Save
the day—September 06, 2008
UPDATE
September 2, 2008:
Things
are really moving now! Ground-breaking starts next week to
remove the old stairs down to the present site of the Seattle
Statue of liberty. Very soon thereafter, the new stairway
will be built, and work will begin on the removing the old asphalt
and the planter. The new Statue, already in place, will be
removed temporarily while the site is under construction, and we
back for the Dedication Ceremony.
The
ceremony is still on track for Sept. 6--plan on being there.
While still in the planning stages, the detail are below in the
June 6 Update.
After
some final ups and downs, the plaza design is now set (in concrete,
as it were). We are very happy to report that the
design is very close to what the community has consistently called
for over a three year period. The changes include the three
front benches, which are now in an arc to conform with the general
flow of the nautilus design, and the stairway itself--the slope was
otherwise too steep. Also, the inscribed bricks themselves
will flow with the nautilus pattern, rather than straight out from
the base of the pedestal.
It
was rumored the benches would be changed to wood, and have
backs. This was not in the original design, but received much
late support. Unfortunately, rising construction costs
prohibited adding the bench backs. However, the seating will
have a wooden overlay, making it much more comfortable.
We
will have pictures of the construction as it progresses, please
visit this site over the next few weeks to view the culmination of
this project so many of you helped to create. Thank you all
so much.
Also,
if you would like to assist in the planning, or helping out on the
day of the Celebration, please call Paul or Libby at 206-938-8720
or 206-938-8721. You can email us at paul@carrbiz.com,
or libby@carrbiz.com. Many
hands make light work, and this is going to be a great, and greatly
memorable, event.
UPDATE
JUNE 06, 2008:
We
will be adding a lot of information about the festivities in the
days and weeks to come, but this will be a major celebration, and
caps what has very possibly been the most successful volunteer
fundraising effort seen in this city for a long time for one simple
reason--everybody loves the statue of liberty and what it
represents.
We
are planning on starting the day with a Swearing-In Ceremony of new
citizens. What better way to begin! We are in contact
with the Immigration and Naturalization Service and, barring some
glitch we cannot foresee, that will start the celebration.
Following
that will be music, speeches by local, state and possibly national
politicians (Surprise--it's an election year), as well as some
opportunities for regular old people to tell us what liberty means
to them. Joining us will be the local Boy Scouts and Girl
Scouts of America, both young and old, and we are also looking for
anyone who was present at the original dedication of the original
statue in 1952.
Additionally,
there will activities at the Bathhouse, including a display of
memorabilia, a representation of what may go into a time capsule,
and a continuously-running video about the history of the original
Statue of Liberty in New York. Other events and activities
are also planned throughout the afternoon.
As
the sun sets over the Olympic Range in the west, a luminaria
concert will conclude this day of celebration and dedication to the
principles embodied in our own "little sister of
liberty". This day is also a heartfelt "Thank
You" to the hundreds of people who made this statue and plaza
possible over the years. Without all these people who have
given so generously of their time, talent, and treasure, there
would be no new statue or plaza. This plaza is a tribute to
liberty, true, but it is also a monument to the generosity of the
American spirit. Thank you, each and every one.
A
bit of background:
After several years of planning and
fundraising by a former organization, the Seattle Statue of Liberty Plaza Project was formed in
mid-2007 to finish this project. Our efforts were
jump-started by a $50,000 donation from the City of Seattle, announced by Mayor Greg Nickels
and City Councilman Tom Rasmussen on Sept. 11, 2007,
and supported unanimously by the City Council, when the
newly-cast statue was put temporarily on the old base.
The new goal, as
determined by the cost estimates of the plan for the plaza
developed over three years by a pro bono Design Team of architects
and Designers with input from the West Seattle Community, The
Seattle Parks Department, and concerned citizens, was $157,000.
At that time, a representative of the City estimated if the
citizens wished the project to be finished by July, 2008, the goal
would have to be met by January 15, 2008.
The goal
to be met included the $50,000 from the City of Seattle in the 2008 budget, and
$10,550 left from the prior fundraising organization.
By the January 15, 2008 date, however, we
received, including the above amounts, $174,940 by January
15, 2008. For more details, see the
Finance page.
Better
yet, by the time fundraising "officially" ended on March
31, 2008, we had raised almost $100,000 more than the
original goal. However, not only have construction costs
risen substantially, but there have been some modifications to the
design. Primarily, several people and organizations,
including the Design Commission of the City of Seattle, were very
concerned about the benches not having backs. The concrete
itself was also an issue, since concrete does not hold heat well
and sitting on a cold concrete bench is not relaxing over any
period of time.
The
result has been a necessary modification to the original design;
most of the benches (except the three in front, which would inhibit
the view) now have backs, and the benches themselves will be of
ironwood, or some similar material. This has more of the
feeling of wood, and is far more pleasant to sit upon. Other
than adjusting the curves of the design itself to better fit the
space enclosing the statue itself however, and providing steps,
rather than a steep slope, for the entryway from the sidewalk, the
design is essentially unchanged.
It
appears funds are ample to make these changes. The funds are
under the control of Urban Sparks, our Fiscal Sponsor (see Finance
page for more details). Since SSLPP was formed only to see
the project completed that the people of West Seattle and the
surrounding areas worked on for so long, the organization will
disband when this project is fully concluded. Any remaining
funds will simply remain with Urban Sparks, whose main purpose is
to support organizations like ours seeking to build and/or improve
parks and open spaces in the Seattle area.
More
later--stay tuned.
