name	Seattle
settlement type	City
Official name	City of Seattle
nickname	The Emerald City, Seatown, Rain City, Jet City, Gateway to Alaska, Gateway to The Pacific, Queen City, The Town
image seal	Seattle seal.png
map caption	Location of Seattle in King County and Washington
pushpin map	USA2
pushpin map caption	Location in the United States
coordinates region	US-WA
subdivision type	Country
subdivision type1	State
subdivision type2	County
subdivision name
subdivision name1	Washington
subdivision name2	King
established title	Incorporated
established date	December 2, 1869
leader title	Mayor
leader name	Michael McGinn
leader title1	City Council
leader name1	List of Councilors
unit pref	US
area magnitude	1 E9
area total km2	369.2
area total sq mi	142.5
area land sq mi	83.87
area water sq mi	58.67
area land km2	217.2
area metro km2	21,202
area metro sq mi	8,186
area water km2	152|.0
population as of	April 1, 2010
population total	608,660 (US: 23rd)
population urban	2,712,205
population metro	3,439,809 (US: 15th)
combined statistical area	4,087,033 (US: 12th)
population density sq mi	7361
population blank1 title	Demonym
population blank1	Seattleite
timezone	PST
utc offset	-8
timezone dst	PDT
utc offset dst	-7
postal code type	ZIP codes
postal code
area code	206
latns	N
Coordinates	47°36′35″N122°19′59″N
longew	W
coordinates display	x
elevation m	0–158
elevation ft	0–520
website	www.Seattle.gov
blank name	FIPS code
blank info	53-63000
blank1 name	GNIS feature ID
blank1 info	1512650
footnotes	}}

Seattle ( or ) is the county seat of King County, in the U.S. state of Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country. The city is a major coastal seaport situated on a narrow isthmus between Puget Sound (an arm of the Pacific Ocean) and Lake Washington, about south of the Canada–United States border. In 2010, Seattle was the sixth busiest port in the United States, serving as a major gateway for trade with Asia.

The Seattle area had been inhabited by Native Americans for at least 4,000 years before the first permanent white settlers. Arthur A. Denny and his group of travelers, subsequently known as the Denny Party, arrived at Alki Point on November 13, 1851. The settlement was moved to its current site and renamed "Seattle" in 1853, after Chief Seattle of the local Duwamish and Suquamish tribes.

Logging was Seattle's first major industry, but by the late 19th century the city had become a commercial and shipbuilding center as a gateway to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush. By 1910, Seattle was one of the 25 largest cities in the country. However, a combination of strikes and the Great Depression severely damaged the city's economy. Growth returned during and after World War II when the local Boeing company established Seattle as a center for aircraft manufacturing. The city developed as a technology center in the 1980s. The stream of new software, biotechnology, and internet companies led to an economic revival, which increased the city's population by 50,000 between 1990 and 2000. More recently, Seattle has become a hub for "green" industry and a model for sustainable development.

Seattle has a noteworthy musical history. From 1918 to 1951, there were nearly two dozen jazz nightclubs along Jackson Street in the current Chinatown/International District. The jazz scene developed the early careers of Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Ernestine Anderson and others. Seattle is also the birthplace of rock legend Jimi Hendrix and the rock music style known as "grunge," which was made famous by local groups Melvins, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Pearl Jam. In more recent years, Seattle has been known for indie rock and indie dance music.

History

Founding

Archaeological excavations suggest that humans have inhabited the Seattle area for at least 4,000 years. By the time the first European settlers arrived in the area, the people (subsequently called the Duwamish tribe) occupied at least seventeen villages in the areas around Elliott Bay.

The first European to visit the Seattle area was George Vancouver, in May 1792 during his 1791–95 expedition to chart the Pacific Northwest.

In 1851, a large party led by Luther Collins made a location on land at the mouth of the Duwamish River; they formally claimed it on September 14, 1851. Thirteen days later, members of the Collins Party on the way to their claim passed three scouts of the Denny Party. Members of the Denny Party claimed land on Alki Point on September 28, 1851. The rest of the Denny Party set sail from Portland, Oregon and landed on Alki point during a rainstorm on November 13, 1851.

