Fremont & Green Lake
Fremont pitches young hipsters among old hippies in an unlikely urban alliance, and vies with Capitol Hill as Seattle’s most irreverent neighborhood, with junk shops, urban sculpture and a healthy sense of its own ludicrousness. To the north, family-friendly Green Lake is a more affluent suburb centered on a park favored by fitness devotees.
The Short List
AFremont Public Sculptures Walking around Seattle’s most irreverent neighborhood in search of its peculiar public art, as well as keeping an eye out for any spontaneous ‘art attacks.’
AWoodland Park Zoo Taking in chimps, giraffes, hippos and more at one of the better zoos in the US.
AGreen Lake Park Joining the walking, running, skating, cycling mass of humanity powering around beautiful Green Lake Park.
Getting There & Around
g Three different metro buses link Fremont to central Seattle. Bus 62 runs from downtown to Fremont. Bus 5 runs from downtown via Fremont to Phinney Ridge and Woodland Park Zoo. Bus 40 originates in downtown and makes stops along Fremont’s N 36th St before breezing off to Ballard. For cross-town connections, buses 31 and 32 link Fremont with the U District.
Top SightFremont Public Sculptures
Long known for its wry contrarianism, Fremont does bizarre like the rest of the world does normal. For proof, look no further than its public sculptures. The five most famous pieces are scattered around four square blocks in the southern part of the neighborhood abutting the Lake Washington Ship Canal.
Statue of Lenin
In 1993 Fremont’s provocative bronze statue of Lenin (map; cnr N 36th St & Fremont Pl N; g40) was salvaged from the people of Poprad (Slovakia). Given their resounding rejection of Soviet rule, they were probably glad to see the back of the bearded curmudgeon. It was unearthed by a resident of Issaquah, WA, named Lewis Carpenter, who found it unloved and abandoned in a junkyard while working in Czechoslovakia as an English teacher soon after the Velvet Revolution.
Fremont Troll
Just when you thought you had returned to planet earth, up sprouts the Fremont Troll (map; N 36th St & Troll Ave; g62), a 13,000lb steel and concrete sculpture of a troll crushing a Volkswagen Beetle in its hand. It resides under the Aurora Bridge and does a good job of metaphorically guarding the neighborhood. The sculpture was the winner of a 1989 Fremont Arts Council competition to design some thought-provoking public art and has since appeared in films like 10 Things I Hate About You. It took seven weeks to make.
Waiting for the Interurban
Seattle’s most popular piece of public art, Waiting for the Interurban (map; N 34th St & Fremont Ave N; g62), sculpted in recycled aluminum, depicts six people waiting for a train that never comes. The train that once passed through Fremont stopped running in the 1930s, and the people of Seattle have been waiting for a new train – the Interurban – ever since. (A new train connecting Seattle with Everett opened in 2003 but doesn’t stop in Fremont.) The sculpture is prone to regular art attacks, when locals lovingly decorate the people in outfits corresponding to a special event, the weather, someone’s birthday, a Mariners win – whatever.
Walking TourFremont Taste Tour
Fremont teems with microbusinesses all nurturing their own specialty, be it coffee, cider, beer, pies or chocolate. Some of the results never leave Fremont, meaning that outsiders have all the more reason to stop by to taste the flavors and – more often than not – meet the people who produced them.
Walk Facts
Start Pie
End Bad Jimmy’s
Length 1 mile; one to two hours
1Pie
It’s as simple as P-I-E. Bake fresh pies daily on-site, stuff them with homemade fillings (sweet and savory), and serve them in a cool, bold-colored Fremont cafe. The offerings at Pie (
%206-436-8590; www.sweetandsavorypie.com; 3515 Fremont Ave N; pies from $5.95; 
h11am-7pm Mon-Wed, 11am-9pm Thu & Fri, 10am-9pm Sat, 11am-5pm Sun; g5) are ideal for a snack lunch or you can double up and get a sweet one for dessert too. Broccoli cheddar and peanut butter cream are crowd pleasers.
