Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the largest city in the state of Washington, and in the
northwestern United States. It is situated between Puget Sound and Lake
Washington, about 108 miles (180 km) south of the Canadian border, in King
County, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2000 census, the city had
a total population of 563,374. The first white settlers arrived in 1851 at
Alki Point, and the first plats for the Town of Seattle were filed in 1853.
The city was incorporated in 1869, after having existed as an incorporated
town from 1865 to 1867.

Seattle is named after Noah Sealth, chief of the Duwamish and Suquamish
tribes, better known as Chief Seattle. Doc Maynard, one of the city
founders, was the primary advocate for naming the city after Chief Seattle.
Previously, the city had been known as Duwamps (or Duwumps).

Claims to fame: landmarks, character, and notable events

Seattle's Pike Place Market

The Space Needle is possibly Seattle's most famous landmark, featured in the
logo of the television show Frasier, and dating from the 1962 Century 21
Exposition, a World's fair. The monorail constructed for the Exposition
still runs today between Seattle Center and downtown. It will be torn down
when the new, mass-transit monorail is built from Ballard through downtown
to West Seattle.

Other famous landmarks include the Smith Tower, Pike Place Market
(pictured), and the Experience Music Project.

In 1981, Seattle held a contest to come up with a new official nickname. The
winner, selected in 1982, was the Emerald City, a slogan submitted by
Californian Sarah Sterling-Franklin. From 1869 to 1982, Seattle's official
nickname was the Queen City.

Seattle is sometimes referred to as the "rainy city." Although it gets less
rain than many other US cities, Seattle has more cloudy and rainy days, with
few heavy downpours. It is also known as Jet City, due to the heavy
influence of Boeing.

Seattle is known as the home of grunge music, has a reputation for heavy
coffee consumption, and was the site of the 1999 meeting of the World Trade
Organization shut down by anti-globalist demonstrators.

Cultural events

   * Seattle International Film Festival (May-June)
   * Northwest Folklife (May)
   * Seafair (July-August)
   * Bite of Seattle (July)
   * Bumbershoot (August-September)
   * Puyallup Fair (September)

Museums and galleries

   * Seattle Art Museum
   * Frye Art Museum
   * Henry Art Gallery
   * Seattle Asian Art Museum
   * Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
   * Museum of History and Industry
   * Center for Wooden Boats
   * Museum of Flight

Educational institutions

Seattle is home to many institutions of higher learning, including:

   * University of Washington
   * Seattle University
   * Seattle Pacific University
   * Cornish College of the Arts
   * Seattle Bible College
   * The Art Institute of Seattle
   * Antioch University Seattle
   * North Seattle, Seattle Central, and South Seattle Community Colleges
   * School of Visual Concepts
   * Bastyr University

Newspapers

As of 2003, two major daily newspapers and several weekly papers are
published in Seattle:

   * Seattle Times
   * Seattle Post-Intelligencer
   * The Stranger
   * Seattle Weekly
   * Tablet

Medical centers and hospitals

Seattle is also well served medically; hospitals in the community include:

   * Swedish Medical Center (including the former Providence and Ballard
     General Hospitals)
   * Harborview Medical Center, the only Level I trauma hospital serving
     Alaska, Washington, Idaho, and Montana
   * The University of Washington Medical Center
   * Virginia Mason Medical Center
   * Northwest Hospital
   * Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center
   * Group Health Central Hospital and Family Health Center
   * The VA Puget Sound Health Care System's Seattle Division.

In addition, Seattle was a pioneer in the development of modern paramedic
services with the establishment of Medic One in 1970. A 60 Minutes story on
the success of Medic One that aired in 1974 called Seattle "the best place
in the world to have a heart attack."

Seattle's First Hill is also known as "Pill Hill" because, in addition to
being the current home of Harborview, Swedish, and Virginia Mason, it was
also once the location of the Maynard, Seattle General, and Doctors
Hospitals (now merged into Swedish), as well as Cabrini Hospital.

Sports teams

Seattle is home to the following professional sports teams:

   * Seattle Mariners (Major League Baseball)
   * Seattle Seahawks (National Football League)
   * Seattle Sounders (A League Soccer)
   * Seattle Storm (WNBA)
   * Seattle Supersonics (National Basketball Association)
   * Seattle Thunderbirds (Western Hockey League)

Companies

Until 2001, Seattle was home to Boeing. Following a bidding war in which
several cities offered huge tax breaks, Boeing moved its corporate
headquarters to Chicago. The Seattle area is still home to Boeing's
commercial airplanes division and several Boeing plants. Major companies
whose headquarters still remain in the Seattle area include:

   * Airborne Express
   * Alaska Airlines
   * Amazon.com
   * AT&T Wireless
   * Costco
   * Cranium
   * Eddie Bauer
   * Expedia.com
   * Getty Images
   * Microsoft
   * Nordstrom
   * PACCAR
   * RealNetworks
   * R.E.I.
   * Safeco Corporation
   * Starbucks
   * T-Mobile USA
   * Washington Mutual
   * Washington Federal Savings
   * Weyerhaeuser

Government

Mayor:
Greg Nickels
City Council:
Judy Nicastro, Richard Conlin, Peter Steinbrueck, Jan Drago, Margaret
Pageler, Nick Licata, Heidi Wills, Richard McIver, Jim Compton

Bertha Knight Landes was mayor from 1926 to 1928. She was the first woman
mayor of a major American city.

