The Fremont Troll

Seattle Municipal Archives say the Fremont Arts Council applied in 1989 for a Neighborhood Matching Fund grant for a project called Hall of Giants — a sculptural environment under the north end of the Aurora Bridge, then full of garbage and old mattresses. The goal was to clean up what the council called a badly littered eyesore and build a focal point for community pride. Forty proposals came in from around the country. Residents voted on four finalist models at the Fremont Fair in June 1990 and at the Fremont library: living-room furniture, a recycling piece made of garbage, four stone musicians, and a troll clutching a Volkswagen.

On July 19 the troll won. One voter wrote, “Nice nose.” September 29, 1990, was declared Troll Day. With community volunteers, the archives say, the sculpture was finished later that year.

The University of Washington’s Neighborhood Design/Build Studio, led by architect Steve Badanes, says the troll at North 36th Street and Aurora Avenue North was designed and installed by Badanes, Will Martin, Donna Walter, and Ross Whitehead. The pin is under the bridge, where the bug still has not escaped.