Travel Reference
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Fremont has adopted this phallic and zany-looking rocket (cnr Evanston Ave & N 35th St)
sticking out of a shoe shop as its community totem. Constructed in the 1950s for use in
the Cold War, the rocket was plagued with difficulties and never actually went any-
where, leaving the engineering team with the unfortunate problem of not being able to
get it up. Before coming to Fremont, the rocket was affixed to an army surplus store in
Belltown. When the store went out of business, the Fremont Business Association
snapped it up in 1994.
Waiting for the Interurban
Seattle's most popular piece of public art, Waiting for the Interurban MAP
GOOGLE MAP (cnr N 34th St & Fremont Ave N) , sculpted in recycled aluminum, depicts six
people waiting for a train that never comes. The train that once passed through Fremont
stopped running in the 1930s, and the people of Seattle have been waiting for a new
train - the Interurban - ever since (a new train connecting Seattle with Everett opened
in 2003 but doesn't stop in Fremont). The sculpture is prone to regular art attacks, when
locals lovingly decorate the people in outfits corresponding to a special event, the
weather, someone's birthday, a Mariners win - whatever. Rarely do you see the sculp-
ture undressed. Take a look at the human-faced dog peeking out between the legs of the
people. That face belongs to Armen Stepanian, one of the founders of today's Fremont
and its excellent recycling system. Sculptor Richard Beyer and Stepanian had a dis-
agreement about the design of the piece, which resulted in Beyer's spiteful yet humor-
ous design of the dog's face.
The Guidepost
This whimsical guidepost MAP GOOGLE MAP (cnr Fremont Ave N & Fremont Pl N) that
points in 16 different directions - including the Troll, the Lenin statue and the Milky
Way - appeared anonymously on Fremont Ave in 1995, the result of one of the neigh-
borhood's periodic art attacks. Unlike other ephemeral sculptures, the guidepost stayed
put and quickly became a neighborhood symbol. Originally made out of cedar wood,
the rotting signpost was replaced in 2009 by a better-quality one made out of pressure-
treated wood. At the same time, the artist revealed himself to be Maque DaVis, a resid-
ent of nearby Ballard, but a Fremonter in spirit. The signpost advertises itself as 'the
center of the known universe,' a phrase that has since been adopted as a popular Fre-
mont slogan.
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