Kirby's Fremont

The Art of Recycling...Art

By Kirby Lindsay

Fremont has become a home for art, much of it discarded. As with some of its citizens we accept the unusual, the undervalued and the under-appreciated and, often, watch them thrive and reach a potential never previously imagined.

The Hat and Boots is not destined to be one of them.

Once a gas station in the South Seattle neighborhood of Georgetown, they were built as an attention grabber on the edge of an 11-acre property. Lewis Nasmyth, a Fremont resident, designed them in one afternoon. The broad-brimmed Cowboy Hat was the station office, and the boots, one male and one female, are restrooms. A mall was intended for the rest of the property but was never built. Eventually even the gas station closed and the whole property fell to the State of Washington in bankruptcy proceedings.

The buildings, now unofficial Seattle landmarks, have fallen into disrepair in the last decades. Five years ago, businessman Mark Ukelson was inspired by them but geography was against him. He saw them as an information kiosk and starting point for public art tours of Fremont. The Georgetown community disagreed.

Mark visited the structures and examined the possibilities. He spoke to two moving companies about having the Hat and Boots brought to Fremont by barge. He went through the state process to gain permission to move them. He spoke with Fremont property owner Suzie Burke about leasing space.

Mark has long wished to "show people the city through public art" and he thinks the Hat and Boots are a natural kick-off to that. The Hat could be used for community purposes and to sell items, raising money for the maintenance and repair needed on the buildings and other public art. The Boots could serve another, equally underserved need, as a public restroom.

Suzie was "open to the idea" as Mark recalls, but only with community support. The Fremont Arts Council was lukewarm. They felt then, four years ago, Fremont had enough kitsch and the whole idea looked too commercial. The Fremont Chamber Of Commerce was more willing to help, and they wrote a letter, saying they supported his efforts in investigating the rescue of a Seattle landmark.

I worked for the Fremont Chamber then, and I wrote the letter. And I received the first of many indignant, and unexpected, phone calls from members of the Georgetown community. "Fremont," they said, "is trying to steal our landmark!" The Chamber immediately backed away from the project.

Mark has been less willing to concede, because of a growing concern he has for the future of the buildings, and the abilities of Georgetown to save them. Mark recalls making an agreement with Kai Schwarz, a representative of Georgetown, at a Fremont Arts Council meeting. Mark promised to withdraw his proposal to the state if Georgetown would "restore the site and maintain it for public use." If that didn't happen, Mark asked, support my plan.

The Georgetown neighborhood has some very cumbersome obstacles to overcome. The current owner of the buildings, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, is pushing hard for their removal. They want to sell the land and potential buyers are unenthusiastic about having to deal with the structures. Efforts to officially designate the Hat and Boots "historic" have all but failed. Earlier this year skateboarders destroyed the hat brim while using it for a ramp. Now Mark has received a donation of $50,000 to help him move the buildings. The contributor wishes to remain nameless but "wants to see that the buildings won't fall apart," according to Mark.

Members of the Fremont community sympathize with the battle Georgetown faces. From the Interurban to the dinosaurs, none of the Fremont public art projects have been effortless. Every one took many people working hard against sometimes-unbelievable pressure to install and then maintain.

Our art reflects who we are. These days Lenin, who has left his communist ways behind, often carries political signs for democratic candidates and wears a Santa hat at Christmas time. Our Rocket, once designed for destruction, is now a piece of whimsy. A part of who we are is Seattle. As Seattleites, the Hat and Boots is part of our history too, even if they stay miles away in the care of the people of Georgetown.

Kirby Lindsay has written 50 columns for The Seattle Press on her Fremont, or things not really related to Fremont, and she is grateful to everyone who takes the time to read them. If you have questions, you may write to her c/o The Seattle Press or e-mail to fremont@oz.net.

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