No doubt you have seen Massana Construction crews hard at work under the Aurora Bridge.  WSDOT thought it was time for a project update to let you know what’s going on and how long it will be happening.

To refresh your memory, contractor crews are working on phase three of a three-phase plan to retrofit the Aurora Avenue bridge to make it better withstand earthquakes. This current phase wraps support columns with FRP (fiber reinforced polymer), a specialized wrap that conforms to the unique cruciform (“+”-shaped) style for the columns that support the bridge.  In short, it allows Fremont to keep the look and feel of the historical period while satisfying the safety and earthquake needs that come with a modern structure.

If you are in the area, take a look at the column across from the Troll on 36^th Street on the southwest corner. Crews just did a test section to see how it looks. It appears to have worked well. Now crews will wrap the other 14 columns on the north end and four columns on the south end with this specialized wrap.

We will be on this end of the bridge into early next year.

However…..we will suspend work and move our equipment for the Troll’s birthday on Halloween. We hear a lot of you Fremont folks like to help the Troll celebrate in costume. Maybe we’ll join you, dressed as a safety cone!

Images: WSDOT

For all you Christmas ornament collectors - I rarely have a tree, so that’s not me - here is one inspired by one of our neighborhood’s most famous landmarks: The Fremont Troll.

The 2010 Seattle Ornament, with permission from the artists, will be available first at the Fremont Fair, June 19-20. The company is also donating 5 percent of all the 2010 ornaments sold to Solid Ground.

Like previous Seattle Ornaments, it also comes with a story. This one tells the history of the troll and a box. The ornaments are 24-karat gold-plated, limited edition and hand numbered and will sell for $32.80 (including tax).

Betty Woods Gimarelli has designed and produced the Seattle Ornament™ since 1994.

Other Emerald City landmarks that have been a Seattle Ornament in the past include: Pike Place Market, the Alki Lighthouse, Benaroya Hall, Safeco Field, Qwest Field, Denny Hall and last year, the Seattle Central Library.

I guess it’s possible to have a whole tree filled with Seattle icons. Again, not for me, but to each, his/her own.

Dozens of volunteers, city officials and the mayor attended a “Clean and Green” event at the Troll this morning, and neighbors caught their first glimpse of preliminary plans to revitalize the green space surrounding the Fremont icon.

The two strips of land on either side of the Troll at the base of the Aurora Bridge have been overgrown with brush and littered with trash for years. Two weeks ago, SDOT crews cleared out the heavy brush and grass, and today volunteers picked up trash and spread mulch.

Mayor Greg Nickels toured the property with neighbor Kimberly Scrivner, who has spearheaded the project. “I think it’s a great opportunity,” the mayor said, complimenting neighbors for rolling up their sleeves and tackling the project. “Here’s a publicly-owned space that is clearly under-utilized.”

The preliminary designs (see here) include a community garden, pathways, new trees, planters and log benches. “I’m very excited, and I think the time is right,” Scrivner said (above). “Getting the state on board, getting the city on board, now getting our designs together, and finally we get can get the community to vet the designs.” The Fremont Chamber of Commerce, Department of Neighborhoods, SDOT and WSDOT have all been involved in the project.

Scrivner says they’ll apply for a neighborhood matching fund grant on August 31st, and they plan to present the proposed designs to the Fremont Neighborhood Council. A community meeting will follow to hear more input from the neighborhood. “Everyone in Fremont always looks up to this bridge and says, this is our place,” said longtime resident Suzie Burke. “We’re happy that the little piece of ground that is around it is available to take an interest in.”

To help fund the work, neighbors signed petitions pledging time and money, which would be matched by the city’s neighborhood grant.

Volunteers also voted, by paying a dollar, on proposed names for the green space: The Troll Knoll, Troll Knoll and Billy Goat’s Bluff. We’ll keep you updated on upcoming meetings and developments…

July 15: Neighbors plan improvements around the Troll

This Saturday is the annual Clean and Green in Fremont. Volunteers are needed to help clean up around the Troll as well as clear out undergrowth and dead wood. The event is from 9 a.m. to noon and everyone is welcome. The city of Seattle and the Fremont Neighborhood Service Center will provide tools, gloves, rakes and bags.

They will also have some preliminary sketches of plans for the area around the Troll. Last month concerned neighbors gathered to discuss what to do with the green space around the landmark. Friends of Troll Knoll will also have results of this online survey.

Just to the west of the Fremont Troll, this abandoned house had attracted just about every tagger in town over the last several months.

