‘Liberty Day’ Renews Statue Fund Drive : Inaugurates Southland Effort to Help Refurbish Freedom Symbol

With patriotic fanfare and a few emotional tears, the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation Saturday kicked off a West Coast fund-raising effort to finish refurbishing “Lady Liberty” in time for the statue’s 100th birthday next year.

Mayor Tom Bradley, declaring Saturday “Liberty Day,” told civic leaders gathered at Patriotic Hall downtown that Los Angeles “has replaced the Eastern seaboard as the nation’s entry point for immigrants.”

To mark the city’s role as a gateway for immigration, Bradley announced that city employees hope to raise $1 million by paycheck deductions to contribute to the Statue of Liberty restoration project.

And, at a breakfast honoring the statue’s 99th birthday, six Los Angeles residents blinked back tears as they renewed the vows of citizenship they took when they became naturalized American citizens as long as 30 years ago.

$20 Million From Area

According to Harry Usher, western regional campaign chairman for the foundation, West Coast contributors have provided $20 million of the $170 million already raised to replace the statue’s crumbling torch, patch holes in its copper skin, and replace its iron skeleton.

Denver Frederick, director of fund raising for the foundation, announced plans to have President Reagan rededicate the statue on the Fourth of July next year, after a laser light show, a tall ship parade and fireworks display and a citizenship ceremony for 25,000 immigrants.

But the foundation needs another $60 million to complete the job in time.

“We here on the West Coast are where the immigration action is today,” Usher said. “We are ethnically, culturally, and racially very diverse in L.A. . . . and that’s why we are kicking off our final push here, where the new gateway is.”

Symbol of Freedom

Among the six citizens who took the vows of renewal Saturday was John Ampah, a native of Ghana who now is vice president of Jeda Development Corp. in Century City. He said that although he was one of the many immigrants to Los Angeles who did not pass under the shadow of the Statue of Liberty when he came to the United States, the statue has long been a symbol of freedom for him.

“It was a little difficult giving up one’s citizenship, but (by) becoming an American I became a universal citizen,” he said after repeating the vows. “Americans are welcome almost everywhere. The statue has meant that to me.”

Nick Patsaouras, president of the Southern California Rapid Transit District, who came to Los Angeles from Greece to get a college education and never left, said the opportunity to reaffirm his American citizenship was a proud moment for him.

“It’s a moment of a lot of feelings and emotions, a moment of pride, a sense of humility and a moment of reflecting on what might have been and what is,” he said. “I am proud to be an American of Greek ancestry. Very proud.”