Fremont Troll
Encyclopedia
The Fremont Troll is a piece of public art
in the Fremont
neighborhood
of Seattle, Washington
in the United States
.
colossal statue, located on N. 36th Street at Troll Avenue N., under the north end of the Aurora Bridge
. It is clutching an actual Volkswagen Beetle
, as if it had just swiped it from the roadway above. The vehicle has a California license plate. The Troll was sculpted by four local artists: Steve Badanes
, Will Martin, Donna Walter, and Ross Whitehead. He is interactive
—visitors are encouraged to clamber on him or try to poke out his one good eye (a hubcap
). The Troll is 5.5 m (18 ft) high, weighs 6000 kg (13,227.7 lb), and is made of steel
rebar
, wire, and concrete
.
Aurora Avenue North was renamed "Troll Avenue" in its honor in 2005 and the troll was entered in the soapbox derby in 2007.
in 1990, in part with the goal of rehabilitating the area under the bridge which was becoming a dumping ground and haven for drug dealers. It was built later that same year. The idea of a troll
living under a bridge
is derived from the Scandinavia
n folk tale
"Three Billy Goats Gruff
."
Public art
The term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that have been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all...
in the Fremont
Fremont, Seattle, Washington
Fremont is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington. Originally a separate city, it was annexed to Seattle in 1891. Named after Fremont, Nebraska, the hometown of two of its founders, L. H. Griffith and E...
neighborhood
Neighbourhood
A neighbourhood or neighborhood is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town or suburb. Neighbourhoods are often social communities with considerable face-to-face interaction among members. "Researchers have not agreed on an exact definition...
of Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Description
The Troll is a mixed mediaMixed media
Mixed media, in visual art, refers to an artwork in the making of which more than one medium has been employed.There is an important distinction between "mixed-media" artworks and "multimedia art". Mixed media tends to refer to a work of visual art that combines various traditionally distinct...
colossal statue, located on N. 36th Street at Troll Avenue N., under the north end of the Aurora Bridge
George Washington Memorial Bridge
For other bridges of the same name, see Washington Bridge .The George Washington Memorial Bridge is a cantilever and truss bridge that carries Aurora Avenue N. over the west end of Seattle's Lake Union between Queen Anne and Fremont, just east of the Fremont Cut...
. It is clutching an actual Volkswagen Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
, as if it had just swiped it from the roadway above. The vehicle has a California license plate. The Troll was sculpted by four local artists: Steve Badanes
Steve Badanes
Steve Badanes is widely known for his practice and teaching of design/build. He is a founding member of the Jersey Devil design/build practice,and is currently a Professor in the University of Washington Department of Architecture, where he holds the Howard S...
, Will Martin, Donna Walter, and Ross Whitehead. He is interactive
Interactivity
In the fields of information science, communication, and industrial design, there is debate over the meaning of interactivity. In the "contingency view" of interactivity, there are three levels:...
—visitors are encouraged to clamber on him or try to poke out his one good eye (a hubcap
Hubcap
A hubcap, wheel cover or wheel trim is a decorative disk on an automobile wheel that covers at least a central portion of the wheel. Cars with stamped steel wheels often use a full wheel cover that conceals the entire wheel. Cars with alloy wheels or styled steel wheels generally use smaller...
). The Troll is 5.5 m (18 ft) high, weighs 6000 kg (13,227.7 lb), and is made of steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
rebar
Rebar
A rebar , also known as reinforcing steel, reinforcement steel, rerod, or a deformed bar, is a common steel bar, and is commonly used as a tensioning device in reinforced concrete and reinforced masonry structures holding the concrete in compression...
, wire, and concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
.
Aurora Avenue North was renamed "Troll Avenue" in its honor in 2005 and the troll was entered in the soapbox derby in 2007.
History
The piece was the winner of a competition sponsored by the Fremont Arts CouncilFremont Arts Council
The Fremont Arts Council is a community-run organization that supports arts and artists. The Council resides in the Fremont, Seattle, Washington, but its members are from throughout the city....
in 1990, in part with the goal of rehabilitating the area under the bridge which was becoming a dumping ground and haven for drug dealers. It was built later that same year. The idea of a troll
Troll
A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...
living under a bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
is derived from the Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n folk tale
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
"Three Billy Goats Gruff
Three Billy Goats Gruff
Three Billy Goats Gruff is a Norwegian fairy tale. The fairy tale was collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their Norske Folkeeventyr, first published between 1841 and 1844...
."