Fremont in Seattle: Public Art at Troll’s Knoll

Posted on March 21, 2025 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

Fremont in Seattle is a lively, art-filled neighborhood with volunteers in projects such as the Troll’s Knoll Forest on North 36th Street.  Volunteers maintain the site and are asking for contributions to restore the recently-damaged artwork.  Here is a message from the group:

Dear FOTK (Friends of Troll’s Knoll) Supporters:

Lanterns at Troll’s Knoll Forest in Fremont, Seattle.

On Saturday, March 8th when visiting Troll’s Knoll Forest, we found that a mushroom lantern sculpture (third one as you head south) had been violently damaged. The mushroom cap was split horizontally and the cradle that supported the cap had been crushed and removed from the structure (see attached photo). The four mushroom lantern sculptures on site are a collaboration between artists Michiko Tanaka and HaiYing Wu. They were installed in 2023.

HaiYing and Michiko visited the site to survey the damage. It was determined the mushroom can be repaired but will cost in the neighborhood of $2,000. The work will consist of repairing damage, reproducing a silicone mold, cement casting and installation.

We are very honored to have this work by HaiYing Wu and Michiko Tanaka and are reaching out to the community to help fund the repair as this was not an expenditure we anticipated having.

Fremont’s Troll underneath the Aurora Bridge on North 36th Street.

While it is disappointing having art vandalized, our group is committed to maintaining the art and nature of the site. If you have visited the site lately you may have noticed all of the daffodils and tulips we planted are coming up. We expect even more visitors to the site next year because of 2026 FIFA World Cup.

We hope you can make a donation to help with this repair and keep up the momentum at Troll’s Knoll. (Friends of Troll’s Knoll is Seattle Parks Foundation Community Partner, and a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Tax ID: 91-1998597).

Thank you.

Leo Griffin
President
Friends of Troll’s Knoll
fremonttrollsknoll@gmail.com

 

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John Terlicher of Morningside Market in Seattle

Posted on March 1, 2025 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

This blog article will tell of an Italian immigrant who fulfilled his American Dream in Seattle.  John Terlicher was able to find work, learn English, marry, own a home and have his own business.  He was mostly successful in American life, while also experiencing difficult economic times and personal tragedies.

Coming to America

Italian immigrant Giovanni Terlicher arrived in New York Harbor in March 1910.  As he sailed past the Statue of Liberty, he dreamed of all the things he wanted to do in America.

Giovanni continued his journey across the USA until he reached Seattle in June 1910, having celebrated his sixteenth birthday along the way.  In Seattle Giovanni hit the streets looking for work.

Today we would not expect a sixteen-year-old to be out of school and working, but in the early 1900s in Seattle it was quite usual.  There was only one high school (in downtown Seattle), and few people went on to more education beyond sixth or eighth grade.

But things were changing, and some people wanted Seattle to move on from its frontier origins and become a real city with more resources, including education.  Events of the years 1907-1917 caused the growth of north Seattle as people moved toward areas where new schools, roads and utilities like electricity were being put in.

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Street Trees in a Storm

Posted on February 1, 2025 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

In the autumn season a canopy of color is created by the flame ash trees which line the arterial 35th Ave NE in Wedgwood.   The trees extend from NE 84th Street in the Wedgwood shopping district, northward through Meadowbrook to where 35th Ave NE merges with Lake City Way NE at NE 137th Street.

Street trees in Wedgwood’s business district on 35th Ave NE.  Photo by Valarie.

These flame ash street trees were planted circa 1971 in a citywide program which put different species along different arterials.  Along 35th Ave NE, the flame ash trees have grown very tall.  After fifty years’ growth, some of the trees have begun to lean or deteriorate so that, in recent years, some of the flame ash trees have had to be removed.

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Lake City’s Landmarked Buildings

Posted on January 1, 2025 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

Lake City in northeast Seattle has two historic buildings landmarked for preservation, which represent the neighborhood’s long record of community activism.

Lake City began forming as a community in the early 1900s and one of its first organizing efforts was to provide a school for its children.   In 1912 residents collected signatures on a petition to the King County Superintendent of Schools to form their own Lake City School District.

