Fremont, Seattle’s quirky “Center of the Universe,” charms with its giant troll, Lenin statue, and wild summer solstice celebrations.
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"Once a separate city, this eclectic northern neighborhood joined Seattle in 1891 and helps to keep it weird. The "Artistic Republic of Fremont" has declared itself the Center of the Universe, and asks visitors to set their watches back five minutes. It's home to a three-story sculpture of a troll crushing a VW Beetle, as well as a massive statue of Vladimir Lenin. An American veteran found the "dictator next door" toppled in a Slovakian scrapyard: The bronze sculpture shows the communist revolutionary surrounded by flames and symbols of war. Seattleites like to dress him up—expect anything from a cone bra to a stovepipe hat—while they dress down, bicycling naked and body-painted in Fremont's human-powered summer solstice parade!"
