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza – you have something no one else can get from here on out. The Alki Community Council has announced that the plaza brick sale has ***ended***, so they are not taking any more orders. From the ACC: “We wish to thank all of you who contributed over the years to the success of this project. Since the ACC assumed the responsibility of selling the remaining bricks and plaques in 2009, over 600 bricks and 7 Tribute Plaques have been ordered. The Council is allowed to retain a small fiscal sponsor fee and pays the cost of engraving the bricks and casting the plaques. More than $47,000 has been turned over to Seattle Parks & Recreation for future Statue and Plaza maintenance needs.” Now, as for those two bronze Tribute Plaques that are still available – you can find out more about how to order one by calling Eilene at 206-933-8352 or e-mailing her at libertyplaza@msn.com. (Photo by David Hutchinson)
A big part of today’s Summer Streets event on Alki (coverage coming up!) was organized by the Alki Community Council. While you’re at the beach, you can find out more about what ACC says is your last chance to be part of Statue of Liberty Plaza:
The sun is setting on the Alki Community Council Brick & Plaque Sale. Orders have been placed for an additional 154 engraved bricks and 2 bronze Tribute Plaques. Seattle Parks & Recreation will be installing these by late May or early June. Donations from this portion of the sale totaled $20,410. The ACC is allowed to retain a small fiscal sponsor fee and is responsible for paying for the engraving of the bricks and casting of the plaques. The remaining amount will be turned over to Seattle Parks & Recreation, to be placed in a dedicated maintenance fund for the future upkeep of the Alki Statue of Liberty and the surrounding plaza. Last year, $35,566.22 was transferred to Parks for this fund.
An additional 22 bricks have been sold for installation this fall. This means that less than 30 bricks and only 2 plaques are available. When these are sold, the sale will be concluded. Be sure and stop by the ACC table at today’s Summer Streets event. Order forms for the remaining bricks and plaques will be available. The Council would like to thank those who have supported this effort over the years.
David & Eilene Hutchinson
ACC Brick & Plaque Sales
Alki Community Council‘s volunteer work party at Statue of Liberty Plaza, featured in this morning’s preview, is now a case of “mission accomplished,” reports David Hutchinson (who also shared the photo):
The Alki Community Council wants to thank the dedicated volunteers who came this morning to the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza. The Council sponsored this event to assist Seattle Parks & Recreation in replanting the landscaped areas surrounding the Plaza. Fortunately, the rain held off and, working under the direction of Parks Senior Gardener Phil Renfrow, the planting was completed by 10 am. Parks will be adding mulch in the next few weeks. The new plants were purchased with money from the Parks-administered maintenance fund, created with the proceeds from the ongoing ACC sale of engraved bricks and bronze plaques.
The plaza itself came to life thanks to a lot of volunteer power 2 1/2 years ago!
(Photo by Eilene Hutchinson)
Over the weekend, Alki’s David Hutchinson shared a photo of the debris tossed onto the Alki park and shore by the wild wind-whipped waves (second-to-last image here). Tonight, he sends word of a cleanup at the plaza – and the latest on brick sales, which help pay for maintenance:
Today, volunteers from the Alki Community Council removed sand and other materials deposited on the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza by Saturday’s windstorm. The ACC agreement with Seattle Parks & Recreation makes a commitment to provide volunteer work parties to help with the maintenance of the Plaza. Parks will be replanting the landscape beds surrounding the Plaza in the coming months making use of funds from the sale of bricks and plaques the ACC has turned over to the City. Only 90 additional bricks are available and orders received by April 1st will be installed by Parks in late May or early June. Orders received after that date will be installed in the fall. Go to www.sealady.org or e-mail libertyplaza@msn.com for additional information.
If your name or message isn’t part of the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza already – you’re running out of opportunities. David Hutchinson sends the latest on the brick/plaque sales (which pay for ongoing plaza maintenance, so that doesn’t come out of dwindling public funds):
The Alki Community Council would like to thank all those who have supported the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza this past year through the purchase of engraved bricks and plaques. Seattle Parks & Recreation has notified us that our most recent order for 168 additional bricks arrived at their warehouse in West Seattle last week. Now that the recent cold weather has moderated, Parks will be determining a date for installing them in the Plaza. This will bring the total number of engraved bricks installed to over 2,700. In accordance with our agreement with the Plaza designers, to preserve the spiral pattern on the main plaza floor, only about 130 bricks remain available for sale. Bricks will be installed each spring and fall until this supply is exhausted.
