She’s among our nation’s most familiar symbols: Lady Liberty, looking out over the water, a torch held aloft in her right hand, expression of implacable calm on her face. Except, this one gazes out upon Elliott Bay, 2,900 miles west (and 1/18 the size) of the famous Statue of Liberty in New York’s harbor.

After more than 70 years, the statue's unexpected presence kinda melts into the eclectic energy of Alki Beach. But, how did it get there in the first place? Seattle and New York have little in the way of common culture, outside of horrifying housing costs and a tendency to nitpick the quality of our bagels.

The statue sits near the spot where the Denny Party first came ashore; local history nerds know this group named their new settlement New York Alki. But its real origin story starts with a Boy Scouts of America campaign to celebrate the organization's 40^th anniversary in 1950. The program, “Strengthen the Arm of Liberty,” essentially placed 200 replica statues of the New York landmark across the United States. According to the plaque that now sits at her base, 39 states and four American territories received their own six-foot Lady Liberty, identical to ours.

On February 23, 1952, the Seattle Daily Times reported, more than 2,000 Boy Scouts and Sea Scouts turned out to dedicate the statue. Festivities began with a pledge of allegiance (naturally), a 15-block parade down Alki Avenue, and a ceremonial unveiling. The Seattle Area Council president, Reginald H. Parsons, helped raise funds for the original Statue of Liberty as a Boy Scout 66 years earlier, so our city’s participation was a no-brainer.

Before long, this earnestly midcentury monument to post­–World War II values became a dual monument to vandalism. Someone twisted off the prongs of her crown not long after that 1952 dedication. Salt water tarnished and corroded her copper-plated surface. Vandals took the flame on her lamp, then the torch itself...then her entire arm. One July night in 1975, some jerks tied a rope around her base, attached it to a car, and toppled Lady liberty from her base.

There have been heartwarming moments in her story, too. In 1986, a considerate scout from Troop 387 thought to give our Lady Liberty her first bath in more than three decades. Locals stunned by the events of September 11, 2001, gathered at the statue’s base; they left flags, flowers, cards, even a toy fire hat at the monument.

Repairs have been piecemeal. Parts no longer lined up right, and after years of abuse, our Lady Liberty looked a little busted. A major renovation in the mid-aughts replaced the original with a cast bronze sculpture. Yes, our Statue of Liberty replica has itself been replicated. 

In 2008, fundraising yielded a lovely brick plaza around the statue, though it's subject to king tides. On nice days, the plaza is a pleasant place to pause. One might sit on a bench and contemplate how surviving damage and disrespect over decades has only made this earnest midcentury monument a more potent symbol of the freedom she represents.