Geography

Seattle is located at 47¡37'35" North, 122¡19'59" West (47.626353,
-122.333144)1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
369.2 km² (142.5 mi²). 217.2 km² (83.9 mi²) of it is
land and 152.0 km² (58.7 mi²) of it is water. The total area is
41.16% water.

Bodies of water: Lake Washington, Union Bay, Montlake Cut, Portage Bay, Lake
Union, Fremont Cut, Salmon Bay, Shilshole Bay, Lake Washington Ship Canal,
Puget Sound, Elliott Bay, Duwamish River, Green Lake, Haller Lake, Bitter
Lake, University Slough, Ravenna Creek, Thornton Creek, Piper's Creek,
Arboretum Creek, Longfellow Creek, Fauntleroy Creek, Smith Cove

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 563,374 people, 258,499 households, and
113,481 families residing in the city. The population density is
2,593.5/km² (6,717.0/mi²). There are 270,524 housing units at an
average density of 1,245.4/km² (3,225.4/mi²). The racial makeup of
the city is 70.09% White, 8.44% African American, 1.00% Native American,
13.12% Asian, 0.50% Pacific Islander, 2.38% from other races, and 4.46% from
two or more races. 5.28% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 258,499 households out of which 17.9% have children under the age
of 18 living with them, 32.7% are married couples living together, 8.1% have
a female householder with no husband present, and 56.1% are non-families.
40.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.3% have someone
living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is
2.08 and the average family size is 2.87.

In the city the population is spread out with 15.6% under the age of 18,
11.9% from 18 to 24, 38.6% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who
are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100
females there are 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
are 98.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $45,736, and the median
income for a family is $62,195. Males have a median income of $40,929 versus
$35,134 for females. The per capita income for the city is $30,306. 11.8% of
the population and 6.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the
total people living in poverty, 13.8% are under the age of 18 and 10.2% are 65 or older.

[edit]

Official Flower, Slogan, and Song

   * Flower: Dahlia (1913)
   * Slogans: "The City of Flowers" (1942); "The City of Goodwill" (1990)
     (for the Goodwill Games held that year in Seattle)
   * Song: "Seattle the Peerless City" (1909)

Annexed Towns

   * South Seattle, 1905-1905
   * Ballard, 1890-1907
   * Columbia City, 1893-1907
   * West Seattle, 1902-1907
   * South Park, 1905-1907
   * Ravenna, 1906-1907
   * Southeast Seattle, 1906-1907
   * Georgetown, 1904-1910

The City's Neighborhoods

Annexation dates follow each name, unless the neighborhood was part of the
area of first incorporation.

   * Ballard, 1907
   * Beacon Hill
   * Belltown
   * Blue Ridge, 1953
   * Broadview, 1953
   * Crown Hill, 1907
   * Capitol Hill
   * Central District
   * Denny-Blaine
   * Chinatown/International District, original, plus tide lands platted
     1895
   * Columbia City, 1907
   * Downtown
   * Eastlake, 1886 and 1891
   * First Hill
   * Fremont, 1891
   * Georgetown, 1910
   * Green Lake, 1891
   * Greenwood, 1891 and 1953
   * Lake City, 1953
   * Laurelhurst, 1910
   * Leschi
   * Madison Park, 1891
   * Madrona
   * Magnolia, 1891
   * Montlake, 1891
   * Mount Baker
   * Northgate, 1952 and 1953
   * Phinney Ridge, 1891
   * Pioneer Square, original, plus tide lands platted 1895
   * Queen Anne, original, plus 1896 and 1891
   * Rainier Beach, 1907
   * Rainier Valley, original, plus 1907
   * Ravenna, 1907, 1910, 1943, 1945
   * Roosevelt, 1891
   * Sand Point, 1910, 1942, 1953
   * Seward Park, 1907
   * Sodo, tide lands platted 1895
   * South Park, 1907
   * University District, 1891
   * Wallingford, 1891
   * Washington Park
   * West Seattle, tide lands platted 1895, plus 1907, 1950, 1954, 1955
   * White Center, 1907, 1946, 1948
   * Windermere, 1910

Seattle Metro Area

The Seattle metro area is made up of some or all of the following counties:

   * King County, Washington - Seattle and immediate vicinity
   * Snohomish County, Washington - north of Seattle
   * Pierce County, Washington - south of Seattle
   * Kitsap County, Washington - west of Seattle, separated from the city by
     Puget Sound

Complete listings of the cities in the immediate area are above. The
following list is a subset of the full list:

   * Bellevue
   * Mercer Island
   * Issaquah
   * Seatac
   * Bremerton
   * Federal Way
   * Redmond
   * Renton
   * Kent
   * Des Moines

Major Highways

   * Interstate 5 (north to Everett, Bellingham, and Vancouver, British
     Columbia; south to Tacoma, Olympia, and Portland, Oregon)
   * Interstate 90 (east to Ellensburg, Spokane, and Billings, Montana
   * Washington State Route 520 (east to Bellevue and Redmond
   * Washington State Route 99 (formerly United States Highway 99)
     (remaining portion north to Everett)
   * Washington State Route 522 (northeast to Bothell and Monroe)

Airports

   * Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, located in SeaTac, Washington and
     serving Seattle and Tacoma, Washington

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