Further Reading: Background on the Fremont Troll
- briellearnold25
- Jan 23, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 16, 2022
Beneath the George Washington Memorial Bridge in the Seattle neighborhood of Fremont, Washington, there lies an iconic 18-foot tall concrete giant known as the Fremont Troll. He has made appearances in movies, such as 10 Things I Hate About You, and is a must-see tourist attraction for the Seattle area. After visiting the Troll myself and analyzing his appearance and purpose, I came to the conclusion that the Fremont Troll's location under the high-traffic George Washington Memorial Bridge and aggressive grasp on a Volkswagen Bug illustrate the Troll's purpose of discouraging overpopulation, industry, and drug usage in the area. The Troll's existence serves to protect Fremont's small-town charm.
According to Hallie Golden from Curbed Seattle, the two-ton Troll was created in 1990 by a team of four local artists: Steve Badanes, Will Martin, Donna Walter, and Ross Whitehead. The towering Troll is waist-deep in the ground beneath a busy bridge. He is covered in stringy hair with gnarly fingers, grasping a Volkswagen Bug. The sign in front of the Troll reads he was created to “build a greater sense of place in the neighborhood through art, and with it a stronger community.” While the troll is certainly a main tourist attraction to the greater Seattle area, the Troll was created to “transform a small, but noticeable, eyesore within the neighborhood. The hidden-away location had become a dumping ground for everything from mattresses to needles” (Golden). The Troll’s size, location, and quirky charm attract tourists and deter drug users and dumpers. As Blair puts it, “Memorial sites, by their very existence, create communal spaces” (48). The Troll created a communal space for visitors, discouraging drug usage and dumping in the area, and maintaining Fremont’s quirky and wholesome small-town charm.
Additionally, Badanes, one of the creators, described that the Troll was a protest against the commercial development of Fremont’s long waterfront by Quadrant for Adobe (Golden). Fremont feels isolated from the city of Seattle, despite neighboring the Puget Sound and U-District. This is evident with Fremont’s small-town energy, filled with hole-in-the-wall shops and restaurants. The city has a quirky, small-town appeal instead of the feel of an industrial city. The Troll is seen defending Fremont with how it’s grasping a Volkswagen Bug, ready to throw it or crush it at a moment’s notice. With the Troll’s location under a busy bridge and his position waist-deep in the ground, it can be assumed that the Troll just crawled out of the ground to snatch the car from the roadway above. This communicates the message that the Troll is protecting Fremont from industry and overpopulation. The car represents this industry and the act of snatching the car from the busy roadway above represents the Troll defending Fremont from overpopulation.
In essence, the Troll’s purpose is to defend small-town Fremont from the overpopulation and industry that dominates the majority of the Seattle area.
Left: Image of Seattle from Fremont with Aurora/George Washington Memorial Bridge.
Right: Image of Troll clutching the Volkswagen Bug.
Below I have two audio clips: one from when I visited the Troll and one of city sounds that remind me of Seattle. In the Fremont audio, you can hear the cars on the bridge overhead, but other than that, it is just light chatter. In the city noise clip that reminds me of downtown Seattle, there is lots of street noise from cars, sirens, and people. These clips demonstrate the contrast between small-town Fremont and downtown Seattle. The Troll is a low-key tourist attraction that is mostly isolated from the noisy, urban, and overpopulated downtown Seattle.
Since its creation in 1990, the troll has continued to remain a large tourist attraction to the Seattle area. After visiting the Troll myself, I came to the conclusion that the physical existence of statues makes them places of attraction or simply places people in the community can pride themselves on as they pass by every day. Their message demands attention by their presence.
Most forms of rhetoric can be put away or silenced, but statues have the power of being, for the most part, permanent landmarks and places of attraction.
This is largely due to how most forms of rhetoric can be put away or silenced, but statues have the power of being, for the most part, permanent landmarks and places of attraction. This can transform the area surrounding the statue. When it comes to the Fremont Troll, the Troll's existence transformed the area under the bridge from a dump yard to a main attraction in the Seattle Area. The Troll’s permanence also deems it a Seattle landmark to Fremont’s quirky, small-town atmosphere, allowing the people of Fremont to pride themselves on such a unique statue. This is in stark contrast to the technology-driven industry and overpopulation of its neighboring city of Seattle.
Whether people simply pass by or intentionally go to visit the troll, the troll's physical existence consistently creates a sense of humor and safety for small-town Fremont that would not exist in the Troll's absence.
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