by Kirby Lindsay, posted 12 May 2014
For this annual installment of ‘Advice From The People Waiting…’ (the questions have hardly come in fast, or furious,) our readers get answers on all-things-Fremont from resident experts, the ‘People Waiting For The Interurban’.
Dear ‘People Waiting’:
During a tour to Fremont, I saw some signal [utility] boxes painted, but not all. Is there a reason you only decorated a few?
Signed, Aussie Signal Box-Spotter
Dear ‘Box-Spotter’:
Hurry, hurry, hurry! Haven’t you ever waited patiently for the good things in life…or for a streetcar named ‘Interurban’?
The signal boxes of Fremont started being decorated with art last year. Thanks to donations gathered by the Fremont Neighborhood Council (FNC,) and the organizational skills of Urban ArtWorks, four boxes were decorated in Fremont by Kyler Martz. Another has been painted with a diving lady at the Center of the Universe (N 35th Street & Fremont Avenue,) but the identity of that artist is still unclear. Another box, at this time, is being prepared for painting at N 40th & Fremont Avenue N.
Counts differ but 11 to 23 boxes still remain to be painted, and two things stand in the way – money and time. FNC’s volunteer might be willing to keep leading this effort, but help would be appreciated (including help keeping those already painted clear of graffiti.) Each box costs about $1000 to paint, and anyone can donate to the cause. Attend the next FNC meeting, on May 19th at 7p at Doric Lodge #92, and find out more!
And have some patience…
Dear ‘People Waiting:’
I recently read that the Fremont Bridge is getting re-painted blue & orange. Why blue & orange? Why can’t we have a more dignified bridge color?
Signed, Fremont Newbie
Dear ‘Newbie’:
FYI, the dignified and lovely community of Issaquah is due east. Could we suggest picking up real estate info on the fine living options available on the eastside?
As for the color, the Fremont Bridge was orange when we [People Waiting] arrived here in 1978. The story goes that the bridge got its primer coat, but the overcoat of green got delayed (for years.) When the City did return to paint over the red primer – which had turned orange – the neighborhood objected.
According to sources, any change to the color scheme now could delay the upcoming painting, and result in another multi-year paint job, only in part because the neighborhood would likely object. Dignity still remains a low priority in Fremont.
After all, we are a group people dressed in the finest of fashion from the 1930s, with accessorizing that is often odd verging on the awful. However, if you need dignified, the Skagit Valley has some lovely, demur and subtly colored bridges…
Dear ‘People Waiting’:
I went to visit The Dinos [Topiaries] last week and noticed that Mama’s head is missing, again. Baby is looking fat and sassy, but Mama looks skeletal…?!
Signed, Dino Love
Dear ‘Lover’:
The Dinos came to Fremont as metal frames. Turns out that the ‘topiaries’ weren’t really – they’d been stuffed with fake ivy. When they came to graze along the Lake Washington Ship Canal, the Dino Wranglers (these days, mostly members of the Rotary Club of Fremont,) planted them with ivy. Baby Dino has grown into a fine specimen of a baby Brontosaurus, but Mama’s head has yet to fully grow in.
Last year, some local Dino lovers filled her head with fake ivy, and added eyes to both topiaries. Unfortunately, the story goes, during a recent street clean up and Dino maintenance, some enterprising Rotarian removed the fake ivy as junk. Mama’s head goes bare again.
Again, can we ask for patience…or a trip to a fake foliage store? With her eyes on her frame but no ivy, Mama does look even barer than before.
We can’t all be created complete, and ready for wear! Some great art just takes longer than others…and Mama will get a head someday soon.
If you have a question for the ‘People Waiting for the Interuban,’ an inanimate sculpture by the late artist Richard S. Beyer, please send it to instigator@fremocentrist.com
Related Articles
- FNC Highlight Reel: Forms Of Transit
- by Kirby Lindsay, March 31, 2014
- Urban ArtWorks Converts A Signal Box Into An Art Canvas
- by Kirby Lindsay, June 20, 2012
- Fremont Public Art Inventory, Part One Of An On-Going Series
- by Kirby Lindsay, October 15, 2010
- Another Look At The ‘People Waiting’, And Rich Beyer
- by Kirby Lindsay, September 7, 2011
©2013 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.