Quirky Fremont + Wallymont (Adjacent Territory of Wallingford & Fremont): 5.18 Mi
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Quirky Fremont + Wallymont (adjacent territory of Wallingford & Fremont): 5.18 mi. (7/30/19) Starbucks: 3401 Fremont Ave N 98103 Turn right on 34th St. Go straight to Evanston, and then turn right. Pass by the PCC and continue to 35th St. Look up at Saturn & the Fremont Rocket. Turn left on 35th St., & continue to Phinney Ave. Turn left at the corner as you pass Theo’s Chocolate. Go straight back to the Burke Gilman Trail (BGT). Turn right as you admire 2 dinosaur topiaries. Stay on the BGT to 39th St. Turn right onto 39th St. then use crosswalk to cross Leary Ave. Stay on 39th to Greenwood, then turn left. Head north on Greenwood to (near 43rd) take steps on left to Palatine. Turn right onto Palatine, continue to Peak Park. Leave Park, then turn left onto 45th St. Go straight to Evanston, turn right on to Evanston & continue on to dead end and turn left. Take steps down to Fremont Ave. Turn right on to Fremont to the B. F Day School (across the street on 39th). Turn left on 39th, then continue walking to Linden Ave and view Cat Sculpture on roof. Go straight to Fremont Way, then turn left. Take the pedestrian underpass to your right. While under the bridge, check out the colorful “46th St. Mural”. Turn right (crossing island) to Whitman Ave. Go S on Whitman Ave. When you reach 36th St., go right till you come to the Fremont Troll. Go one block S to 35th, see Three Billy Goats Gruff, then cross 35th& turn right. Pass the Fremont Public Library. Take the cement path to 34th St. Turn left, go to Troll Ave and turn right, take cross walk over 34th St. Turn right and walk to JP Patches the Clown ( you will see Waiting for the Interurban from behind). Take steps down Adobe Campus. Walk out to BGT . Turn left at BGT and continue onto 34th St. Remain on 34th until Wallingford Ave. Turn right out toward Gas Works Park (rest room stop). Meet at Sundial, then head west to N Northlake Way. Return to BGT heading west. Pass houseboats, Sri Chinmoy and onto Fremont Bridge. Take second set of steps up onto bridge and go left. Look up at Repunzel on the right tower and Elephant’s Child on the left tower. (Fremont Center of the Universe) sign is on the south side of the bridge heading north. Turn right on Florentia Ave, (Center of the Universe sign on right). Return to Starbucks. Highlights & Landmarks: Fremont Rocket – This rocket was constructed from a real 1950’s cold war rocket. There had been a coin box beneath the rocket. For a quarter, you could make fireworks come out of the nosecone & smoke out the bottom of the rocket. Theo’s Chocolate – Yes, they have samples! Theo’s model is based on the core idea that chocolate can be made in a way that allows everyone (in the bean to bar process) to thrive. Full story: https://www.theochocolate.com Dinosaur Topiaries – In 1998, the two Apatosauruses (now ivy covered) were donated to Fremont (with the help of the Fremont Arts Council) by the Pacific Science Center for one dollar. Peak Park – This half acre park peeks out from a bluff just south of 45th St. The park was created through donations and public funding including the Seattle Pro Parks Levy. B.F. Day School – This is the oldest continually operating school in Seattle School District. The land was donated by Benjamin Franklin Day and Frances Day in 1892 (dedicated as a historic landmark 1991). Cat Sculpture – The black cat sculpture is perched on the roof’s edge of Fire Station 9 to join his crew on the next life-saving mission. It is to assure the public that their firefighters are “Ever Ready”. 46th St. Mural The 550 foot long original Mural was originally gifted to the community by Patrick Gabriel(1996). Over the years, community groups have altered the original design. Fremont Troll – The Troll under the bridge weighs 13,000 lbs. and is 18 feet tall. It holds a life- sized VW Bug under its hand. Troll was designed and built as part of an open community competition. Down Troll Ave on the corner of 35th to the left are the metal sculptures of Three Billy Goats Gruff from the same fairy tale as the Troll. Fremont Public Library – Opened Feb. 2, 1903. The library was an outgrowth of a privately funded free reading room (located in the upstairs of a drugstore). Seattle’s first branch library building was a gift from Andrew Carnegie (1921). The Library is now on the National Register of Historic Places. The JP Patches Clown statue honors a local kids TV personality that ran from 1958-1981. Waiting for the Interurban: This sculpture by Richard Beyer, is cast in recycled aluminum. It shows 6 people & a dog w human face. The face belongs to Armen Stepanian (once honorary mayor) who was an activist for recycling. All are waiting for the trolley that no longer runs between Fremont & downtown. The sculpture is often “dressed” by locals. Gas Works Park – Opening in 1975, this park was built on the site of the former Seattle Gas Light Company gasification plant. The plant opened in1906 and its primary product was illuminating gas (so-called because it was used for lighting) manufactured from coal. The gas was later also used for cooking, refrigeration, and heating homes and water. Then it was called city gas to distinguish it from natural gas. Sri Chinmoy – an Indian guru who taught meditation in the West after moving to NYC in 1964. He was an author, artist, poet and musician. His public events (such as concerts and meditations) were on the theme of inner peace. Fremont Bridge – This drawbridge was built 1916 & opened June 15, 1917 at a cost of $410,000. Fremont Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The neon sculpture of Repunzel (the bridge tender) glows on right tower. Elephant’s Child (from Rudyard Kipling’s “Just So Stories”) lights up on the opposite tower. **Sign (not shown on this walk, but relevant): “Fremont is the Center of the Universe”. Since the 70’s “Reliable sources say Fremont lies in a special geophysical location. Stay long enough and you too, will notice an odd gravitational pull, the inability to stay away, the overwhelming urge to return again & again.” **Statue of Lenin (not on this walk) – This 16 foot bronze work was completed and installed by Emil Venko in Czechoslovakia (1988). Lewis Carpenter (an art enthusiast from Issaquah) was teaching in Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia) at the time. After the 1989 revolution (fall of Czech communism), Carpenter saw the statue in a scrap yard to be sold for the price of bronze. Carpenter's initial interest in buying the statue was to preserve it. Later he intended to use it to attract customers for an ethnic Slovak restaurant he wanted to open in Issaquah. Carpenter offered $13,000 for the piece (1993). A problem loomed. The statue had to be cut professionally in three pieces and shipped to the states through the Panama Canal. Costs rose to $41,000. Carpenter financed most of the cost by mortgaging his home. Sadly, Carpenter was killed in a car accident 1994. The statue became a part of his estate in Issaquah. Later, his family found a local brass foundry that moved it to Fremont in 1995. It was erected on 34th St. originally, then later moved to its present position. .