The Fremont Troll in Pop Culture & Brief Background

Have you seen "10 Things I Hate About You"? Do you remember THIS scene?

The famous Fremont Troll makes a brief appearance in the 1999 teen romantic comedy 10 Things I Hate About You. The comedy explores several other Seattle landmarks such as Gas Works Park and Kerry Park.

Background

According to Hallie Golden from Curbed Seattle, the two-ton Troll was created in 1990 by a team of 4 local artists: Steve Badanes, Will Martin, Donna Walter, and Ross Whitehead. While the troll is certainly a main tourist attraction to the greater Seattle area, the Troll "helped transform a small, but noticeable, eyesore within the neighborhood. The hidden-away location had become a dumping ground for everything from mattresses to needles. Although it’s certainly not immune to the errant spray painter today, its giant, menacing presence has helped infuse life into the enclave while also bringing a virtually endless supply of visitors day and night" (Golden).

During an interview, Badanes, one of the creators, referred to the long waterfront commercial development effort by Quadrant for Adobe by stating,

"Fremont used to be kind of a funky town full of crafts people and artists. At the time, the whole waterfront was going to be razed and take out all these little boat building shops and art studios and put in Adobe. The troll was kind of a protest against that."

Since its creation in 1990, the troll has continued to remain a large tourist attraction to the Seattle area.