Husband for Lady Liberty proposed

An Atlanta group floated a jaw-dropping idea for Patriots Point on Tuesday, proposing that a male counterpart of the Statue of Liberty be built on or near the state-owned visitor attraction.

Details were scant, but the head of the Georgia-based National Monument Foundation said the Charleston area, with its rich, long history, is the most appropriate place on the East Coast for Lady Liberty in New York Harbor to be "wedded" with a complementary statue.

The over-arching theme would be freedom, said Rodney Cook, president of the foundation whose past projects include the Millennium Gates in downtown Atlanta.

"We're looking at a statue similar to the Statue of Liberty," he said.

Cook said the towering monument would transform its surroundings into a work of art and make Charleston Harbor a new wonder of the world.

A computer rendering showed a gold-tinted statue of Liberty-like proportions, complete with a sunburst crown and flowing gown standing atop a large pedestal. It would face the mouth of Charleston Harbor and Fort Sumter.

A copy of the image was unavailable for publication Tuesday.

Cook said an elevator could transport visitors to an observation area near the crown. Also, the pedestal could house a high-tech, interactive museum that would celebrate South Carolina's pivotal role in the Revolutionary War and the state's effort to secede from the Union in pursuit of its own freedom.

It also could educate about the slave trade that came through Sullivan's Island in the 1700s, he said.

"Here you have the entire pantheon of American history," Cook said.

Ideally, he said, an island near Patriots Point could be built to house the monument, or it could be placed on the land side of the Mount Pleasant attraction.

Cook was invited to present his idea to the Patriots Point Development Authority by Vince Graham, a local developer. Graham is working with a firm that has been hired to draw up a land-use plan for the undeveloped acreage at Patriots Point.

Authority board members and Executive Director Dick Trammel said Tuesday's presentation was the first time they had heard any details of the proposed monument. No action was taken.

The immediate response was subdued.

"That takes some absorbing," said John Hagerty, board chairman.

"Wow," said board member Harry Gregorie, who then posed the most obvious question: How much would a statue of this magnitude cost?

Cook said he did not have a firm figure, but estimated the project would run anywhere from $100 million to $150 million, depending on the height of the monument. The bulk of the money likely would have to be raised from private sources.

"The state does not have $100 million," Hagerty said.

Board member Susan Marlowe asked Cook if the dimensions would be the same as the Statue of Liberty, which measures about 305 feet from the ground to the tip of its flame, according to the National Park Service.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Cook said.

He said a bold, iconic attraction such as this would draw international recognition to Charleston and to Patriots Point. That, in turn, would make the property at the naval maritime museum much more valuable.

Graham said the statue proposal will be discussed in more detail next month at a series of workshops about how to develop the rest of the land at Patriots Point.

The authority is seeking to maximize its prime real estate holdings to generate revenue to maintain its aging fleet of ships.

Cook said he initiated the campaign to save the historic 6,000-seat Fox Theatre in Atlanta, and his foundation led the effort to build the Princes of Wales' Olympic Games Monument, also in Atlanta. Cook also is a founding trustee of The Prince of Wales' Foundation for Architecture.

He said his foundation builds monuments that "uplift our culture."