The Fremont Troll
Believe it or not, there is a giant troll hiding under the George Washington Memorial Bridge in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood. This troll is not a threat to the public but rather a publically funded art project designed to reclaim an area of the neighborhood once plagued by blight.
The mix-media sculpture is the brain-child of artists Steve Badanes, Will Martin, Donna Walter, and Ross Whitehead and was chosen by the Fremont Arts Council during a 1990 art contest aimed at rejuvenating the area under the bridge.
The steel and concrete creation is clutching an actual Volkswagen Beetle in one hand and the public is encouraged to interact with the colossal sculpture by climbing on him and trying to reach his one good eye, fabricated out of a hubcap.
Sense its installation in 1990, the Fremont Troll has become a local landmark and a symbol of Fremont’s unique art-driven approach to neighborhood revitalization.
