Seattle Introduction
Founded in 1869, the ‘Emerald City’ is a youthful metropolis in every respect, experiencing its first boom in the late 1890s, as the last US departure point for those chasing the Klondike Gold Rush. Now, Seattle is the primary international and domestic gateway to Washington State and the lush Pacific Northwest, as well as Canada and Alaska. In the last few decades, the city has also become decidedly fashionable, with the unmistakable 1960s tower, the Space Needle, popping up in Hollywood films. Seattle also has been at the forefront of a number of international trends, including the influences of Microsoft and the e-commerce boom, Starbucks coffee, the grunge music scene and the new Frank Gehry designed Experience Music Project Museum. The city’s weird and wired image is clearly illustrated by the fact that more than 75% of Seattle residents have Internet access at home.
Seattle also continues to be voted one of America’s most liveable cities and thus unsurprisingly is home to three of the world’s 10 richest men. Its attractions are due in a large part to its beautiful natural setting, surrounded by the waters of Lake Washington and Puget Sound. It is also safe, with one of the lowest violent-crime rates among the top US cities.
The climate is moderate, with bright summer days outlining the mountains against blue skies, even the mist and rain of winter give an ethereal touch to the city’s atmosphere. Numerous ports, waterways and small islands off the coast also lend Nordic comparisons, while spectacular views of the Cascades and the Olympic Mountains, including its highest peak, Mount Rainier, delight the visitors, who come for the scenery and outdoor activities that suit city residents so well. The mountains afford both spectacular views and skiing, while the city’s waterways make boating and relaxing at waterside cafés a draw. Of the 236sq km (91sq miles) of the city limits, 80% is surrounded by water, connected by 112 bridges. Seattle has more pleasure boats per capita than anywhere else in the USA.
After Honolulu, Seattle is the second fittest city in the nation, with 35% of the population walking for recreation in its numerous parks and trails. In addition to the city’s fresh and fit atmosphere, Seattle has a palpable cultural pulse, fostered by quality arts and live music venues, dozens of independent and quality bookshops, multicultural neighbourhoods and markets, as well as the renown of its seafood, Asian and contemporary Northwestern cuisine.
Located in the western coastal part of Washington, the Greater Seattle Area has a population of 3.8 million and spreads over 155 sq km (60 sq miles) and so is Washington state’s largest urban centre, even though the city itself has only 572,600 inhabitants. Over the past 30 years, the region grew nearly twice as fast as the national average and part of the disproportion of Seattle’s city population and its outlying areas is because of sprawl brought on by the high-tech revolution. Since Bill Gates opened Microsoft in Redmond in 1975, the city has become a world centre of the industry and also home to a legion of ‘Microsoft Millionaires’ who invested in stock in the early years of the company’s boom. Consequently, property prices in the city soared, banishing those with more mundane occupations to the outlying suburbs and leading to a relentless spread of commuter-jammed highways and cheaper condominium complexes where once there were farms and woodlands. The boom is over, however, and population growth in the Seattle metro area has now slowed to its lowest rate in 20 years.
The part of the city that suffered most in the suburban push was unquestionably Seattle’s old downtown area, where the famous Pike Place Market still overlooks the bay and Pioneer Square contains the city’s few historic buildings. There are not only plenty of galleries and trendy pubs but also a number of centres for the homeless, who tend to take over the streets when the shoppers and commuters have left.
The new public library has helped to put a futuristic face on the downtown area. Designed by Rem Koolhaas, the facility is a combination of odd geometric angles wrapped in diamond-shaped glass and steel (daily free tours). Major investments in waterfront condominium complexes are also contributing to bringing life back to city centre but geared to those well above Seattle’s median household income of US$65,000 a year. Affordable housing remains a prime social problem. The trendiest areas are now Capitol Hill, as well as Belltown, Fremont and Ballard. These historic neighbourhoods appealed to Seattle’s young and well-off, who have the money to restore the turn-of-the-century wooden houses and old brick industrial buildings into elegant homes, designer lofts, quirky shops and galleries or night spots. Without question, Seattle is a city of youthful dynamism with its eye on the high-tech future and the profits and innovations this new industry and its spin-offs can bring. While a downturn in the national economy and the post-2000 dotcom bust were casting a pall over Seattle’s future until recently, an upturn in sales at Boeing, plus the introduction of the higher capacity and longer range aircrafts, mean that the plant in Seattle now seems set to increase its workforce and those who feared that Boeing-related jobs would be cut in half by 2005 are now much more optimistic.