Order forms may be picked up from the info boxes at the Plaza or downloaded from the Sealady website at: www.sealady.org/brickform.pdf
There are also 4 bronze Tribute Plaques available for sale. Information on these can be obtained at: www.sealady.org
Proceeds from the sale of the bricks and plaques are turned over to Seattle Parks & Recreation, and are placed in a dedicated fund that is used to maintain the Statue and Plaza. By the end of this year, the ACC will have raised almost $40,000 for this fund.
Thanks again for your support, and we wish everyone a happy holiday season.
The Alki Statue of Liberty has been through more than a few changes since becoming a place for tributes on 9/11/01. On 9/11/07, the recast statue was unveiled at the beach; a few days before 9/11/08, Statue of Liberty Plaza was dedicated; days after 9/11/09, a time capsule was buried at the plaza. This year, 9/11 is the eve of Family Fun Day (full details here) – but something else is going on, according to the photo above, and report below, shared by David Hutchinson:
Tiffany Hedrick, of the Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, and Adam Fah, of Adam Fah Studios in Olympia, are busy this afternoon working on restoring the patina on the discolored plaque on the south side of the pedestal. Touch-up work is also being done on the statue. Adam’s studio specializes in the conservation and restoration of metal sculpture. The work will be completed in time for tomorrow’s Alki Community Council Family Fun Day and Bluegrass Concert.
This restoration is being paid for with funds raised by the ACC’s continuing sale of engraved bricks and bronze plaques.
WSB Statue of Liberty coverage is archived here.
This Sunday’s the big day for the Alki Community Council-presented Family Fun Day and Bluegrass Concert (first previewed here last month) at Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza. And this morning, the schedule of events is out, starting with a welcome at noon and the Dog Parade at 12:30, continuing through a Kids’ Talent Show and other entertainment, then concluding with a bluegrass concert. In addition, ACC says 25 vendors will have booths by the plaza, including “an authors’ table open to published writers of West Seattle.” Read on for full (free!) details:Read More
Meet the group working on one of West Seattle’s biggest events in the works for summer’s end: The Alki Community Council “Family Fun Day” – from left, Laura Sue Hoover, Paul Carr, Libby Carr, and Antonio Fernandez. We met at Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza – for which, you’ll recall, Libby and Paul led the charge three years ago – to talk about the big event they’re planning on Sunday, September 12th, for what you might call the second anniversary of the plaza’s dedication. And with only a month to go, they’re casting a net right NOW for sponsors as well as for entrants in the youth talent show as well as the dog parade – you do need to sign up in advance! – read on for the details:Read More
Low tide wasn’t the only big activity at Alki today – David Hutchinson sends a photo and update on Statue of Liberty Plaza work:
Seattle Parks & Recreation employees were at the Alki Statue of Liberty early today applying an oil finish to the benches in the plaza. We also have been informed by Tiffany Hedrick, of the Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, that the cleaning and waxing of the statue will be taking place shortly. These two maintenance items are part of the commitment Parks made in an agreement with the Seattle Statue of Liberty Plaza Project and fiscal sponsor Urban Sparks. This work, which is done twice a year, is paid for by the Parks held maintenance fund which was created with the proceeds from the earlier sale of bricks and bronze plaques. Money from that fund will also pay for the new plants that will be placed in the landscaped areas surrounding the statue later this year.
The Alki Community Council wants to thank Seattle Parks & Recreation for the excellent work they are doing. We particularly appreciate the contribution of Parks employees Ed Jackson and Carol Baker in coordinating these tasks. The ACC is continuing to accept orders for approximately 100 more engraved bricks and 5 bronze plaques. Information and order forms can be found at the plaza or downloaded from www.sealady.org . Money raised by this sale will be turned over to Parks and will supplement the existing maintenance fund.
David Hutchinson
ACC Brick Sales
Note that this is one park not contributing to the department’s maintenance-funding crisis (we expect to hear the latest citywide budget info at the Parks Board meeting tonight). Meantime, the ACC’s next meeting is a week from tonight – 7 pm May 20, Alki UCC Church. Scheduled guests include Brenda Peterson of Seal Sitters and Dolly Vinal of the West Seattle Wildlife Habitat Project.
