Historic Fremont

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Fremont Public Art: Late for the Interurban

Posted on by Valarie

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 Waiting for 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. Here’s the info about the restoration fund to re-paint the statue due to vandalism: Late for the Interurban Statue Restoration Fund – JPPatches.com

Fremont’s Streetcar Loading Platform

Posted on by Valarie

In 1927 a streetcar loading platform and cutoff route for cars was created at the intersection of Fremont Avenue North and North 34th Street.  This intersection is familiar to us today as the site of the Waiting for the Interurban statue.

As car traffic increased in the 1920s it was found that when the city streetcar or the Interurban rail cars stopped to load passengers at North 34th Street, northbound auto traffic would back up onto the Fremont Bridge.  It seemed that much of the prevailing auto traffic wanted to turn right (east) and a solution was designed to keep the traffic flowing.  A cutoff route was added to the northbound bridge exit ramp so that northbound cars could turn right on North 34th Street.  That created the little platform which today is the home of the Waiting for the Interurban statue.

Today car, pedestrian and bicycle traffic still flow through the intersection and the figures of Waiting for the Interurban, still wait for the Interurban train of old days.

Fremont’s Grand Union Streetcar Switch

Posted on by Valarie

One of the reasons why Fremont was long regarded as the Center of the Universe was because of its convergence of streetcar lines. At the north end of the Fremont Bridge, in the spot where there is now the Waiting for the Interurban sculpture, there was a Grand Union track layout for streetcars to turn or go straight ahead, accommodating all the lines that passed through. The car barn for maintenance was located just west of here, at 34th & Phinney, providing even more reason for streetcars of different routes to make their way through Fremont.

Sadly, the Seattle streetcar system deteriorated, and the decision was made to convert to a bus system. The last streetcar went to the Fremont Car Barn on April 13, 1941.

In 1940 an article in the Seattle Times told of the coming shut-down of the streetcar system, with this photo of the four-way switch:

“Once the pride of the Municipal Street Railway and the only one of its kind west of Chicago, the four-way streetcar switch at North 34th Street and Fremont Avenue, at the north end of the Fremont Bridge, will be removed as part of the city’s change from streetcars to buses and trackless trolleys. Called a “Grand Union Track Layout,” it cost $48,000 to build and install in 1923, a streetcar entering from any direction may turn either way or go straight ahead. The switch was so complicated the Bethlehem Steel Works assembled it first at the steel mill to see if it would work, before sending it here.” (Seattle Daily Times, February 15, 1940, page 4).

For further reference: “Street Railways in Seattle,” HistoryLink Essay #2707 by Walt Crowley, 2000.

3400 Phinney Avenue North: the original trolley car barn

Posted on by Valarie

The red-brick trolley car barn in Fremont was built in 1905 as a home base for the five lines which traveled around the Fremont, Ballard, Phinney, and Greenlake areas. The parking area had pits below, used by mechanics who repaired the underworking of the cars. On the east side of the building was a yard with a wash tower for cleaning the cars.

The building was the first major streetcar service facility to be built in north Seattle, and it represented the heyday of trolley service under Stone & Webster ownership. The trolley era came to a sudden end in 1941 when the City of Seattle abandoned the system and converted to gas-powered buses. The last streetcar to operate in the City of Seattle stopped at the Fremont Car Barn on April 13, 1941.

During World War Two in the 1940s, the car barn was taken over by the Army and was used as storage space. After the war, the building was used by the Seattle Disposal Company to house garbage trucks.

In 1988 the car barn became the home of Redhook Ale Brewery, with the Trolleyman pub on the northwest corner of the building. From 2006-2025 the car barn was the production facility and retail store outlet of Theo Chocolate.

The Fremont Trolley Car Barn received historic designation in 1989 under the City of Seattle Historic Preservation Program. At this writing in February 2025 we await the next use of this landmark building in Fremont.

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.

The Fremont Neighborhood in Seattle is Founded in 1888

Posted on by Valarie

Each neighborhood of Seattle proudly waves the banner of its unique name, and yet many were named in a similar way:  by real estate investors.   Fremont in Seattle was also named by real estate investors.  What made the Seattle neighborhood called Fremont stand out from others, was its good location, its jump-start after Seattle’s Great Fire of 1889, and its vigorous developers who utilized the growing streetcar system to advantage.