Seattle also continues to be voted one of America’s most liveable cities and thus unsurprisingly is home to three of the world’s 10 richest men. Its attractions are due in a large part to its beautiful natural setting, surrounded by the waters of Lake Washington and Puget Sound. It is also safe, with one of the lowest violent-crime rates among the top US cities.
The climate is moderate, with bright summer days outlining the mountains against blue skies, even the mist and rain of winter give an ethereal touch to the city’s atmosphere. Numerous ports, waterways and small islands off the coast also lend Nordic comparisons, while spectacular views of the Cascades and the Olympic Mountains, including its highest peak, Mount Rainier, delight the visitors, who come for the scenery and outdoor activities that suit city residents so well. The mountains afford both spectacular views and skiing, while the city’s waterways make boating and relaxing at waterside cafés a draw. Of the 236sq km (91sq miles) of the city limits, 80% is surrounded by water, connected by 112 bridges. Seattle has more pleasure boats per capita than anywhere else in the USA.
After Honolulu, Seattle is the second fittest city in the nation, with 35% of the population walking for recreation in its numerous parks and trails. In addition to the city’s fresh and fit atmosphere, Seattle has a palpable cultural pulse, fostered by quality arts and live music venues, dozens of independent and quality bookshops, multicultural neighbourhoods and markets, as well as the renown of its seafood, Asian and contemporary Northwestern cuisine.
Located in the western coastal part of Washington, the Greater Seattle Area has a population of 3.8 million and spreads over 155 sq km (60 sq miles) and so is Washington state’s largest urban centre, even though the city itself has only 572,600 inhabitants. Over the past 30 years, the region grew nearly twice as fast as the national average and part of the disproportion of Seattle’s city population and its outlying areas is because of sprawl brought on by the high-tech revolution. Since Bill Gates opened Microsoft in Redmond in 1975, the city has become a world centre of the industry and also home to a legion of ‘Microsoft Millionaires’ who invested in stock in the early years of the company’s boom. Consequently, property prices in the city soared, banishing those with more mundane occupations to the outlying suburbs and leading to a relentless spread of commuter-jammed highways and cheaper condominium complexes where once there were farms and woodlands. The boom is over, however, and population growth in the Seattle metro area has now slowed to its lowest rate in 20 years.
The part of the city that suffered most in the suburban push was unquestionably Seattle’s old downtown area, where the famous Pike Place Market still overlooks the bay and Pioneer Square contains the city’s few historic buildings. There are not only plenty of galleries and trendy pubs but also a number of centres for the homeless, who tend to take over the streets when the shoppers and commuters have left.
The new public library has helped to put a futuristic face on the downtown area. Designed by Rem Koolhaas, the facility is a combination of odd geometric angles wrapped in diamond-shaped glass and steel (daily free tours). Major investments in waterfront condominium complexes are also contributing to bringing life back to city centre but geared to those well above Seattle’s median household income of US$65,000 a year. Affordable housing remains a prime social problem. The trendiest areas are now Capitol Hill, as well as Belltown, Fremont and Ballard. These historic neighbourhoods appealed to Seattle’s young and well-off, who have the money to restore the turn-of-the-century wooden houses and old brick industrial buildings into elegant homes, designer lofts, quirky shops and galleries or night spots. Without question, Seattle is a city of youthful dynamism with its eye on the high-tech future and the profits and innovations this new industry and its spin-offs can bring. While a downturn in the national economy and the post-2000 dotcom bust were casting a pall over Seattle’s future until recently, an upturn in sales at Boeing, plus the introduction of the higher capacity and longer range aircrafts, mean that the plant in Seattle now seems set to increase its workforce and those who feared that Boeing-related jobs would be cut in half by 2005 are now much more optimistic.