RESTORE THE LION’S ROAR

Many of you know that the statue of the Lion of Judah, mascot of VI that stood on the main stairway to the second floor during our high school days, has for many years stood outside the Italian American Community Center on Washington Avenue Extension in Albany. (There probably is a pretty good story about how it got there and, if you know the story, please send it along.) Recently Martin Strnad ’58 passed along a message from one of his classmates and some photos showing the statue’s present condition. They are below.

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“I have learned that the large stone lion, formerly housed in Vincentian Institute and now located outside of the entrance to the Italian American Community Center (IACC), has suffered the wear and tear of weather over the years and is in serious need of immediate repair.  In an effort to save the VI Lion, the Italian American Heritage Foundation Inc. (IAHFI), which is the cultural arm of the IACC, is sponsoring a fund raiser for masonry and artistic repair to be done as soon as possible during the warm weather; the finished work needs to solidify before cold weather sets in.

“I understand that they need a total of $2,000, they already have about $900 from a dinner fund-raiser, and are now trying to get the word out to VI alums. The Foundation has a separate account set up specifically for the lion fund. If enough people would like to send even very small donations, they should make their goal on time. It would be a shame to see this historical artifact--a dearly remembered piece of our "Happy Days"--go to ruin.  For anyone interested, please send a check made out to IAHFI and write "Lion" in the memo space on the check. Mail it to: Italian American Community Center; 257 Washington Ave. Extension; Albany, NY 12205”

 ..  (With Firefox right click to get a larger and better view. With Internet Explorer right click on a photo, then click on "Save Picture As" to save a larger copy to your computer for viewing.)

[Editor’s note: The rubble on the pedestal is a fallen portion of the statue. In the second picture damage to the left front leg is quite visible.]