Some of Seattle's Finest

Although we haven't been to these spots on this trip to Seattle, here are some places worth mentioning that we've visited in the past.

If you ever have some time, you should really drop by the Fremont area, a quirky, touristy, artsy neighborhood of Seattle. They consider themselves the center of the universe. Throughout the several blocks you'll see odd signs like, "Set your watch ahead five minutes", "Set your watch back five minutes" and "Throw your watch away." (1)

This is the famous "Fremont Bridge Troll" (although the bridge he is under is really called the Aurora Bridge). This big guy is 18 feet tall and weighs 2 tons, made of concrete, back in 1989. He is clutching a Volkswagen Beetle in one hand.



Last year some idiots tagged Mr. Troll with graffiti. The paint didn't come off so more concrete was slathered over the statue to cover up the paint.


Photo courtesy of FremontUniverse.com

Here's a quirky statue called, "Waiting for the Interurban." They are six cast aluminum figures that include a dog that are waiting for a bus that never comes. So, you might think, "Oh, that's nice. Look at that statue/sculpture." Well, it's become a comedy relief icon. People come by and dress up the statues, put signs around their necks. "Happy Birthday, John!" or whatever! They may be wearing leis, or party hats or whatever.



They even have a 16-foot bronze statue of Lenin in the neighborhood, thanks to Lewis Carpenter. The statue was first erected in Slovakia in 1988, and torn down the following year at the end of the Soviet Empire. Lewis Carpenter was teaching in the area at the time, mortgaged his house to buy the statue and brought it back to Fremont.



Leaving the Fremont area, next is the Olympic Sculpture Garden, part of the Seattle Art Museum, which has wonderful, sometimes eclectic, sculptures. The garden is free to walk through. I recommend you take a gander.

How many of you can remember what this is? Before computers. I used a few of these in my time! "Typewriter Eraser" by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen





Eyeball these "Eye Benches I" by Louise Bourgeois.



This is called "Wake" by Richard Serra.





I'm not sure what this sculpture was titled, so I'm just going with, "Rusty Tall Sculptures." It must have been part of a temporary exhibit because it is no longer there. Or, at least it's not listed as part of the park's exhisting permanent collection. These are very tall structures, maybe 12-15 feet. I'm taking the photo from up on the hill, looking down on the sculptures.



Walking down the street, I saw these garbage cans planted with tulips. Who knew garbage cans could be so pretty?



(1) Wikipedia - Fremont, Seattle