After a difficult winter, most of the Denny Party relocated across Elliott Bay and founded the village of "Dewamps" or "Duwamps" on the site of present day Pioneer Square. Charles Terry and John Low remained at the original landing location and established a village they initially called "New York", but renamed "New York Alki" in April 1853, from a Chinook word meaning, roughly, "by and by" or "someday". For the next few years, New York Alki and Duwamps competed for dominance, but in time Alki was abandoned and its residents moved across the bay to join the rest of the settlers.

David Swinson ("Doc") Maynard, one of Duwamps's founders, was the primary advocate to rename the village "Seattle" after Chief Sealth ("Seattle") of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. The term, "Seattle", appears on official Washington Territory papers dated May 23, 1853, when the first plats for the village were filed. In 1855, nominal land settlements were established. On January 14, 1865, the Legislature of Territorial Washington incorporated the Town of Seattle with a board of trustees managing the city. Two years later, after a petition was filed by most of the leading citizens, the Legislature disincorporated the town. In 1867, a young French Canadian Catholic priest named Francis X. Prefontaine arrived in Seattle and decided to establish a parish there. During 1868–69 he built the church by raising the money at fairs in the Puget Sound area and doing much of the work himself, and in 1869 he opened Seattle’s first Catholic church at Third Avenue and Washington Street, on the site where the present-day Prefontaine Building stands. The town of Seattle remained a mere precinct of King County until late 1869 when a new petition was filed and the city was re-incorporated with a Mayor-council government. The corporate seal of the City of Seattle carries the date "1869."

Timber town

Seattle has a history of boom and bust cycles, as is common to cities near areas of extensive natural and mineral resources. Seattle has risen several times economically, then gone into precipitous decline, but it has typically used those periods to rebuild solid infrastructure.

The first such boom, covering the early years of the city, was fueled by the lumber industry. (During this period the road now known as Yesler Way was nicknamed "Skid Road", after the timber skidding down the hill to Henry Yesler's sawmill. This is considered a possible origin for the term which later entered the wider American lexicon as ''Skid Row''.) Like much of the American West, Seattle saw numerous conflicts between labor and management, as well as ethnic tensions that culminated in the anti-Chinese riots of 1885–1886. This violence was caused by unemployed whites who determined to drive the Chinese from Seattle (anti-Chinese riots also occurred in Tacoma). In 1900, Asians were 4.2% of the population. Martial law was declared, and federal troops were brought in to put down the disorder. Nevertheless, the economic success in the Seattle area was so great that when the Great Seattle fire of 1889 destroyed the central business district, a far grander city center rapidly emerged in its place. Finance company Washington Mutual, for example, was founded in the immediate wake of the fire. This boom was followed by the construction of a park system, designed by the Olmsted brothers' landscape architecture firm. However, the Panic of 1893 hit Seattle hard.

Gold Rush, World War I, and the Great Depression

The second and most dramatic boom and bust resulted from the Klondike Gold Rush, which ended the depression that had begun with the Panic of 1893; in a short time, Seattle became a major transportation center. On July 14, 1897, the ''S.S. Portland'' docked with its famed "ton of gold", and Seattle became the main transport and supply point for the miners in Alaska and the Yukon. Few of those working men found lasting wealth, however; it was Seattle's business of clothing the miners and feeding them salmon that panned out in the long run. Along with Seattle, other cities like Everett, Tacoma, Port Townsend, Bremerton, and Olympia, all in the Puget Sound region, became competitors for exchange, rather than mother-lodes for extraction, of precious metals. The boom lasted well into the early part of the 20th century and funded many new Seattle companies and products. In 1907, 19-year-old James E. Casey borrowed $100 from a friend and founded the American Messenger Company (later UPS). Other Seattle companies founded during this period include Nordstrom and Eddie Bauer. The Gold Rush era culminated in the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition of 1909, which is largely responsible for the layout of today's University of Washington campus.

A shipbuilding boom in the early part of the 20th century became massive during World War I, making Seattle somewhat of a company town; the subsequent retrenchment led to the Seattle General Strike of 1919, the first general strike in the country. A 1912 city development plan by Virgil Bogue went largely unused. Seattle was mildly prosperous in the 1920s but was particularly hard hit in the Great Depression, experiencing some of the country's harshest labor strife in that era. Violence during the Maritime Strike of 1934 cost Seattle much of its maritime traffic, which was rerouted to the Port of Los Angeles.

