Trolls, of course, always make their homes under bridges, so perhaps this story isn’t all that surprising. Except that it is pretty rare, of course, for them to leave anyone alive to tell the tale of their whereabouts, so perhaps this Seattle troll is worth talking about after all…
Luckily, it’s hard to eat people – children or otherwise – when you’re made of concrete and an abandoned VW beetle.
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The 18-ft troll sits under a freeway overpass in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood. It was constructed in 1990 after the artist won a Fremont Arts Council competitions designed to improve the looks of freeway underpasses around the city.
The sculptor is Steve Badanes, who did the job with help from two University of Washington architecture students, Will Martin and Ross Whitehead, and also from his girlfriend at the time, Donna Walter. Others have added onto the original vision in the intervening years, giving the troll green fingernails, tattoos, fangs, and even a green eye via spray paint.
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The city has attempted to cover up the additions with concrete, resulting in lumps here and there, and while they don’t like people painting the troll, you can totally climb on it if you want to visit.
His/Her birthday is on October 31st, and the city’s Troll-o-Ween includes a celebration and stage performance that’s open to the public.
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The troll sits under the bridge at the terminus of a dead end street, so if you do go visit, or want to help celebrate its birthday, it’s best to park in the neighborhood and take a stroll, since parking can get tight nearby.
And mind your fingers and toes, even if it doesn’t look real. You just never know about these things.
