Statue of Lenin (Seattle)

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Lenin statue in Fremont, Seattle, Washington

The Statue of Lenin in Seattle is a 16 foot bronze sculpture of Russian Communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin located (as of 2007) in the Fremont, Seattle, Washington neighborhood.

The statue was constructed by Slavic artist Emil Venkov under commission from the Soviet and Czechoslovak government. While following the bounds of his commission, Venkov intended to portray Lenin as a bringer of revolution, in contrast to the traditional portrayals of Lenin as a philosopher and educator. His Lenin marches ahead fiercely, surrounded by torrid flames and symbols of war.

Venkov's work was completed and installed in Poprad, Slovakia in 1988, shortly before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989. In the mass demonstrations that shook the Soviet empire in those days, the statue was toppled.

Lewis Carpenter, a resident of Issaquah, Washington teaching in Poprad at the time, realized the massive statue's scrap metal value, and had it brought to the United States, financed via mortgaging his home, at a total cost of $41,000. Days after returning to the U.S., Carpenter was killed in a car accident, leaving the statue in the hands of his estate, lying in his backyard. The family contacted a local brass foundry, who offered to move it off the property. In 1995 the statue was first placed in Fremont at the corner of N 34th St & Evanston Ave N, one block south of a salvaged Cold War rocket fuselage, another artistic Fremont attraction. It now stands two blocks northward at the intersection of Evanston Ave N, N 36th St, and Fremont Place, outside a Taco del Mar and an ice cream parlor.

The Carpenter family continues to seek a buyer for the statue. Asking price as of 2006 is $250,000, up from a 1995 price tag of $150,000.

Lenin statue with red star for Christmas

Fremont is considered a quirky artistic community, and like other statues in the neighborhood (such as Waiting for the Interurban), it is often the victim to endorsed and unendorsed artistic projects. A glowing red star and sometimes Christmas lights have been added to the statue for Christmas since 2004. For the 2004 Solstice Parade, it was made to look like John Lennon. During Gay Pride Week, the statue is dressed in drag. Other appropriations of the statue have included painting it as a clown.