I was determined to do something fun this weekend because the weather was supposed to be outstanding and because I wanted to have one more great outing before treatment began. Saturday morning we had some errands to run but then we headed to the Fremont Brewing company which was right on the Elliot bay and watched the boats go by and enjoyed the sunshine. We had not yet seen a Seattle landmark known as the Fremont Troll and so we decided to hunt that treasure. Hidden under a giant overpass is this enormous cement troll who is rumored to come to life at night.
The kids climbed and played on the troll for a good long while.
Some history:
The Troll is a mixed media colossal statue, located on N. 36th Street at Troll Avenue N., under the north end of the George Washington Memorial Bridge (also known as the Aurora Bridge). It is clutching an actual Volkswagen Beetle, as if it had just swiped it from the roadway above. The vehicle has a California license plate.The Troll was sculpted by four local artists: Steve Badanes, Will Martin, Donna Walter, and Ross Whitehead. He is interactive—visitors are encouraged to clamber on him or try to poke out his one good eye (a hubcap). The Troll is 5.5 m (18 ft) high, weighs 6,000 kg (13,000 lb), and is made of steel rebar, wire, and concrete.[2]
The segment of Aurora Avenue North under the bridge, running downhill from the Troll to North 34th Street was renamed "Troll Avenue" in its honor in 2005. The Seattle drugstore chain Bartell Drugs released a commemorative Fremont Troll Chia Pet in 2011 to celebrate the Troll's 21st birthday.
The piece was the winner of a competition sponsored by the Fremont Arts Council in 1990, in part with the goal of rehabilitating the area under the bridge, which was becoming a dumping ground and haven for drug dealers. It was built later that same year. The idea of a troll living under a bridge is derived from the Scandinavian (Norwegian) fairytale Three Billy Goats Gruff.
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