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- Seattle, Washington - Statue of Vladimir Lenin
16 foot high bronze statue of Lenin brought from the Czech Republic for only $28,000 in shipping charges and the cost of the statue. The guy who bought it mortgaged his house for the money and promptly died when it got here leaving his wife with a $40,000 debt and a statue of Lenin.
[Mark Miller, 03/04/2001]Lenin Statue:RoadsideAmerica.com Team Field Report
- Address:
- 600 N 36th St., Seattle, WA
- Directions:
- North 36th St. and Evanston Avenue North, just north and west of the Fremont Bridge.
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
- Seattle, Washington - Statue of Viking Leif Erickson
At the shore of Shilshole Bay in Ballard in Seattle there is a bronze statue of Leif the Lucky looking out over the Puget Sound, a body of water he never knew existed.
There is also a wooden statue of a viking that I call the Monument to the Unknown Norwegian on the side of a bank on Market street, the main drag of Ballard which is heavily Scandinavian in population. As yet we have no monuments to Irish monks in coracles but give us time.
[Rahne Kirkham, 07/15/2001]Statue of Viking Leif Erickson:- Address:
- 7001 Seaview Ave. NW, Seattle, WA
- Directions:
- Just south of the entry building for the Shilshole Bay Marina, in the parking lot, overlooking Puget Sound.
- Admission:
- Free
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
Twin Teepees Demolished in Surprise Maneuver
Seattle's famous Twin Teepees Restaurant, a regional roadside icon since 1937, was unceremoniously bulldozed on Tuesday, July 30. The Teepees, on North Aurora Avenue, had been in decline for a number of years, and a fire last May crippled the establishment. Owner Rob Pierides was unable to muster the estimated $100,000 repair costs. The demolishing of the building was scheduled and completed before any locals or preservationists could protest. Morning commuters saw it standing proudly on the way into Seattle, and a reduced to a pile of rubbish on the way home.
Aside from its unusual double Indian-style teepee structure, the restaurant was known as the place where Harlan, a young cook, allegedly perfected his fried chicken recipe, and later became known as Colonel Sanders.
Many Smilers and fans of the attraction have reported on the Twin Teepees' demise:
"Really sad," sez Paula. "You could get a prime rib dinner with soup and dessert for $11.50."
Steve Thornton writes: "My wife and I last ate there a week before the (2000)fire. I'm sad, and I'm angry. It's not just a restaurant, it's part of our cultural landscape, and it should have been saved. We spend hundreds of millions of tax dollars building hideous monuments to wealth and power (Safeco, new Seahawks stadium, Beneroya, Pine Street canopy, Nordstrom parking garage, EMP) while we allow our real culture to be bulldozed. The new edifices could be anywhere -- Houston, Phoenix, Indianapolis -- but the Twin Teepees was uniquely HERE. Now it's gone."
[08/01/2001]- Hours:
- July 2001: Demolished.
- Status:
- Gone
- Seattle, Washington - Twin Teepees Restaurant - closed
Sadly, the Twin Teepees Restaurant in Seattle is closed. We live less than a mile away, and ate there often, even though the inside had been horribly remodeled in the 80s. Several months ago, there was a fire in the kitchen, and the restaurant had to close. The restaurant management, who were leasing the space from the owner, decided to pack it in and not reopen, and the owner doesn't want to get back into the restaurant biz himself, so it sits there, sad and alone.
The awnings are starting to rip apart, and the paint looks bad; it looks so sharp in your photo, but now it's another decrepit relic in a city that ignores its past.
[Steve Thornton, 01/15/2001] - Seattle, Washington - Twin Teepees
Restaurant shaped like - Twin Teepees. Actually has a description of "Roadside Art" on the menu. Was built in 1937 to lure weary travelers going up the old Interstate 99 for a hot meal in a teepee. Still serves basic (not bad) American food. One side is a restaurant - decorated in true kitsch "American Indian" style. The other side is a bar which serves large and tasty martinis.
[Shari Finkel, 10/01/2000]See our photo and more on Big Teepees.
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The statue was unveiled July 17, 1962, during Norway Day at the Seattle World's Fair.