Continue reading “The Fremont Neighborhood in Seattle is Founded in 1888”

Fremont and Seattle’s Ship Canal

Posted on by Valarie

Looking west in Fremont during the ship canal construction in 1912. Photo courtesy of MOHAI 83.10.69.32

Seattle’s earliest white settlers saw immediately that it would be possible to connect its freshwater lakes to the saltwater Puget Sound by means of a canal.  At a Fourth of July picnic in 1854, Thomas Mercer proposed the name of Lake Union because that body of water was in the middle between Lake Washington to the east and Puget Sound to the west.

Seattle settlers of the 1850s Thomas Mercer and David Denny took land claims at the south end of Lake Union near today’s Seattle Center.  Two single men, John Ross and William Strickler, searched out the land and in 1853-1854 they took claims at the northwest corner of Lake Union, which today is the Fremont neighborhood.  It was not until 1911-1917 that a ship canal was constructed which was large enough for industrial use.

From those earliest times in the 1850s Seattle settlers thought to build a ship canal but little did they know that it would take more than sixty years to come to fruition.  Finally in 1911 all of the needed legislation, financing and public support came together to start construction to create the Lake Washington Ship Canal. 

Continue reading “Fremont and Seattle’s Ship Canal”

The Fremont Bridge

Posted on by Valarie

Not every neighborhood has a bridge, and the Fremont Bridge has been the defining characteristic of the neighborhood since its founding in 1888.

At first there was only a stream, called The Outlet, flowing westward from Lake Union out towards Puget Sound, with a small wooden bridge to span it. Early in neighborhood history, Fremont’s boosters arranged for streetcars to come to Fremont and for this reason a more substantial trestle bridge had to be built, though it was also of wood construction.

Street railway historian Leslie Blanchard described the approach to Fremont in 1902: “then along Westlake Avenue to the foot of the old Fremont Bridge, where streetcar passengers beheld a scene bearing little resemblance to that which greets the traveler on that thoroughfare today. A rickety wooden bridge of antediluvian ancestry spanned a turbid and sluggish stream, from which small boys of the Fremont area snared salmon with bent pins fastened to broomsticks.”

The Fremont Bridge was rebuilt several times. As the stream was widened to improve access for boat traffic, the elevation of the bridge had to be increased until its span reached North 34th Street as it does today. During the ship canal construction in 1914 the bridge was washed out by a dam break. A temporary Stone Way bridge was built to use until the ship canal was finished.

Upon completion of the Lake Washington Ship Canal project, the present bascule Fremont Bridge opened to traffic on June 15, 1917. This rebuilding included capacity for auto traffic in addition to streetcar tracks. The streetcar era in Seattle ended in 1941 but today, cars, buses, pedestrians and bicycles cross over the Fremont Bridge.

The Fremont Bridge was designated as a City of Seattle Historic Landmark in 1980, as characterized by its prominence of spatial location and its easily identifiable visual feature of the neighborhood. The Bridge contributes to the distinctive identity of Fremont.

Sources:

Leslie F. Blanchard, Street Railway Era in Seattle: A Chronicle of Six Decades, 1968.

Caroline Tobin, Fremont Historic Context Statement, 2009.

$40,000 Loss from Bursting Fremont Dam.” Seattle Daily Times, March 14, 1914, pages 1, 5, and 12.

“Building permits, Carl Signor, 2944 Westlake Avenue, build two-story frame store building.”  Seattle Daily Times, August 18, 1904, page 7.

“Dam bursts on Lake Union… March 13, 1914.”  HistoryLink Essay #20222 by David B. Williams, 2016.

Fremont Bridge — National Register of Historic Places.

Seattle Municipal Archives, photo number 2787, Signor grocery building.

“Wood trestle spans canal and connects Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood with the foot of Queen Anne Hill in 1892.”  HistoryLink Essay #3309 by Priscilla Long.

“Fremont Bridge.” HistoryLink Essay #20374 by Glenn Drosendahl.  This essay gives the timeline of the series of bridges which were built at Fremont, culminating in the present bridge.

