Alki's new bronze Statue of Liberty is cast and paid for, but there's not enough money yet to build the plaza around it.

A fundraising campaign for the project ran out of steam after the organization Northwest Programs for the Arts had spearheaded the effort for several years. So Alki residents Libby and Paul Carr recently took up the fundraising torch. Their goal is to raise between $150,000 and $200,000 in hopes of building the statue's new setting by next year.

The scaled-down version of Lady Liberty on the Alki promenade is entangled in the Carr's heartstrings. Libby and Paul first met each other near the statue and today they even live on Alki. The couple moved to Alki from Maple Valley about four years ago.

"It's a very personal spot for us," Paul said.

That's not the only reason they're leading the effort to complete Lady Liberty's planned plaza and pedestal.

"The Statue of Liberty is a universally loved symbol," Paul added. "There hasn't been a lot of opposition."

"Many, many people in the community are wondering, where is she gone? When will she come home?" Libby said.

The Carrs, who are trying to attain nonprofit status for their new organization, have the blessings of Northwest Programs for the Arts, said Ezra Graziano, the organization's new director. Adam Sheridan, founder and former executive director of Northwest Programs for the Arts, "took it upon himself" to spearhead the campaign to repair the Statue of Liberty, Graziano said.

Northwest Programs for the Arts is primarily a music organization, Graziano said. So it will focus on reviving the Seattle Music Fest at Alki Beach next fall as well as producing concerts in smaller venues around the city. However, the arts organization will continue as project manager of the statue project until the Carrs form their new organization to take over officially, he said.

One of the first things the Carrs plan to do is form a 25- to 30-member steering and fundraising committee.

One of the difficulties with fundraising campaigns that continue for years is that inflation can twist original cost estimates into unrecognizable shapes. The first cost estimate for the Statue of Liberty restoration and plaza expansion was $80,000, Graziano said. Inflation of construction costs outpaced the general inflation rate in recent years, so the latest cost estimate for the Statue of Liberty project is about triple the original amount, he said.

Northwest Programs for the Arts sold commemorative bricks to be laid in the new plaza. They cost from $100 to $250. As each brick is ordered, the information is forwarded to the Seattle Department of Parks, Graziano said. To date, about 300 commemorative bricks have been sold but there's room for 6,000, he added.

Having so much fundraising to do could cause people to rethink what the Alki Statue of Liberty's new plaza ought to look like.

"People might want a plaza that is maybe not so glamorous," Graziano said.

Libby Carr quoted an architect's early estimate of $140,000 to build the plaza and pedestal for the statue. She aims to collect an additional $25,000 to $30,000 to cover contingencies.

Alki's miniature Statue of Liberty was a gift from the Boy Scouts in 1952. There were about 200 "Little Sisters of Liberty" erected by Boy Scout troops all over the U.S. during the early 1950s, Libby said. Only about half of them still stand today, she added.

Libby wants to rekindle Boy Scouts' interest in the plaza project.

"Of all the American icons, the Statue of Liberty is the one with a heart," Libby Carr said. "It's the symbol that really speaks to all political persuasions. She brings us together."

For more information about the Alki Statue of Liberty plaza project, or to volunteer or contribute, please call Libby or Paul Carr at 938-8720.

Tim St. Clair can be contacted at timstc@robinsonnews.com or at 932-0300.