Classes met in temporary locations until the new wood-frame school building opened in January 1914, on the north side of NE 125th Street between 27th to 28th Avenues NE, present site of the Lake City Branch Library.

In 1919 two more classrooms were added but by 1926 the Lake City School building was again too small.  Lake City was growing, and with it, there were lots of children.

Lake City started its own school in 1912 on the present site of the library, NE 125th Street between 27th and 28th Avenues NE.

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Holiday Lights 2024

Posted on December 1, 2024 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

A fun family holiday event in northeast Seattle is the annual Candy Cane Lane, a cluster of houses all decked out in lights and themed decorations, located on NE Ravenna Blvd/NE Park Road at 21st Ave NE (see map below).

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Holiday Season in Wedgwood 2024

Posted on November 23, 2024 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

The opening day of 2024 Christmas tree sales at Hunter Tree Farm, 7744 35th Ave NE, signals the beginning of the holiday season in the Wedgwood neighborhood in northeast Seattle.  Open this year November 22 to December 24, the Christmas tree lot becomes a gathering place for holiday cheer with lights, music and evergreen smells.

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An Autumn Stroll in Wedgwood

Posted on November 12, 2024 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

The autumn season brings vibrant color to the flame ash street trees along the arterial 35th Avenue NE in the Wedgwood neighborhood of northeast Seattle.

A stroll to enjoy the colors of the season can be taken along with stops at local businesses and at outdoor seating.  The variety of resting places includes bus shelters, benches outside of businesses, and outdoor tables at local cafe and coffee shops.

The Morningside Market in Wedgwood, 9118 35th Ave NE, which opened in 1926, has a friendly bench.  Photo by Valarie.

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Birds Named For People

Posted on October 26, 2024 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

In Autumn we observe the seasonal activities of birds.  Like people, some birds fly out, migrating to a warmer climate for the winter.  Some birds, and some people, stay in Seattle and make preparations for surviving winter conditions.

Around Seattle we see Bonaparte’s Gulls which may stay for the winter.

Heermann’s Gulls are seen gliding and gulping fish while on their way to Mexico for the winter.

Local birder Joe Sweeney writes that it has become commonplace to see Anna’s Hummingbirds in Seattle even in winter, undoubtedly supported by hummingbird feeders.

In preparation for winter, Steller’s Jays seem to be frantically begging for peanuts which they cache for later consumption.

A Steller’s Jay collects peanuts for winter.

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The Thornton Creek Watershed Restoration Project in Meadowbrook

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

A car in the ditch…. and then another and another.

Car in the ditch along NE 110th Street nearest to the corner of 31st Ave NE. Photo courtesy of the Thornton Creek Watershed Restoration Project.

Over the past three years, residents of the Meadowbrook neighborhood in Seattle often noticed cars in the ditch on the north side of NE 110th Street nearest to the corner of 31st Ave NE.

With school athletic fields on both sides of NE 110th, it was apparent that cars were parking along there when spectators came to watch football or soccer games at the schools.

Since they first began keeping a tally in 2021, neighbors have counted seventeen cars in the ditch.

In 2021 a volunteer group formed to do something about this, based upon environmental concerns.  It’s not just a ditch along NE 110th Street — the water flowing there is actually part of a creek system.  Steps needed to be taken to prevent illegal parking, restore the landscaping and restore the ability of the soil to filter contaminants out of the water entering the creek, such as rain and roadway runoff.

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The Willow Creek Fish Passage Restoration Project in Meadowbrook

Posted on October 22, 2024 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

The Thornton Creek Watershed of northeast Seattle has two main branches, North and South.  These branches converge at The Confluence in the Meadowbrook neighborhood at NE 107th Street, on the east side of 35th Ave NE across from Nathan Hale High School.

Now called Meadowbrook Pond Natural Area, the site serves to hold and filter the water before the converged Thornton Creek mainstream flows out to Lake Washington at Matthews Beach on NE 93rd Street.

Meadowbrook Pond in autumn. Photo by Valarie.

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