North 41st Street Pedestrian Bridge Seismic Retrofit

Posted on by Valarie

Major construction work to retrofit the North 41st Street Pedestrian Bridge across Aurora Ave North is expected to be complete by April 2025. Construction crews have reinforced the bridge’s footing, installed carbon fiber wrapping to strengthen its towers and piers, and replaced damaged concrete including nearby sidewalks and curb ramps.   

Construction workers using a lift to perform maintenance on a pedestrian bridge over a busy street. Traffic cones and barriers are in place.
The photo above shows crews working on seismic retrofit for the N 41st St Pedestrian Bridge, earlier this month (SDOT). 

Due to recent weather conditions, crews have been unable to paint the carbon fiber they installed to strengthen the bridge and finish minor restorations. Once the crews are able to complete this work, we’ll remove the traffic control measures in place. Full project completion is expected by spring 2025. 

Safety Reminders

  • Street Closure: N 41st Street is closed between Linden Ave N and Whitman Ave N until construction is complete. This closure ensures safety for everyone traveling and allows crews to work as efficiently as possible.
  • Lane and Sidewalk Closures: Sidewalks, crosswalks, and one bus lane on Aurora Ave N (either northbound or southbound depending on where work is occurring) will be temporarily closed at times to safely divert people walking, rolling, biking, and driving away from where work is occurring. Please follow all detour signs in place.  

Project Overview

Earthquakes could have a major impact on Seattle’s infrastructure. To address seismic risks to city infrastructure, the City of Seattle established a bridge seismic program to assess how vulnerable the City’s bridges were to earthquakes, and to reinforce bridges to better withstand the potential impacts of an earthquake. 

As part of the Levy to Move Seattle, 16 bridges were selected for seismic reinforcements, including the N 41st Street Pedestrian Bridge. The N 41st Street Pedestrian Bridge is an older bridge constructed in 1936 and provides a more direct connection across Aurora Avenue for the north Fremont neighborhood.  

A concrete pedestrian bridge with an art deco design spans across a multi-lane road. The bridge shows visible wear, and a low clearance sign is posted

The photo above shows the N 41st Street Pedestrian Bridge over Aurora Ave N before planned seismic retrofit improvements (Google Street view).

We’re not changing the current use and operation of the bridge. The N 41st Street Pedestrian Bridge seismic retrofit will strengthen existing bridge components and reduce the bridge’s vulnerability to earthquakes. Major construction work includes: 

  • Retrofitting the bridge’s footing.
  • Installing carbon fiber wrapping to strengthen the bridge’s towers.
  • Repairing cracks and damaged concrete.
  • Replacing bolts throughout the bridge.
  • Replacement of impacted concrete panels and curb ramps 

Harvey Funeral Home, 508 North 36th Street

Posted on by Valarie

The Harvey Funeral Home on North 36th Street, corner of Evanston Avenue, is an example of the evolution of businesses and buildings in Fremont. This site started out as a single-family home built in 1902. In early Fremont there was no zoning and as the district grew, homes were sometimes converted to commercial buildings. That is the case with this building which was expanded several times, beginning in 1928 when it opened as the Fisher-Kalfus Funeral Home. In 1955 the name became the Hoffner, Fisher & Harvey Funeral Home.

Like the Bleitz Funeral Home at the south end of the Fremont Bridge, the Harvey Funeral Home experienced a decline in business because of cultural changes in funeral preferences. The property has been sold and as of 2025 the site is slated for redevelopment. The building was presented at the Seattle Landmarks Board but it failed to win nomination for historic preservation.

Sources:

Landmarks Board nomination report, 2021.

Fremont Public Art: Troll’s Knoll Forest Lanterns

Posted on by Valarie

Dear FOTK (Friends of Troll’s Knoll) Supporters:

On Saturday, March 8th when visiting Troll’s Knoll Forest, we found that a mushroom lantern sculpture (third one as you head south) had been violently damaged. The mushroom cap was split horizontally and the cradle that supported the cap had been crushed and removed from the structure (see attached photo). The four mushroom lantern sculptures on site are a collaboration between artists Michiko Tanaka and HaiYing Wu. They were installed in 2023.

HaiYing and Michiko visited the site to survey the damage. It was determined the mushroom can be repaired but will cost in the neighborhood of $2,000. The work will consist of repairing damage, reproducing a silicone mold, cement casting and installation.

