Lenin in Fremont
The quirky community of Fremont, often referred to as the People’s Republic of Fremont, is home to the Troll that lives under the bridge, and is also home to a 16 foot bronze sculpture of Lenin.
The statue was constructed by Emil Venkov, a Bulgarian sculptor, who portrayed Lenin a revolutionary surrounded by guns and flames. The statue was originally erected in Lenin’s Square in Czechoslovakia in 1988. After the fall of Communism in that country, the statue was removed from the Square.
A Seattle area English teacher, Lewis Carpenter, was teaching English in Czechoslovakia and found the statue in a scrap yard being sold for junk. He enlisted the aid of a journalist friend and the two of them purchased Lenin for $13,000.
After the purchase, the statue was cut into three pieces and shipped to the U.S. Importing a statue of a communist leader proved to be very unpopular in Seattle, although Carpenter tried to impress upon people the value of the statue as art. Lenin may have been a violent leader, but the statue was of great artistic value.
Unfortunately, Carpenter was killed in a car accident, before anything could happen to the statue. Ownership passed to his family, but for some time it was left lying in their backyard. Negotiations, both political and financial followed, and eventually the statue was placed in Fremont. It was later moved two blocks to its current location at the triangular intersection of Evanston Avenue North, North 36th Street and Fremont Place.
Lenin is festively decorated for a variety of community events, including lights during the holiday season and dressed in drag for Gay Pride Week.
The Lenin statue is still owned by the Carpenter family, and officially is still for sale.
Photo credit: wikimedia
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Tags: Art, b5media, city blogs, destination blogs, Fremont, Lenin, seattle, Seattle tourism, seattle-traveler, the-seattle-traveler, travel, travel information, vacation, Washington, Washington-StateRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Art, History & Information, Just a Bit Weird - Fun & Quirky Places
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