Seattle was also the home base of impresario Alexander Pantages who, starting in 1902, opened a number of theaters in the city exhibiting vaudeville acts and silent movies. His activities soon expanded, and the thrifty Greek went on and became one of America's greatest theater and movie tycoons. Between Pantages and his rival John Considine, Seattle was for a while the western United States' vaudeville mecca. B. Marcus Priteca, the Scottish-born and Seattle-based architect, built several theaters for Pantages, including some in Seattle. The theaters he built for Pantages in Seattle have been either demolished or converted to other uses, but many other theaters survive in other cities of the USA, often retaining the ''Pantages'' name; Seattle's surviving Paramount Theatre, on which he collaborated, was not a Pantages theater.

Post-war years: aircraft and software

War work again brought local prosperity during World War II, this time centered on Boeing aircraft. The war dispersed the city's numerous Japanese-American businessmen due to the Japanese American internment. After war, the local economy dipped. It rose again with Boeing's growing dominance in the commercial airliner market. Seattle celebrated its restored prosperity and made a bid for world recognition with the Century 21 Exposition, the 1962 World's Fair. Another major local economic downturn was in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Many people left the area to look for work elsewhere, and two local real estate agents put up a billboard reading "Will the last person leaving Seattle – Turn out the lights."

Seattle remained the corporate headquarters of Boeing until 2001, when the company separated its headquarters from its major production facilities; the headquarters were moved to Chicago. The Seattle area is still home to Boeing's Renton narrow-body plant (where the 707, 720, 727, and 757 were assembled, and the 737 is assembled today) and Everett wide-body plant (assembly plant for the 747, 767, 777, and 787). The company's credit union for employees, BECU, remains based in the Seattle area, though it is now open to all residents of Washington.

As prosperity began to return in the 1980s, the city was stunned by the Wah Mee massacre in 1983, when 13 people were killed in an illegal gambling club in the International District, Seattle's Chinatown. Beginning with Microsoft's 1979 move from Albuquerque, New Mexico to nearby Bellevue, Washington, Seattle and its suburbs became home to a number of technology companies including Amazon.com, RealNetworks, McCaw Cellular (now part of AT&T; Mobility), VoiceStream (now T-Mobile USA), and biomedical corporations such as HeartStream (later purchased by Philips), Heart Technologies (later purchased by Boston Scientific), Physio-Control (later purchased by Medtronic), ZymoGenetics, ICOS (later purchased by Eli Lilly and Company) and Immunex (later purchased by Amgen). This success brought an influx of new citizens with a population increase within city limits of almost 50,000 between 1990 and 2000, and saw Seattle's real estate become some of the most expensive in the country. Many of the Seattle area's tech companies remain relatively strong, but the frenzied dot-com boom years ended in early 2001.

Seattle in this period attracted widespread attention as home to these many companies, but also by hosting the 1990 Goodwill Games and the APEC leaders conference in 1993, as well as through the worldwide popularity of grunge, a sound that had developed in Seattle's independent music scene. Another bid for worldwide attention—hosting the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1999—garnered visibility, but not in the way its sponsors desired, as related protest activity and police reactions to those protests overshadowed the conference itself. The city was further shaken by the Mardi Gras Riots in 2001, and was literally shaken the following day by the Nisqually Earthquake.

The UK consulting firm Mercer, in a 2011 assessment "conducted to help governments and major companies place employees on international assignments", ranked Seattle 48th worldwide in quality of living; the survey factored in political stability, personal freedom, sanitation, crime, housing, the natural environment, recreation, banking facilities, availability of consumer goods, education, and public services including transportation.

Geography

With a total area of 83.9 square miles, Seattle lies in the geographical co-ordinates of 47.37 North latitude and 122.20 West longitude. The topography of Seattle is hilly. Seattle lies on seven hills including Capitol Hill, First Hill, West Seattle, Beacon Hill, Magnolia, Denny Hill and Queen Anne. The Kitsap and the Olympic peninsulas along with the Olympic mountains lie to the west of Puget Sound, while the Cascade Range and Lake Sammamish lie to the east of Lake Washington. The lush green forests and the numerous water bodies have provided livelihood for many hunting and gathering communities.

