Portal:Seattle
Seattle
Seattle /sitl/ is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located in the U.S. state of Washington between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, about 96 miles (155 km) south of the United StatesCanadian border in King County, of which it is the county seat. Seattle was first settled by Europeans on November 13, 1851, by Arthur A. Denny and his crew, which would subsequently become known as the Denny party. Early settlements in the area were called New York, Alki and Duwamps; in 1853 at the suggestion of Doc Maynard the main settlement was named Seattle, after Sealth, chief of two local tribes. As of 2010[update], the city had an estimated population of 608,660 and an estimated metropolitan area population of approximately 3.3 million. Seattle is the hub for the Greater Puget Sound region. Its official nickname is the Emerald City, the result of a contest by a civic-minded association in the early 1980s to designate a pleasant nickname for the city; the name alludes to the lush evergreen trees in the surrounding area. It is also referred to informally as the Gateway to Alaska, Queen City, and Jet City, due to the local influence of Boeing. (Seattle-area band Queensrche also wrote a song called "Jet City Woman".) Seattle residents are known as Seattleites.
Seattle is often regarded as the birthplace of grunge music, and has a reputation for heavy coffee consumption; coffee companies founded in Seattle include Starbucks, Seattle's Best Coffee, and Tully's. There are also many successful independent artisanal espresso roasters and cafes. Seattle was the site of the 1999 meeting of the World Trade Organization, and the attendant demonstrations by anti-globalization activists. Researchers at Central Connecticut State University ranked Seattle the most literate city in America in 2005 and 2006. Moreover, the United States Census Bureau indicated that Seattle has the highest percentage of college graduates of any major U.S. city. Based on per capita income, Seattle ranks 36th of 522 studied areas in the state of Washington. Read More...
Selected article
The University of Washington, founded in 1861, is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Also known as Washington and locally as The U or UW (usually pronounced "U-Dub"), it is the largest university in the Northwestern United States and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The UW maintains three locations, with its flagship campus in Seattle's University District and branch campuses in Tacoma and Bothell. Its operating budget for fiscal year 2005 was $3.1 billion.[1] The university is known as a Public Ivy, an American term for state-funded institutions of higher learning that "provide[s] an Ivy League collegiate experience at a public school price." Read More...
Selected biography
Bernie Whitebear (September 27, 1937 July 16, 2000), birth name Bernard Reyes, was an American Indian activist, a founder of the Seattle Indian Health Board (SIHB), the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, and the Daybreak Star Cultural Center. Around 1970, he became heavily involved in the movement to make sure that Indians would gain a share of the land in Seattle that the federal government freeing up as they reduced the size of the Fort Lawton army post. On March 8, 1970, he was among the leaders of about 100 "Native Americans and sympathizers" who confronted military police in riot gear at the fort. Read More...
WikiProjects
Did you know?
... that during the Great Depression, the New Order of Cincinnatus, accused by its opponents of fascist tendencies, successfully placed three candidates on the Seattle City Council?
... that during the Great Depression, violence in Seattle's Smith Cove between longshoremen, strikebreakers and police ultimately resulted in the loss of much of the city's maritime traffic to the Port of Los Angeles?
... that Bertha Knight Landes (October 19, 1868 - November 29, 1943), mayor of Seattle, was the first female mayor of a major American city?
... that Henry A. Smith became the dominant landowner in what is now Interbay, Seattle, Washington by buying when so many others were selling during an 185556 Indian War?
... that the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (better known as the 520 bridge by locals), is the longest floating bridge in the world at 7,578 feet (2,310 meters), and carries over 40,000 more cars per day than it was designed for?
... that the Kalakala, a Washington State Ferry from 1935 until 1967 that was notable for her unique streamlined superstructure, art deco styling, and luxurious amenities, was used as a factory seafood processing ship after her retirement?
Selected picture
Richard Haag, designer of Seattle's unique Gas Works Park.
Categories
See also
- Commons:Category:Seattle, Washington and its subcategories have several thousand pictures of Seattle.
- Among these, Seattle and the Orient is an entire illustrated book about Seattle from 1900.