Another view of tonight’s sunset, this time from Alki’s David Hutchinson, and it reminds us of one thing we hadn’t included in our report on last night’s Alki Community Council meeting – the latest update on the ongoing brick/plaque sale to raise money for Statue of Liberty Plaza maintenance. Since the committee that raised money for the plaza has disbanded as planned, the ACC now is accountable for this part of the project. According to information presented at last night’s meeting, since mid-November, they’ve sold more than 250 bricks, plus 4 tribute plaques; 5 plaques are still available, and an undetermined number of bricks. The next round of installation is set for early May. If you’re interested in a brick or plaque, all the info’s on the ACC website.
Last week while researching our update on the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project, we asked SDOT if they had an aerial of the new 4th Avenue offramp. No, they said at the time – but Monday, the shot you see above turned up on this SDOT site along with another aerial view and a few more ground-level pix. Meantime, one more scenic West Seattle view from the weekend – James Bratsanos shared this view from Alki, captured Sunday night:
Thanks again for all the photos! editor@westseattleblog.com – any time.
One more note from the Alki Community Council, following last night’s meeting (here’s our wrapup of other items): In time for holiday shopping … there’s another chance to buy bricks or a plaque at Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza, to support its maintenance fund. The announcement is shared by David Hutchinson:
As you may know, the Seattle Statue of Liberty Plaza Project disbanded as of the September 19th Time Capsule Celebration. Seattle Parks and Recreation has recently concluded an agreement with the Alki Community Council allowing the Council to sponsor the sale of additional engraved bricks and Tribute Plaques. The ACC will also be the organization working with the community to coordinate the future maintenance of the Plaza with Parks.
We are happy to announce the sale of a limited quantity of engraved bricks and Tribute Plaques. The Alki Community Council is currently working on getting a 501(c)(3) Internal Revenue Code designation. At the present time however, any donations will not be tax deductible. All bricks sold will be 4 x 8 inches. A “family or individual” brick will be priced at $100, while a “business or organization” brick will cost $250. These are the same prices as in the first two sales. You can download a brick order form, a brick sale FAQ, and a catalog of standardized symbols that can be engraved on your brick by going to www.sealady.org . Funds raised by this sale will be turned over to Seattle Parks & Recreation to supplement the existing maintenance fund and used to support approved ACC-sponsored events that benefit the Plaza.
For information on ordering bricks or any related questions, please contact Eilene Hutchinson at:
206-933-8352
libertyplaza@msn.comFor information on the available Tribute Plaques, please contact Libby Carr at:
206-938-8721
libby@carrbiz.comIf you are interested in more information on the Alki Community Council and its activities, please contact secretary Paul Carr at:
paul@carrbiz.com
From Thursday night’s Alki Community Council meeting: Three major topics – a followup to the Alki Homestead proposal presentation that anchored the last meeting; a report on how an airline’s proposal to change flight patterns would affect the area; and accountability for Statue of Liberty Plaza now that the Plaza Project Committee has phased itself out. Read on for details on all three:Read More
We stopped by one of the Prudential NW food drive spots – West Seattle Thriftway – just intending to get a photo to add to the advance blurb published this morning, but Kristi Freeburg and helper Audrey made such a cute picture, we’re showcasing them separately. Audrey was there to make a point: Local food banks need pet food donations too. The Prudential drive is over but you can help the local food banks any time – follow the links: West Seattle Food Bank and White Center Food Bank. Meantime, here’s a photo you could caption “Bird’s Eye View from Nerd’s Eye View”:
Gatewood author/artist Pam Mandel (best known for her site Nerd’s Eye View) shared that photo taken at Alki.
