"Welcome to FREMONT, Center of the Universe," reads the sign. Located at the north end of Lake Union by the Ship Canal, this neighborhood is also referred to as "The People's Republic of Fremont," a name whose ironic relevance is reinforced by a large and controversial statue of Lenin. Historically a bohemian and artistic gathering place, Fremont's recent gentrification has not dulled its embracing of the eccentric.
Retro-futurism reigns in Fremont. A fusion of 50s and 60s style with 23rd-century chic is what's in, with vintage clothing stores comfortably abutting rocket-fusillage glam. The supermarket is entirely organic, the Solstice Cyclists infamously nude, and the recording studio the site of Nirvana's first recorded demos. What's unexpected about this hippy vibe, though, is its quietly chortling self-consciousness.
The unprepared visitor is likely to feel that he or she has unwittingly stepped into a creation of Douglas Adams or Monty Python. Fremont is enthusiastically zany, highly entertained by its own slightly geeky jokes, and keen to deconstruct normality at every turn. Within three blocks of the center you will find a deluxe junk store; a subversively graffitied courtyard; a classy wisteria-clad boutique; and a Cold War rocket erected at the corner of a restaurant. The rocket itself bears the neighborhood's unofficial motto: De Libertas Quirkas, or, Freedom to be Peculiar.
Add to this description a line-up of outdoor summer movies that includes Shaun of the Dead, Edward Scissorhands and Mamma Mia, and I think we can safely say that the style we're looking at here is high camp, with all the "perversely sophisticated appeal" that Merriam-Webster allows. Irony is the tone du jour, and in case the bohemian surface has taken you in, I should add that Google, Adobe and the world headquarters of Getty Images are all located in Fremont. Indeed, in typical Fremont style, that area has been promptly dubbed the Silicon Canal.
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