A paved utility alley in lower Fremont has quickly become one of Fremont’s newest attractions: a sprawling mural of global sensation Jimothy the raccoon.
Flyers hung on nearby utility poles now point visitors toward it with the familiar Fremont mantra: “Stay Weird.”
The project’s creator, Kelsey Hoffman, who lives in a building on the alley between North 36th and 38th Streets, and Fremont and Evanston Avenues, said the art didn’t start as a beautification effort. It started as an attempt to keep people from getting hurt.
Hoffman, a teacher who spent much of her summer break in the alley, said the city-owned 14-foot-wide passage has always drawn some through-traffic. She said it got worse after the Route 40 Transit-Plus Multimodal Corridor Project altered traffic patterns in lower Fremont. Frustrated drivers who were stuck in traffic began cutting through the alley, far exceeding the speed limit of 15 mph.
The danger isn’t disputed by others who live along the alley. Bill Crossman, a longtime resident, wrote to Fremont Neighbor that drivers “RACE down the alley with determined abandon, creating a real safety hazard to residents and children.” In a Facebook post, neighbor Nikki Marie said she’s seen drivers exceeding 40 mph in the alley.
Hoffman said she asked the city about formal traffic-calming measures, like speed bumps or signage, and was told alleys don’t qualify. She turned to research on traffic calming, and found that irregular edges and painted patterns can make a street feel visually narrower. This prompts drivers to slow down without a physical obstacle.
She’d recently been at a rock-painting party where friends decorated stones with Jimothy, the Ballard raccoon that’s become a global meme phenomenon. “I thought, maybe that’s what would bring some joy and enthusiasm to the neighborhood,” she said. Hoffman was soon painting the Jimothy mural on the alley with the help of neighbors.
“It’s really meant to be a thing that the community can slow down and pause and have joy around,” Hoffman said. “We’re not putting anything in their way. We just want them to think a little more carefully about the speed they’re going.”
An adjacent rock garden honors Fawzi Benhariz, also known as Benny, a Fremont artist known for stacking rocks around the neighborhood who died a couple of years ago. Hoffman said she never met him, but longtime neighbors made the connection once she started painting, and now stop by to share memories of him.
The alley also features a large Fremont mural on a concrete wall that was previously hit by taggers.
Since the work began, Hoffman said she’s met sanitation workers and police officers who’ve grown fond of Jimothy, a real estate agent who now walks prospective buyers through the alley, and a steady stream of neighbors dropping off rocks and encouragement. Kids from the block have left their own finger-painted stones along the wall.
“This is a neighborhood with people who really care and are passionate,” Hoffman said.
Not everyone is on board. Hoffman said the Fremont Vista condominium association, whose retaining wall and rockery border the alley, has raised concerns. Hoffman said the property line has long been unclear and that she’s emailed the association to apologize and ask for a conversation about next steps.
Reached for comment, Fremont Vista Homeowners Association President Danette Leonhardi said the association has not made a decision on the mural or the rock garden, pending an upcoming board meeting. “We have no public comments to share,” Leonhardi wrote in an email, adding that the board is “seeking legal advice as to our rights and responsibilities as property owners.”
The murals and rock garden sit in the alley behind 19 Gold, reachable on foot from Fremont Avenue North, North 36th or 38th Streets. For now, it’s searchable on Google Maps as “Stay Weird Jimothy Mural.” Visitors are encouraged to walk up rather than drive through, stack a rock, and share photos.
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