Just before the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza time capsule was covered in one last layer of sand, it was topped with cement and a few inscriptions – Loren and Clara are the 11- and 8-year-old Alki Elementary students who helped fill and seal it hours earlier at the Log House Museum. The burial process involved two wheelbarrows full of broken glass – you’ll see that after the capsule is placed in the ground, along the sidewalk just above the plaza (sorry for the jostling, everybody started crowding in closely):
The actual time-capsule burial came during a break in the celebration ceremony under a tent next to the statue itself. Keynote speaker, former West Seattleite astronaut Capt. Gregory Johnson, who was introduced by deputy mayor (and West Seattleite) Tim Ceis, who had the best line of the afternoon right after finishing his proclamation:
With humor and charisma, Johnson — after a few West Seattle reminiscences, including his time at Schmitz Park Elementary — told the story of how he became an astronaut:
We’ve got lots more to add (and we’re still adding to our earlier report on the filling/sealing of the capsule), but those were the highlights. Those in attendance also included leaders and members of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, City Council president Richard Conlin and West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, as well as Alki Community Council president Jule Sugarman. The bricks atop the capsule are sand-set for drainage, Parks project manager Patrick Donohue explained; the capsule is scheduled to be removed and opened in 2059.
Rain or no rain, the time capsule burial ceremony at Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza is on for 2 this afternoon. The time capsule itself was filled and sealed this morning at the Log House Museum – that’s director Andrea Mercado in the photo with the completed capsule (at right, Clara Peterson, who with brother Loren assisted in the hour-long job, and peeking into the top of the frame is Patrick Donohue, city Parks Department manager for the plaza project); you’ll recall she put out a call for people to save memories, souvenirs and daily-life “ephemera” last November 13th – anniversary of the Denny Party’s Alki landing – to put in the capsule, and all that is what went in today. We’ve got video of much of the event and will add some later; the capsule contents were catalogued by Eilene Hutchinson as they went in:
We’ll be at the 2 pm ceremony today too – the capsule is supposed to be available for public viewing around 1:30. And remember that Alki also is headquarters to the Evergreen State Barbecue Championships all weekend (separate story to come) so it’s a busy day at the beach! 6:52 PM: Adding more video from this morning’s filling/sealing gathering. First, Andrea explains to Clara and Loren how the capsule-filling will proceed:
We asked Andrea afterward if she had ever done a time capsule before – nope, this was her first one. And she said they’re meticulously documenting everything they did regarding storage and placement, because what’s considered time-capsule state of the art now is nonetheless unproven – since you don’t really know what’ll happen till you get to the capsule opening decades (or longing later). Some of what’s in the capsule is simple, some personal:
9:13 PM: Thanks to Paul Carr for sending us the program from today’s ceremony (video is in a separate story here), which includes the full list of what’s in the time capsule. See it (and the rest of the program) here.
One year ago this month, the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza was dedicated. Now, extra touches including a time capsule are about to be added, with a celebration at 2 pm Saturday; tonight David Hutchinson sends photos, with this preview info:
Seattle Parks & Recreation has begun the preparation work for the burial of the “Strengthening the Arm of Liberty” Time Capsule. The capsule will be buried at the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza this Saturday in a ceremony that begins at 2 PM. The name of the capsule refers to the theme of the Boy Scout 40th Anniversary campaign that placed over 200 of the original statues in over 39 states and several U.S. possessions and territories – http://troop101.thescouts.com/liberty
More details of Saturday’s event are at sealady.org.
Shared by Alki photographer David Hutchinson, who explains:
My wife and I took a walk down by the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza this evening. I took the photo on the left on September 13, 2001 and the one on the right this evening almost 8 years later. The differences in the photos make for some interesting contrasts on a number of different levels.
If you weren’t here in 2001 – the Alki statue became a touchstone for mourners, a place for memorials, after 9/11. And on this date two years ago, the recast statue was dedicated/celebrated on its old pedestal, which was replaced by the new one less than a year later. Now, those who helped make that happen are looking ahead to one more big event a week from tomorrow.
(Photo by David Hutchinson)
One night after the news that September 19th is set as the date for an event commemorating a new time capsule and plaque at the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza – we have more details from Libby Carr, whose committee raised money to make the plaza dream a reality almost exactly one year ago, and is now officially disbanding:
We are now making the final arrangements for the Time Capsule Celebration at the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza which is now set for Saturday, Sept. 19th at 2:00 PM at Alki’s Statue of Liberty Plaza, 61st & Alki Ave SW. We are hoping that all of Alki and West Seattle can attend. (Also, please send us an e-mail [libby@carrbiz.com] if you’d like to be on the Sealady Newsletter e-mail list, which will continue to be sent out periodically).
