Rapunzel in Her Lonely Tower

Photo & Text © 2012 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved. No use, reproduction, alteration or republishing in any media.

She's not looking too pleased with the prospect of the two possible suitors ignoring her as they pass by below, but you'd expect a bit of a cranky attitude from someone whose been up in the west tower of the Fremont Bridge for so many years. She is one of two neon figures from children's stories (the other is from How the Elephant Got His Trunk) that grace the windows of the two towers. A little friend of mine who just turned four last weekend was so excited to share with me that her birthday cake was to feature Rapunzel, I just had to go over to the bridge to nab this shot for her to see. It was my fave fairy tale from my Brothers Grimm collection when I was small, too. I showed you an earlier photo I took of this whimsical urban art by neon artist Rodman Miller before here in 2007. It was removed for awhile for repairs and then reinstalled. You'll notice the video camera has been moved, too.

Rapunzel

Photo & Text Copyright 2007 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved, including reproduction or republishing.

A bit of whimsy is pretty much the norm in the Fremont district (self proclaimed "Center of the Universe"). This neon representation of the fairytale heroine Rapunzel is cleverly placed on the west tower of the Fremont bridge (a low draw bridge that is the busiest in the western US). I notice that if one is looking at her, one's face is also looking straight into one of the bridge's video monitors. On the East tower there is a neon depiction of an elephant struggling with an alligator, I think maybe from the Elephant Child story. Whoever thought to add these neon touches to the old bridge lookouts had a clever idea!

Epicenter of the Universe

Photo & Text © 2012 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved. No use, reproduction, alteration or republishing in any media.

The Fremont neighborhood's slogan is that it is "The Center of the Universe." It is printed on signs as one enters the free-spirited and art-filled district. The Epi Apartments (as in epicenter) is in the heart of the neighborhood. The free flowing metal sculpture that engulfs the corner tower was pretty sparkly in the sunset light. This is part of the view Rapunzel has from her own tower on the Fremont bridge :-).