2Fremont Coffee Co
A one-of-a-kind coffee shop (%206-632-3633; www.fremontcoffee.net; 459 N 36th St; h6am-8pm Mon-Fri, from 7am Sat & Sun; 
W; g40) in an old Craftsman-style house with art-adorned rooms and wicker chairs on a wrap-around porch. The clientele is hip-meets-hippie, and the coffee is refreshingly strong.
3Theo Chocolate Factory Shop
The Theo Chocolate Factory (%206-632-5100; www.theochocolate.com; 3400 Phinney Ave N; tours $12; g40) is both a thriving local business and one of Fremont’s star tourist attractions (tours are given), but if you’re just passing through and want to load up with a bit of the local flavor, swing by the onsite shop to stock up on its bitter-sweet chocolate.
4Outlander Brewery & Pub
A tiny microbrewery not quite small enough to be a nano-brewery, Outlander (%206-486-4088; www.outlanderbrewing.com; 225 N 36th St; h4-10pm Tue & Wed, 4pm-midnight Thu, 4pm-1am Fri & Sat, 2-10pm Sun; g40) occupies the downstairs rooms of a creaky wooden house dating from the early 1900s and provides a cozy antidote to the crowded ebullience of other Fremont bars. It looks like someone’s front room and probably was once.
5George & Dragon Pub
George & Dragon (%206-545-6864; www.georgeanddragonpub.com; 206 N 36th St; h11am-2am; g40) is a friendly English boozer where the ‘football’ on TV is soccer and the ‘chips’ are rectangular, fried and not remotely French. The website has a schedule for upcoming games, as well as event nights like karaoke and painting parties.
6Bad Jimmy’s
Follow the happy noises to this small taproom in a garage in the boxy warehouse district of West Fremont (or is it East Ballard?). Feeling more nano- than microbrewery, Bad Jimmy’s (%206-789-1548; www.badjimmysbrewingco.com; 4358b Leary Way NW; h3-10pm Mon-Thu, 3pm-2am Fri, noon-2am Sat, noon-10pm Sun; 
c; g40) specializes in strongly flavored ales – be they citrus, chocolate or even coconut – with high ABVs (your head will be swimming after one pint).
1Top Sights
Sights
1Green Lake Park PARK
A favorite hunting ground for runners, personal trainers and tattooed sunbathers, scenic Green Lake Park surrounds a small natural lake created by a glacier during the last ice age. The paths that wind around the lake are usually well used by those on foot and wheels of every variety, and make for some of the best people (and dog) watching in the city. (%206-684-4075; 7201 E Green Lake Dr N; h24hr; g62)
1Woodland Park Zoo ZOO
In Woodland Park, up the hill from Green Lake Park, this zoo is one of Seattle’s most popular tourist attractions. Consistently rated as one of the top-10 zoos in the country, it was one of the first in the nation to free animals from their restrictive cages in favor of ecosystem enclosures, where animals from similar environments share large spaces designed to replicate their natural surroundings. (%206-548-2500; www.zoo.org; 5500 Phinney Ave N; adult/child May-Sep $22.95/13.95, Oct-Apr $15.50/10.50; h9:30am-6pm May-Sep, to 4pm Oct-Apr; c; g5)
1Fremont Tour WALKING
To help outsiders infiltrate Fremont’s wacky underbelly, a group of enterprising locals have instituted the Fremont Tour, a 90-minute neighborhood stroll accompanied by outlandishly costumed guides with names such as Rocket Man and Crazy Cat Lady. (%800-838-3006; www.thefremonttour.com; cnr N 34th St & Fremont Ave N; adult/child $20/free; hJun-Sep; g62)
1Green Lake Boat Rental BOATING
You can rent kayaks, canoes, paddleboats and stand-up paddleboards from March to October from the kiosk on the eastern shore of Green Lake (where there’s also a cafe). (%206-527-0171; www.greenlakeboatrentals.net; 7351 E Green Lake Drive N; per hour $24; h9am-7pm May-Sep, weekends only Mar-Apr; c; g62)
Eating