And now the eyesore is gone, demolished by the owner a couple weeks ago. At last week’s Troll meeting, neighbors told us they’re happy it’s gone.

The property is currently for sale. We checked with the real estate agent today, and he said a townhouse developer is interested in the land.

Updated: A group of concerned neighbors gathered at the Troll Wednesday evening to brainstorm ways to enhance the green spaces around the Fremont landmark. Some of the ideas included turning it into a park, planting a pea patch, adding lighting, installing seating and adorning it with community art.

The land is owned by the city, and it’s larger than it appears from the street.

On the left, a trail leads to a flat space, currently occupied by a small homeless camp. Neighbors say that WSDOT crews occasionally park their equipment there while working on the Aurora Bridge. Together, both sections of land total about two acres, covered with heavy brush and blackberries.

Neighbors say that there have been a few attempts over the years to spruce up the area, but they’ve been unsuccessful. “I like a challenge,” says Kimberly Scrivner, a neighbor who decided to head up the new project. “I think right now the momentum is right. People are excited. People are willing to participate in the community.” The goal is to compile neighbors’ feedback into a grant application for neighborhood matching funds. Scrivner also suggested engaging the local business community. “It sounds like (Google) is the type of company that might support this type of thing,” she said. “I’m hopeful.”

You can fill out an online survey with your suggestions, and coming August 22nd, volunteers will remove blackberries, trim the brush and plant trees.

Someone sprayed graffiti all over the Fremont Troll over the last few days.

They even climbed up and painted the eye.

So the Fremont Arts Council mobilized today to clean it up.

Since the paint can’t be removed, volunteers applied a bonding agent followed by a fresh later of concrete over the top.

The troll is tagged every few months, but this time it was more severe. The Fremont Arts Council has a simple message for vandals: “Tagging the troll is not cool,” said Barbara Luecke. “But we can help you find another art form.”

If you’d like to help finance the art council’s graffiti clean up events — they also keep Fremont murals in good shape — you can donate on their website.

“The Fremont Troll has been the subject of a seasonally-inspired guerrilla artist,” explains Rachel Blackman, who shot this photo.

She points out the that the “Just Married” chalk on the Troll was done by a wedding party a few nights ago. (Thanks Rachel! By the way, check out her cool photo of Lenin in the snow right here.)

Trolloween kicked off at 7 p.m. tonight with some revelry, a dance-off and a melodrama all under the watchful metal eye of the Fremont Troll, who celebrated his 19th birthday tonight.

The Fremont Arts Council organizers, dancers, and drummers Vamola proceeded to parade through downtown Fremont where they were watched by spectators from bars, restaurants, and homes.

The parade proceeded to the Outdoor Cinema, where volunteers gave a dance lesson to the crowd. After the exercise, the melodrama continued with another short scene intended to encourage the crowd to pursue the protagonists to the Fremont Bridge’s underbelly, where another dance group performed the Vampire Tango. The short play concluded with a dramatic stabbing scene:

When the mini-play was completed, the Fremont Philharmonic began playing ‘Thriller’ for the concluding dance party under the bridge.

Best costumes of the night: The Robot, who was so popular that the crowd nearly threw the play off-track trying to encourage the protagonist to dance with it; and Lloyd Dobler from Say Anything, who spent the entire parade hoisting a boombox. Hats off to you two!

If you have additional photos from Trolloween or competitors for best costume, please share them with us in the comments!

Members of the Fremont Arts Council (FAC) spent part of a beautiful October afternoon cleaning up the troll and its environment for Trolloween. Trolloween is a ‘birthday’ celebration of sorts for the troll, and volunteers said they usually see 300+ people on Halloween night who come dressed up to watch a performance and then parade through Fremont.

The FAC has been cleaning the troll in preparation for the celebration every year for the past 19 years that Trolloween has been celebrated. More information is available on their site, including details about the performance- a mixture of Shakespeare and Greek lore. Stay tuned for more details about Halloween happenings throughout Fremont.

The Church of the Apostles hosted their third annual Blessing of the Animals at the foot of the Fremont Troll this afternoon. The ceremony was held today in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is traditionally observed on Oct. 4 in the Roman Catholic church.

After a reading, a quick glance over the life of St. Francis of Assisi and a group prayer, Abbess Karen Ward sprinkled a handful of dogs and cats, and said a quick prayer over them. The church also hosts Taize meditation service every first Sunday of the month, including tonight, at 6 p.m. in the Fremont Abbey.

In other neighborhood church news, evening services resume tonight at Fremont Baptist Church, also at 6 p.m.