(Cameron Sheppard/Sound Publishing)

(Cameron Sheppard/Sound Publishing)

Boom! Seahawks drum finds new home in Renton | Photos

500-pound bass drum shipped from Lumen Field to the Renton History Museum.

The massive bass drum that boomed and bellowed across the Seahawks’ stadium during the peak of the Legion of Boom era was recently donated the Renton History Museum to be celebrated and remembered as a token of the best venues and environments to enjoy a football game anywhere in the country.

On Nov. 9, the roughly 500-pound bass drum was put on a flatbed truck and shipped from Lumen Field to the Renton History Museum, 235 Mill Ave. S. When it arrived in the back alleyway behind the museum, a crew of nearly one dozen Seattle Seahawks staff worked together to hoist it down from the flatbed and onto its specially-designed wheeling base.

Keith Rousu, director of the Blue Thunder marching band, was there to oversee the handover of the drum that he helped advocate for as a unique feature of the Seattle Seahawks game day through an era of their franchise’s best years.

After being beat on by celebrity guests and local musicians alike, the drum was retired around 2016, and no longer has a place in the stadium after renovations to the venue erased its almost ceremonial space in the stadium, Rousu said.

Administrators of the Renton History Museum and local leaders came to see the daunting size of the drum in person. Rousu gave the drum one last beat with his hand, and the bassy vibrations boomed throughout the space of the museum.

Rousu explained to Renton Mayor Armondo Pavone that if you stand about three-and-a-half feet in front of the drum, you can feel its sound vibrations radiate through your body.

Cameron Sheppard/Sound Publishing
The crew celebrates the bass drum’s new home in the Renton History Museum.

Cameron Sheppard/Sound Publishing The crew celebrates the bass drum’s new home in the Renton History Museum.

The Blue Thunder bass drum arrives on the bed of a flatbed truck. (Cameron Sheppard/Sound Publishing)

The Blue Thunder bass drum arrives on the bed of a flatbed truck. (Cameron Sheppard/Sound Publishing)

(Cameron Sheppard/Sound Publishing)

(Cameron Sheppard/Sound Publishing)




Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

The bass drum is wheeled into the Renton History Museum. (Cameron Sheppard/Sound Publishing)

The bass drum is wheeled into the Renton History Museum. (Cameron Sheppard/Sound Publishing)

(Cameron Sheppard/Sound Publishing)

The bass drum is wheeled into the Renton History Museum. (Cameron Sheppard/Sound Publishing)

A whole crew of Seattle Seahawks staff were needed to lift the drum. (Cameron Sheppard/Sound Publishing)

A whole crew of Seattle Seahawks staff were needed to lift the drum. (Cameron Sheppard/Sound Publishing)

One of the staff who helped lift the drum celebrates being done with the hardest part of the move. (Cameron Sheppard/Sound Publishing)

One of the staff who helped lift the drum celebrates being done with the hardest part of the move. (Cameron Sheppard/Sound Publishing)

More in Northwest

Photo by Joshua Solorzano/Auburn Reporter
Jeffrey Nelson, at his hearing Dec. 20, listening to the judge decide whether there will be a new trial and judge recusal.
Judge denies retrial for ex-Auburn police officer convicted of murder

Judge Phelps said that Jeffrey Nelson’s arguments were not persuasive; sentencing set for Jan 23, 2025.

Mount Rainier National Park has around 2 million visitors a year. Image courtesy the National Park Service
The mountain is out and it tells cold deadly tales

Data shows that since 2007, Mount Rainier has become the second most dangerous National Park in the winter.

Screenshot
Federal judge sentences bikini barista chain owner for tax evasion

LadyBug Espresso has locations in Kent, Auburn, Renton and other cities; failed to report $6M in revenue

A northern giant hornet seen on an apple. (Photo courtesy of Washington State Department of Agriculture)
Invasive ‘murder hornets’ found in WA have been eradicated

The hunt for invasive “murder hornets” is over in Washington and the… Continue reading

t
Second suspect arrested in Federal Way IHOP shooting death of 2-year-old

His DNA was reportedly found in the vehicle, and he is thought to be the driver.

t
Antique Marketplace in Auburn loses nearly $10,000 from theft

SEE THE VIDEO: The pair who allegedly carried out the theft had a toddler whom they used as a distraction.

King County District Court (pictured left to right): Judge Raul Martinez, Judge Corinna Harn, Judge Lisa Paglisotti, Judge Fa’amomoi Masaniai, Judge Kristin Shotwell, Judge Rebecca C. Robertson, Judge Peter Peaquin, Judge Jill Klinge, Judge Lisa O’Toole, Judge Kevin Peck, Judge Matthew York, Judge Leah Taguba, Judge Brian Todd, Judge Elizabeth D. Stephenson, Judge Kuljinder Dhillon, Judge Marcus Naylor, Judge Karama H. Hawkins, Judge Nathaniel Green. COURTESY PHOTO
Should Auburn restart its own municipal court?

City leaders are examining the cost and logistics behind current contract with King County.

Photos of Antonio Garcia-Fonseca. Courtesy of GoFundMe.
Federal Way man who shot teen in 2021 pleads guilty to manslaughter

The state recommends a sentence of nine years, six months

Several alternatives are being considered for the next stage of the link light rail linking Federal Way to the Tacoma Dome. These alternatives compare the possibilities for the segment of this section between Federal Way and Fife. Graphic provided by Sound Transit.
Public input sought for Federal Way to Tacoma Dome light rail route

Five options include routes along Interstate 5 or State Route 99. Public comment is open until Feb. 10, 2025.

Courtesy of the Renton Police Department.
24 chihuahuas seized from a Renton home

Many of the dogs were injured, and the home was dirty.

The Lummi Nation provided three colorful shawls during the MMIWP Task Force Summit in September, with turquoise representing human trafficking, purple representing overdoses (“losing our people from fentanyl”) and red representing murdered and missing Indigenous women — all crises that affect North American Natives and Tribes. The summit started with an opening ceremony with words from Lummi Tribal Chair Anthony Hillaire, Lummi Indian Business Council Secretary Lisa Wilson and a Shawl Ceremony with Lhaq’temish singers. Photo by Bailey Jo Josie/Sound Publishing
Working toward justice for the missing and murdered in Washington

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIWP) Task Force Summit highlights progress as well as shortcomings.

t
Federal Way man indicted for kidnapping Auburn woman

Documents say cellphone data links him.