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Category: Public Art

Fremont Public Art: The Fremont Guidepost

Posted on by Kathleen

“Center of the Universe” guidepost at Fremont Avenue and North 35th Street

Located just north of downtown Seattle beside sparkling Lake Union, the neighborhood of Fremont is known for its geographic centrality.

Since the 1960s Fremont has been known for its quirkiness, when an economic lull drove down rents and attracted more artists and students to the area. Although the local economy has improved since the arrival of several high-tech companies, the funky and eclectic vibe of Fremont has continued.

According to the Fremont Chamber of Commerce and “Fremont Scientists,” this “strangeness” exists because of an “odd gravitational pull” that places Fremont at the Center of the Universe. Here, a unique geophysical force also creates an overwhelming urge “to return again and again.”

Reasoning that Fremont’s “center of the universe” location could “neither be proven nor disproven,” residents set up a helpful “Center of the Universe” guidepost at Fremont Avenue and North 35th Street in the early 1970s. In 1994, this location was officially proclaimed the Center of the Universe by the Metropolitan King County Council.

Here’s more about how the Fremont neighborhood in Seattle became known as the Center of the Universe.

Fremont Public Art: Late for the Interurban

Posted on by Kathleen

East of the Fremont Bridge on North 34th Street, near Adobe Plaza, Seattle’s favorite clown, JP Patches, and his friend, Gertrude, are forever “Late for the Interurban” in these bronze statues created by Washington sculptor Kevin Pettelle. The Interurban was the train to Everett with its transfer point by the Fremont Bridge, referenced by the Interurban statue there.

Installed in 2008 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the J.P. Patches TV show, and viewable through a bronze “television” also created by the artist, the Late for the Interurban statues were funded primarily through donations from local fans who grew up watching the show.

Fremont Public Art: Waiting for the Interurban

Posted on by Kathleen

In 1978, a down year economically for the Fremont neighborhood, artist and local resident Richard Beyer was tasked with creating a “community focal point” in honor of Fremont’s centennial.

Known for his humorous and humanistic style, Beyer sculpted from rough aluminum six life-size figures and a dog with a human face and placed them at the site of the former station for the “Interurban,” the Seattle to Everett trolley line with a stop in Fremont that had greatly contributed to Fremont’s early growth and prosperity — and that had stopped running almost 40 years previous, in 1939.

At Waiting for the Interurban, the figures stand under a pergola designed by Peter Larsen from Environmental Works.  Installed in 1979, it mirrors the roofline slant of the original train station.

Over the years, Waiting for the Interurban has become both a popular tourist attraction and a favorite spot for locals to publicize events or celebrate holidays with signage or decorations draped over the figures.