Special Guest is Astronaut Gregory C. Johnson: We are excited to have (West Seattle High School alumnus) Greg Johnson to help us celebrate the placing of the new 50 year Time Capsule and also celebrate 852 more inscribed bricks and 8 (still 7 left) new Tribute Plaques laid as Phase II. … The WSHS Foundation, SSLPP and the Museum of Flight worked together with NASA to make the arrangements for his trip so he could speak to our various groups.
We have also been working with the Mayor’s Office and the City Council who will issue a joint proclamation to have September 19th proclaimed as Gregory C. Johnson Day. Tim Ceis, Deputy Mayor, will present Greg with this honor.
We are now “passing the torch” to the Alki Community Council as the new community organization that will continue to keep a watchful community eye on the plaza and to be the official organization to raise funds in the future for the plaza.
Leading this effort (to finish the new plaza at Alki) has been a very interesting experience for Paul and me over the last 2 years. Even though, especially in the early days, it was not always smooth sailing, we just knew it was the right thing to do and that the majority of people in West Seattle wanted to see this special place renovated, improved and finished.
We are pleased we could be a part of this process. Thank you.
Libby & Paul Carr, Co-Chairs – Seattle Statue of Liberty Plaza Project
The plaza was dedicated on September 6, 2008 (WSB coverage here); one year earlier, on September 11, 2007, the recast Statue of Liberty was returned to its old pre-plaza pedestal (WSB coverage here). Also a reminder – in addition to this event, astronaut Greg Johnson – who piloted Atlantis earlier this year – will appear at the Museum of Flight on Sept. 23 (here’s our story from last week).
From tonight’s Southwest District Council meeting, from which we’ll have more to report later – Alki Community Council rep Tony Fragada says the date is set for the placement of the new time capsule (with items collected late last year) at the Statue of Liberty Plaza: September 19th. We’ll be checking on other details of the event and will add them when we get them. ADDED 11:06 PM: Just found a mention of this event, along with other Alki news, in the new edition of the Alki News Beacon, which you can download as a PDF here.
WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli reports Junction streets (and sidewalk-cafe setups) are still bustling, late into the night after West Seattle Summer Fest‘s first day.
And Alki photographer David Hutchinson shares a view of that vivid pink Friday night sunset, over Alki’s Statue of Liberty:
Not far from Lady Liberty, the Seafair Pirates will come ashore in their traditional summer spectacle today; they say somewhere around noon, but activities before and after the landing go on for hours (more here).
This morning, we have a photo and update from David Hutchinson with the Seattle (Alki) Statue of Liberty Project, as “Phase 2” of brick installation winds up and they look ahead to installation of the new time capsule:
We stopped by the Log House Museum today and Andrea Mercado gave us a look at the lid that will seal the Time Capsule for the next 50 years. The bronze plaque that will be mounted in the landing at the top of the steps has also arrived at the Museum. Installation specs have be sent to Seattle Parks & Recreation and planning is moving ahead for the burial of the Capsule at the site.
All bricks have been installed and the few that had engraving errors are being completed by Kenadar and should arrive at the Parks Project Manager’s office on Monday, June 29th. They will then be placed in the Plaza. We have had a number of e-mails and calls from donors requesting help in finding their bricks. An index of the new bricks has been completed and will be posted on the Sealady website shortly – www.sealady.org . If you’re looking for your brick it’s helpful to know that over half of the 852 new bricks were installed in the landing at the top of the steps. Approximately 100 were installed in each of the two paths to the sides of the main Plaza and only about 200 were used in the floor of Plaza itself to fill out the original spiral design. Be sure to check the upper landing and paths and if you still can’t locate you brick, contact Eilene at sslpp@msn.com or 206-933-8352, and we will give you an approximate location.
Celebrate Liberty on the Fourth of July – by visiting the old Alki Statue of Liberty (and then if you want, later, the nearby plaza’s new one) at the Log House Museum‘s gift shop. But that would be just one side attraction at the Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s annual membership picnic. Even if you’re not a member yet, you’re invited to come join at the picnic, which will offer free hamburgers, hot dogs, coffee, tea and lemonade – just bring a side dish to share – and help launch “Telling Our Westside Stories,” which the Historical Society explains as: We’ll collect your memories of the land, water, beaches, and hills of the Duwamish peninsula.” (The LHM is at 61st/Stevens in Alki; here’s a map.)
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