It’s springtime in Seattle, and whether you’re carrying a professional DSLR camera or just the camera on your cell phone, there are fun photo ops to be had for your Instagram feed, all within a short distance from campus. Walk down Nickerson Street to cross the Fremont Bridge, and you’ll find yourself in the “Center of the Universe” neighborhood known as Fremont.
Fremont Sunday Market
Since 1990, Fremont has hosted a year-round, outdoor market every Sunday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. where local vendors sell flowers, vintage clothing, and homemade crafts such as quilts, soap, honey, dog shampoo, jewelry, candles, steampunk accessories, and everything else under the sun. The vendors are there in rain or shine, but in the spring, it’s a great place to photograph Seattle’s tulips and daffodils, the artistry of a beautiful quilt, or find people just relaxing near the canal in a scene reminiscent of Georges Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. The Fremont Sunday Market is located at the corner of 3401 Evanston Avenue North.
People Waiting for the Interurban
After you’ve had lunch from the food trucks that assemble alongside the market, wander back toward the Fremont Bridge and over to the southeast corner of North 34th Street and Fremont Avenue North to find Richard Beyer’s life-size sculpture of five adults, a child, and a dog (with a human face), waiting for a trolley car.
There are interesting art installations all around the city, but Beyer’s is a highly accessible piece of art. The sculpture was unveiled in 1978, and almost immediately, the community interacted with the cast-aluminum people — adding hats, scarves, balloons and streamers to decorate the sculpture for sporting events, birthdays, or to comment on contemporary events.
The Fremont Troll
Climb up the hill of Troll Avenue under the George Washington Memorial Bridge (often referred to as the Aurora Bridge), and you’ll find Fremont’s famous troll, clutching a Volkswagen Beetle under its claws. Crowds like to gather by the formidable troll, but visitors are happy to wait their turn to climb on the 18-foot-tall troll. The concrete creature was sculpted by Steve Badanes, Will Martin, Donna Walter, and Ross Whitehead in 1990.
Other suggestions for fabulous photo spots in Fremont? Share your ideas with us at SPU Stories.
