MARCUS Garvey’s Liberty Hall, which in its heyday served as the headquarters of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), is being restored at a cost of $18 million.

The historic site, which is temporarily closed, is expected to be reopened on October 20.

Friends of Liberty Hall and the Government of Jamaica have raised funds to restore the building and to reinterpret its use, said Donna McFarlane, director and curator, who was recently giving an update on the restoration.

“Over the period, they have raised money locally and internationally and they have finally gotten the thing off the ground,” she said.

Liberty Hall was the name given to several spaces established by Garvey for the development and processing of ideas for intellectual and spiritual upliftment.

One such hall was founded and constructed by Garvey in 1923 on King Street in downtown Kingston, to function as the headquarters for his UNIA. However, over the decades, the structure has deteriorated.

“What is envisioned is that the entire building and ground will be accessible to the people of Jamaica,” McFarlane explained.

“…When you approach Liberty Hall, it will have a beautiful garden and people from the community will be able to sit in the garden and hear the philosophy of Marcus Garvey,” she added.

On completion, Liberty Hall will house a museum that will bring to life the works of Marcus Garvey through the use of multimedia such as audio visual, computer, photographic, video and live theatre programmes.

“We hope that the experience will be accessible to all age groups, from six years and up. It will provide in-depth information on the history of Garvey and his philosophy. It will offer an opportunity for virtual visits to Africa where you can see films of everyday life in Africa, where we can actually bring Africa to the children of Jamaica, many of whom will not take that journey,” McFarlane said.

There will also be interactive touch screen computers that will encourage visitors to explore Garvey’s themes as they relate to contemporary Jamaica and audio stations that will provide narrations of Garvey’s philosophies.

Additionally, McFarlane said that there are plans to have a centre where members of the communities will be trained in personal computer applications, multimedia skills in community and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) integration, techno-Garvey concepts and Website management.

“The multimedia centre will also include computer-animated educational material for children, which will be inspired by Garvey’s teaching,” she said.

Plans are also in place to have a digital library as well as a cyber café.

In terms of maintenance, McFarlane said there is need for “an ongoing” fund-raising campaign.

“The Government will keep us in terms of light and water and maintenance of the building, but to put this programme on-stream, we will have to raise funds inside and outside of Jamaica,” she said, adding that all the activities should be up and running by December.