5Paseo CARIBBEAN $
A glorified food shack whose overflowing Cuban sandwiches (which are a lot more generously stuffed than they are in Cuba) have long prompted plenty of Seattleites to reroute their daily commute in order to savor them. If you’ve come this far, you shouldn’t overlook the exquisitely simple rice and beans either. (%206-545-7440; www.paseorestaurants.com; 4225 Fremont Ave N; sandwiches $9.95-12.50; h11am-9pm Tue-Fri, to 8pm Sat, to 7pm Sun; g5)
5The Whale Wins EUROPEAN $$$
Forget the whale: it’s the sardines that are the main winners at this fish-biased restaurant that shares trendy Euro-style digs with the equally hip Joule restaurant next door. The sardines arrive on thick crispy bread spread with a heavenly mayo concoction and zesty veg. Indeed, the ‘Whale’ excels in veg. Have carrots and fennel ever tasted this good? (%206-632-9425; www.thewhalewins.com; 3506 Stone Way N; small plates $12-16, mains $28-33; h5-10pm Mon-Sat, 5-9pm Sun; g62)
5Revel KOREAN $$
This modern Korean-American crossover restaurant (with a bit of French influence thrown in) has quickly established itself as a big name on the Seattle eating scene thanks, in part, to its simple, shareable plates. Of note are the pork-belly pancakes, the short-rib dumplings and the various seasonal hot pots, all of which go down well with a cocktail or two. At the time of writing it was temporarily closed, with plans to reopen in fall 2019, and a new location was open in South Lake Union at 513 Westlake Ave N. (%206-547-2040; www.revelseattle.com; 403 N 36th St; small plates $12-19; hcheck website; g40)
5Kamonegi JAPANESE $$
Tiny Kamonegi and its head chef and owner Mutsuko Soma are currently all the rage on the Fremont dining scene. The specialties here are soba noodles and tempura, and on the very vegetarian-friendly menu you’ll find a satisfying selection of both. The restaurant feels refreshingly authentic down to its Tokyo side-street sized dining area (reservations strongly recommended). (%206-632-0185; www.kamonegiseattle.com; 1054 N 39th St; mains $9-20; h4-10pm Tue-Thu, to 11pm Fri & Sat; 
v; g62)
Drinking
6Fremont Brewing Company BREWERY
This microbrewery, in keeping with current trends, sells its wares via an attached tasting room rather than a full-blown pub. Not only is the beer divine (try the seasonal bourbon barrel-aged Abominable), but the industrial-chic tasting room and ‘urban beer garden’ are highly inclusive spaces, where pretty much everyone in the ’hood comes to hang out at communal tables. (%206-420-2407; www.fremontbrewing.com; 1050 N 34th St; h11am-9pm; c
#; g62)
6Milstead & Co CAFE
This fabulous neighborhood coffee bar in Fremont prefers to carefully select other people’s beans rather than roast its own, but chooses them with the skill and precision of a French sommelier. The ‘bean menu’ changes daily and, thanks to the expertise of owner Andrew Milstead, it rarely disappoints. (%206-659-4814; www.milsteadandco.com; 900 N 34th St; h6am-6pm Mon-Fri, from 7am Sat & Sun; W; g62)
Entertainment
3High Dive LIVE MUSIC
A bit of a dive – but not an unpleasant one – this is one of two local live-music stalwarts in Fremont. It hosts rock primarily by small-name bands on their way up. Strong drinks and BBQ food provide the accompaniment. (www.highdiveseattle.com; 513 N 36th St; h7pm-2am; g40)
3Nectar Lounge LIVE MUSIC
This small and comfortable live-music venue in Fremont outgrew its humble beginnings to become a well-established club that includes a covered patio with stage views. It prides itself on hosting any genre of music and was an early refuge for hip-hop acts. Macklemore has played here. (%206-632-2020; www.nectarlounge.com; 412 N 36th St; h8pm-2am; g40)