Burien, Washington, United States of America

Burien is a city located in King County, Washington, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 31,881.

Burien History

The Burien area was discovered by Mike Kelly in 1870, when they walked up a hill from the South Seattle area. When he emerged from the trees he spoke the words, "This is truly a sunny dale." Still today, the Burien area is called Sunnydale. He claimed a 160 acre plot of land and built a house and a farm.

Ten years later, Gottlieb Von Boorian, a German immigrant, arrived in Sunnydale. At this point, the community was only trails and small houses. There were no roads or buildings. Von Boorian built a cabin on the southeast corner of Lake Burien and also was said to have formed the community into a town bearing his name. (It has been misspelled over the years.) A real estate office was built and soon more people began pouring in to Burien.

In the early 1900s, people of Seattle came by way of the Mosquito Fleet to Three Tree Point, just west of the new town. Here they sunbathed and swam.

In 1915, the Burien railroad was completed. It ran on what is today Ambaum Road from Burien to White Center to Seattle. A small passenger train ran the tracks and was affectionately named by the residents, The Toonerville Trolley. However in the summer, squished caterpillars made the track slippery, and in the winter, the tracks iced over. Soon the Toonerville Trolley was more of a nuisance than anything and it was removed.

Burien was officially incorporated on February 28, 1993. It previously comprised a portion of unincorporated King County.

Late in 2004, the City was assessing the possibility of incorporating North Highline (which includes White Center and Boulevard Park), "one of the largest unincorporated areas of King County," which would double the size of Burien.

Burien Geography

Burien is located at 47°28'6" North, 122°20'44" West (47.468221, -122.345491).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 34.2 km² (13.2 mi²). 19.3 km² (7.4 mi²) of it is land and 15.0 km² (5.8 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 43.80% water.

Burien Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 31,881 people, 13,399 households, and 8,066 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,654.5/km² (4,287.0/mi²). There are 13,898 housing units at an average density of 721.2/km² (1,868.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 75.74% White, 5.14% African American, 1.29% Native American, 7.00% Asian, 1.16% Pacific Islander, 5.40% from other races, and 4.28% from two or more races. 10.66% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 13,399 households out of which 27.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% are married couples living together, 11.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% are non-families. 32.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.36 and the average family size is 2.98.

In the city the population is spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 94.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $41,577, and the median income for a family is $53,814. Males have a median income of $39,248 versus $29,694 for females. The per capita income for the city is $23,737. 9.4% of the population and 6.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 13.1% of those under the age of 18 and 6.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

External links

• Burien government Web site

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Burien,_Washington".