Fremont Troll

The Fremont Troll is a public sculpture of a giant troll crouching under the north end of the Aurora Bridge, at North 36th Street in the Fremont neighbourhood of Seattle, Washington. Installed in 1990 after a community design competition, it is roughly 18 feet tall and made of steel rebar, wire and concrete. The troll clutches a real Volkswagen Beetle in one hand, a reference to the folk tale of trolls living under bridges. The car is fitted with a California licence plate, and visitors often climb onto the troll's hand, nose and shoulders for photographs. The sculpture was created by a team of local artists and is free to visit at any hour. A visit generally takes 15 to 30 minutes, since the troll is a single roadside landmark, though it fits naturally into a walk around Fremont, a neighbourhood that calls itself the Center of the Universe and is known for its quirky public art, including the Lenin statue, the Rocket and the Waiting for the Interurban sculpture. The sculpture is most pleasant in daytime and lit by ambient light, but the space under the bridge is dim, noisy with traffic overhead and can feel isolated at night. Crowds are largest on weekends and during summer, when tour groups stop here; weekday mornings are quiet. The troll is a popular photograph spot, with the best framing taken from the side that shows the car in its hand. King County Metro Route 40 stops at Fremont Avenue North and North 36th Street, a few blocks away. There is limited street parking in the area. Visitors should respect the artwork and avoid climbing onto the car or damaging the sculpture, and children should be supervised near the road.