Entry No. 23 — the Seattle file — filed under: roadside-oddity
The Fremont Rocket
A 53-foot Cold War-era rocket juts out from the corner of a Fremont building as if mid-launch, bearing the neighborhood's mock coat of arms and its Latin motto 'De Libertas Quirkas' ('Freedom to be Peculiar'). Despite the look, it's not real rocketry: it's a military-surplus tail boom from a Fairchild C-119 'Flying Boxcar' cargo plane that a surplus store once displayed in Belltown. The Fremont Business Association bought it for $750 in 1991 and erected it here on June 3, 1994. A smoke generator in its engine bay lets it puff steam, and neon 'laser pods' line its fins.
The story
You're looking at what appears to be a 53-foot Cold War rocket bolted mid-launch to the corner of a building at 35th and Evanston, complete with neon 'laser pods' along its fins. But despite the theatrical space-race silhouette, you aren't looking at missile hardware. The hull is actually the salvaged military-surplus tail boom of a Fairchild C-119 'Flying Boxcar'—a heavy cargo plane designed in the late 1940s—that spent decades standing outside an army surplus yard in Belltown.
When that Belltown yard was slated for demolition in the early 1990s, the Fremont Business Association stepped in to rescue the scrap. They bought the plane section for $750 in 1991, hauled it north, and officially mounted it on Evanston Avenue on June 3, 1994. To finish the illusion, they rigged a steam generator inside the lower engine cone and emblazoned the side with Fremont's mock coat of arms and neighborhood motto: De Libertas Quirkas—'Freedom to be Peculiar.'
What it's like
It hangs directly over the sidewalk, jutting skyward at a sharp angle above street-level retail. It takes about three minutes to inspect, but look closely at the fins: the neon tubing is custom-fitted to give off a sci-fi glow at dusk, and during neighborhood festivals, you might catch the lower bay venting bursts of theatrical steam. It sits right in the middle of central Fremont, making it an effortless pitstop while wandering between nearby coffee shops and oddball monuments.
The move: Meet at the Center of the Universe signpost a block away, then walk over to the rocket and pick out the rest of the neighborhood's oddball public art on foot.
- 📍 Fremont, Seattle
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: N 35th St & Evanston Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103
Hours: Added 2026-06-24 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Statue of Lenin — Walk one block north to see how a seven-ton bronze Soviet dictator ended up standing outside a Fremont taco shop.
- The Fremont Troll — Head two blocks east under the Aurora Bridge to find a giant concrete troll crushing an actual Volkswagen Beetle.
- Add-a-Ball Amusements — Dip down a nearby alley into a basement arcade packed with vintage pinball machines and cheap beers.
- Gas Works Park Shadow Sundial — Head east along the water to wander the rusty industrial ruins of a former coal gasification plant.
Good to know
Is the Fremont Rocket a real missile?
No. It is made from the modified tail boom of a Cold War-era Fairchild C-119 'Flying Boxcar' military cargo plane.
Does the rocket actually smoke or light up?
Yes. It features neon lights fitted along its tail fins and a built-in steam generator in the engine bay that vents smoke on select neighborhood occasions.
How did Fremont end up with it?
The Fremont Business Association bought the surplus plane parts for $750 in 1991 when a Belltown surplus store was torn down, erecting it on its current building corner on June 3, 1994.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Wikipedia · Roadside America · Official site · Yelp · shuttertours.com
last checked: 2026-06-24