We are very honored to have this work by HaiYing Wu and Michiko Tanaka and are reaching out to the community to help fund the repair as this was not an expenditure we anticipated having.

While it is disappointing having art vandalized, our group is committed to maintaining the art and nature of the site. If you have visited the site lately you may have noticed all of the daffodils and tulips we planted are coming up. We expect even more visitors to the site next year because of 2026 FIFA World Cup. We hope you can make a donation to help with this repair and keep up the momentum at Troll’s Knoll. (Friends of Troll’s Knoll is Seattle Parks Foundation Community Partner, and a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Tax ID: 91-1998597).

Thank you.

Leo Griffin
President
Friends of Troll’s Knoll
fremonttrollsknoll@gmail.com

Bleitz Funeral Home, 316 Florentia Street

Posted on by Valarie

The Lake Washington Ship Canal was completed in 1917 and the former small stream flowing westward past Fremont, was widened and deepened for the passage of larger vessels. Before that time there had been a much smaller channel and a bridge, and areas on the south side of the bridge were still considered part of Fremont. The new, wide channel caused a demarcation so that today, the south side of the Fremont Bridge is considered to be in the Queen Anne neighborhood.

In 1904 an ambitious young man, Jacob Bleitz, came to Seattle to set up his funeral home business. He had attended the Chicago College of Embalming in 1900, then set up business in Wichita, Kansas, for a time.

In Seattle, Jacob Bleitz gravitated to the Fremont neighborhood where he joined the Masonic group, the Doric Lodge. He accessed his business contacts there and opened his funeral home business in Fremont in 1906. Bleitz seemed to want to keep developing for better facilities. He moved to another intersection in Fremont and then, in 1921, he built his own building on the south side of the Fremont Bridge, at Florentia Street. The Bleitz building is today very visible in its location right next to the bridge.

Changes in cultural expectations of funeral services, such as a greater emphasis on cremation, have caused a decline in the number of mortuary facilities in Seattle. After the Bleitz business closed and the building was sold, a developer applied to tear it down and build a new office building there. This plan was stopped in part, by the historic landmarking of the building in 2017, under the City of Seattle Historic Preservation Program.

The Bleitz building was then sold to another developer who was willing to work with the historic preservation program. Permission was granted to demolish a “non-contributing” structure, a drive-up, on the west side of the building as it was not original. The western side of the property was available for a new building. The new building is joined to the Bleitz by a courtyard and the property has been renamed Fremont Crossing.

Sources:

Bleitz history:  company photos in the Now and Then column of June 16, 2022.

Historic Landmark Nomination, Bleitz Funeral Home, March 1, 2017, Seattle Landmarks Board.

South of the Bridge in Fremont, blog article about the Bleitz and other developments.

B. F. Day Elementary School, 3921 Linden Avenue North in Fremont, Seattle

Posted on by Valarie

The Fremont neighborhood was opened for settlement in 1888 and its early residents were very active in organizing their community. Since Fremont was not yet within the Seattle City Limits, there was no school district oversight so some community members, such as the Goddard family, taught groups of children in homes.

The neighborhood grew rapidly. After Fremont was annexed to the City of Seattle in June 1891, the Seattle School District rented a community hall to be used for classes.

Fremont resident B.F. Day was a real estate salesman who knew that the availability of a school would attract homebuyers. Mr. & Mrs. Day donated land that they owned in the 3900 block of Linden Avenue for the site of the school. On May 2, 1892, four rooms had been completed in the new building which went on to have eight rooms. The population of Fremont grew so rapidly that by 1899 enrollment exceeded capacity. The students at B.F. Day were sent to temporary locations while another eight rooms were added to the school building. Another addition was made in 1915.

B.F. Day Elementary School is the longest continuously-operating school building in Seattle. The building was given “landmark” status in 1981 under Seattle’s Historical Preservation program. In another sense, the school building certainly does serve as a “landmark” in old photos as the roofline is visible on one of the highest elevations in the neighborhood.

Sources:

Seattle’s Pioneers of Fremont: B.F. Day. (Blog article)

People of the Ship Canal: A.J. Goddard, Businessman and Legislator (Blog article)

Fremont Historic Resources Survey – Context Statement by Caroline Tobin, January 2010.   City of Seattle Historic Preservation.