Based on per capita income, one of the more reliable measures of affluence, Bellevue ranks 15th of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked.
Bellevue History
Bellevue was founded in 1869 by William Meydenbauer, and was officially incorporated on March 21, 1953. Prior to the opening of the Lake Washington Floating Bridge in 1940, this was a rural area with little development. Once the bridge opened, access from Seattle improved and the area gradually grew into a bedroom community.Following the opening of a second, Evergreen Point Floating Bridge in 1963, the city began to grow more rapidly. It became one of the largest cities in the state, with multiple high-rise structures and a burgeoning business community. Reflective of this growth is Bellevue Square, now one of the largest shopping centers in the region. This center was begun in 1946, and in the 1980s underwent a significant expansion. More recently, an expansion to Bellevue Square along Bellevue Way called "The Lodge" and the new One Lincoln Tower promise to solidify downtown Bellevue as the main center of shopping and restaurants on the eastside.
Bellevue Geography
Bellevue is located at 47°35'51" North, 122°9'33" West (47.597554, -122.159245).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 87.8 km2 (33.9 mi2). 79.6 km2 (30.8 mi2) of it is land and 8.2 km2 (3.2 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 9.29% water.
The name is derived from a French term for "beautiful view". Under favorable conditions, scenic views of the Olympic Mountains and Cascade Mountains can be viewed from hill tops within the incorporated city.
The city lies between Lake Washington to the west and the smaller Lake Sammamish to the east. It is bisected by Interstate 405 running north-south, and crossed from west to east by Interstate 90 in the southern portion.
South of I-90 the city’s Eastgate neighborhood continues up Cougar Mountain. At the far west of Cougar Mountain Bellevue includes Coal Creek and Factoria (an unincorporated neighborhood.)
The cities of Kirkland boarders to the north-west, Redmond to the north-east bordering long the Overlake neighborhood. Across a short span of bridge, I-90 connects Bellevue to Mercer Island to the south-west. Issaquah is to the east, down I-90 at the south end of Lake Sammamish. The city is also boarded to the west by the extremely wealthy suburbs of Medina, Hunts Point and Yarrow Point.
Government and politics
Bellevue has a non-partisan council-manager form of government, with seven council members elected at large for staggered four-year terms. The city council selects a mayor from among its members, who serves as council chair but has no veto power. As of 2005, the mayor is Connie Marshall and the city manager is Steve Sarkozy.Education
Bellevue is home to City University and Bellevue Community College.The city hosts the Bellevue School District, with four main public high schools: Bellevue High School, Newport High School, Interlake High School, and Sammamish High School. All four were included in Newsweek's listing of the Best High Schools in America in 2005, with the first three ranked in the top 50. Bellevue also has two alternative high schools, International School (which also made the list) and Robinswood High School.
At the elementary level, Bellevue is home to the Eastside's only Waldorf Education, at Three Cedars School.
Bellevue Economy
Bellevue is now home to the headquarters of many small and large businesses. With its immediate proximity to Redmond, home of Microsoft, and direct highway access to Seattle via Interstate 90 and Washington State Route 520, it is home to a large number of technology companies, most started in the 1990s. The city has numerous thriving commercial districts. It also immediately borders the tiny but extremely affluent Lake Washington “Gold Coast” district (Medina, Hunts Point, Clyde Hill, and Yarrow Point), whose residents include Bill Gates and control a large portion of the local wealth. Companies include:- Expedia, Inc.
– One of the world’s leading online travel companies. - Paccar Inc – a multinational technology company that manufactures heavy duty Class 8 trucks sold around the world under the Kenworth, Peterbilt, and Foden nameplates.
- Drugstore.com - a leading online drugstore and information site for health, beauty, wellness, personal care, and pharmacy products.
- Brio Realty – a national real estate company that utilizes the internet to deliver better home buying experiences for its customers.
- 180 Solutions, Inc. " Permission based" marketing software.
- InfoSpace - a growing Internet private-label search engine and online directory that survived the dot.com bust of the 1990s. It’s reemerging in the mid 2000’s with a mobile entertainment offering.
- T-Mobile – operates an all-digital, national wireless phone network, and a Wi-Fi network with over 6,000 public locations. Employs Catherine Zeta-Jones as their international spokesperson.
- Valve Corporation – a video game developer made famous by its first product, Half-Life.
- Eddie Bauer - will have its new headquarters at a tower to be built at Lincoln Square by 2007.
Bellevue Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 112,344 people, 45,836 households, and 29,060 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,411.4/km2 (3,563.6/mi2). There are 48,396 housing units at an average density of 607.7/km2 (1,574.0/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 74.33% White, 1.99% African American, 0.32% Native American, 17.39% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, 2.54% from other races, and 3.19% from two or more races. 5.32% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.There are 45,836 households out of which 27.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% are married couples living together, 7.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% are non-families. 28.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.37 and the average family size is 2.93.
In the city the population is spread out with 21.1% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 96.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $62,338, and the median income for a family is $76,868. Males have a median income of $56,456 versus $37,124 for females. The per capita income for the city is $36,905. 5.7% of the population and 3.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 5.7% of those under the age of 18 and 6.3% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Culture
Bellevue is the site of the popular annual Bellevue Arts & Crafts Fair. This tradition was begun in 1947, and is held each year at the end of July.The Bellevue Arts Museum first opened in 1975, then moved to the Bellevue Square in 1983. In 2001 the museum moved into its own building, designed by Steven Holl. Despite the famous architect, the museum ran into financial difficulties and was forced to close to the public in 2003. After a lengthy fundraising campaign, remodelling of the building, and a new mission to become a national centre for the fine art of craft and design, the museum re-opened on June 18, 2005 with an exhibition of tea-pots.
The Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art is a doll museum that contains one of the largest doll collections in the world. It is located inside a Victorian-style building containing over a thousand dolls, displayed on two floors.
Famous residents
- Cuong Vu (jazz trumpeter, b. 1969)
- Bill Gates (Microsoft co-founder, multi-billionaire, b. October 28, 2005)
External links
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Bellevue,_Washington".