Under a bridge in a vast city dominated by a powerful
empire, lives a giant troll. A short walk from the
beast's dark hiding spot stands a statue of a faraway
leader where the locals drink a potent brew for stamina.
This is not a hobbit town in Middle Earth. This is Fremont,
a suburb of Seattle, the self-declared Centre of the
Universe.
Since the Centre of the Universe was
'discovered' in 1991, Fremont has become known for
a growing collection of public art that all manages to live
up to the official motto, De Libertas Quirkas, or Freedom
to be Peculiar.
On a cold, grey day in April, a six block walking tour
is a great way to exercise the body and mind. I
walked east from the colourful signpost that points to the
major attractions, 'LENIN 2 BLKS' in ochre and
'ATLANTIS 663 FATHOMS' in aquamarine. A block
from the sign is a cold-war missile that once adorned the
side of a surplus store in nearby Belltown. Now painted
with the crest of the Fremont republic, the
'Rocket' is lucky to be there at all. The first
attempt to erect the rocket in 1993 failed, allowing the
locals to make a joke about the committee not 'being
able to get it up'. The rocket was finally installed in
time for the 1994 summer solstice and the liberation of
Fremont.
A short walk north from the Rocket, amongst the pink
blossoms, next to the 'Taco Del Mar' sign, is a 16
foot bronze sculpture of Vladimir Lenin. Weighing 7 tons,
the statue is the only known representation of the Russian
leader that shows him surrounded by guns and flames instead
of holding a book or waving his hat. Lewis Carpenter, an
American working in Slovakia, found the statue lying face
down after it was toppled in the revolution of 1989 and
mortgaged his house to pay for the shipping back to the US.
Carpenter planned to sell the sculpture as the world's
most unique garden gnome. The statue is still for sale for
$US 150,000.
I was not wearing a long thick coat designed for Russian
winter, so I moved on to boost my energy the way the locals
do. In 'Still Life', a bohemian coffee shop,
artists, writers and students buzzed. The drug of choice
for these urban rebels was the same as the Microsoft campus
dwellers, caffeine. I was still getting used to the
super-brew and even with an asparagus and red pepper
omelette on thick brown toast I could feel my eyes jolt
open and my pulse speed up.
With the java beans aid I walked up the hill and under
the north end of the Aurora Bridge I found the Fremont
Troll. Sculptured in 1990 by four local artists –
Steve Badanes, Will Martin, Donna Walter and Ross Whitehead
– who won a Fremont Arts Council competition, the 18ft
concrete beast munches on a full size Volkswagen Beetle and
leers at visitors with a shiny metal eye. As with much of
the community's installations, the Troll is a living
exhibit that reflects local feeling. In 1998, when a man
shot a bus driver causing the bus to crash off the bridge
into the apartment building next to the Troll, a glistening
tear appeared under his eye. The creature is also the guest
of honour at “Trollaween” every October.
The wind rushed up under the concrete pillars of the
bridge and bit deeper and colder than the cement
Troll's teeth ever could. The weather also drained the
colour of the faces of the five passengers 'Waiting for
the Interurban'. The cold aluminium statues looked
resigned to their fate, wrapped in the sporting colours of
a local winning team. I paid special attention to the face
of the dog with a man's face, brought about by a
dispute between sculptor Richard Beyer and aluminium
recycler Armen Stepanian, the one-time honorary mayor of
Fremont.
Trying to rid my bloodstream of caffeine, I walked away
from the centre, along the cycle path lining the edge of
Lake Union, past the houseboats made famous in Sleepless in
Seattle to the decaying metal structures of Gasworks Park.
In the shadow of the rusted boilers covered in bright
swirls of graffiti I looked back at the Seattle skyline as
the Fremont drawbridge tooted, cutting the republic off
completely from the city, just the way the locals liked
it.
David is trying to combine careers in internet,
marketing and travel. Travel Writing and Photography is one
of several projects he is currently working on.
Information about other projects can be found at www.dmfreedom.com.
David can be contacted by email at dave@dmfreedom.com