Topography

Seattle is located between Puget Sound (an inlet of the Pacific Ocean) to the west and Lake Washington to the east. The city's chief harbor, Elliott Bay, is an inlet of Puget Sound. To the west, beyond Puget Sound, are the Kitsap Peninsula and Olympic Mountains on the Olympic Peninsula; to the east, beyond Lake Washington and the eastside suburbs, are Lake Sammamish and the Cascade Range. Lake Washington's waters flow to Puget Sound through the Lake Washington Ship Canal (consisting of two man-made canals, Lake Union, and the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks at Salmon Bay, ending in Shilshole Bay).

The sea, rivers, forests, lakes, and fields surrounding Seattle were once rich enough to support one of the world's few sedentary hunter-gatherer societies. The surrounding area lends itself well to sailing, skiing, bicycling, camping, and hiking year-round.

The city itself is hilly, though not uniformly so. Like Rome, the city is said to lie on seven hills; the lists vary, but typically include Capitol Hill, First Hill, West Seattle, Beacon Hill, Queen Anne, Magnolia, and the former Denny Hill. The Wallingford, Mount Baker and Crown Hill neighborhoods are technically located on hills as well. Many of the hilliest areas are near the city center, with Capitol Hill, First Hill, and Beacon Hill collectively constituting something of a ridge along an isthmus between Elliott Bay and Lake Washington. The break in the ridge between First Hill and Beacon Hill is man-made, the result of two of the many regrading projects that reshaped the topography of the city center. The topography of the city center was also changed by the construction of a seawall and the artificial Harbor Island (completed 1909) at the mouth of the city's industrial Duwamish Waterway. The highest point within city limits is at High Point in West Seattle, roughly located near 35th Ave SW and SW Myrtle St. Other notable hills include Crown Hill, View Ridge/Wedgwood/Bryant, Maple Leaf, Phinney Ridge, Mt. Baker Ridge, Highlands/Carkeek/Bitterlake.

North of the city center, Lake Washington Ship Canal connects Puget Sound to Lake Washington. It incorporates four natural bodies of water: Lake Union, Salmon Bay, Portage Bay, and Union Bay.

Due to its location in the Pacific Ring of Fire, Seattle is in a major earthquake zone. On February 28, 2001, the magnitude 6.8 Nisqually earthquake did significant architectural damage, especially in the Pioneer Square area (built on reclaimed land, as are the Industrial District and part of the city center), but caused no fatalities. Other strong quakes occurred on January 26, 1700 (estimated at 9 magnitude), December 14, 1872 (7.3 or 7.4), April 13, 1949 (7.1), and April 29, 1965 (6.5). The 1949 quake caused eight known deaths, all in Seattle; the 1965 quake caused three deaths in Seattle directly, and one more by heart failure. Although the Seattle Fault passes just south of the city center, neither it nor the Cascadia subduction zone has caused an earthquake since the city's founding. The Cascadia subduction zone poses the threat of an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 or greater, capable of seriously damaging the city and collapsing many buildings, especially in zones built on fill.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and water (41.16% of the total area).

Surrounding municipalities

Climate

thumb|Downtown Seattle averages 71 clear (sunny) days a year, with most of those days occurring between May and September

Seattle's climate is usually described as temperate marine, with fairly mild, wet winters and warm, dry summers. Like much of the Pacific Northwest, according to the Köppen climate classification it falls within a cool, dry-summer subtropical zone (''Csb''), with 'cool'-summer Mediterranean characteristics. Other climate classification systems, such as Trewartha, place it firmly in the Oceanic zone (''Do'').

Temperature extremes are moderated by adjacent Puget Sound, the greater Pacific Ocean, and Lake Washington. The region is largely denied Pacific storms by the Olympic Mountains and Arctic air by the Cascade Range. Despite being on the margin of the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, the city has a misleading reputation for frequent rain. This reputation comes from the frequency of precipitation in the winter. In an average year, more than 0.01 in/0.3 mm of precipitation falls on 150 days. It is cloudy 201 days and partly cloudy 93 days. The location of official weather and climatic records, the Seattle-Tacoma (nicknamed Sea-Tac) International Airport, is located about 12 miles south of downtown in the city of SeaTac, and records more cloudy days and fewer partly cloudy days per year. For this reason, official weather and climatic records do not actually reflect the weather and climate conditions of the city proper.

At 944mm (37.49 in.), in reality, the city receives less precipitation annually than New York City (1201 mm, 47.28 in.), Atlanta (1290 mm, 50.79 in.), Boston (1055 mm, 41.53 in.), Baltimore (1038 mm, 40.87 in.), Portland, Maine (1128 mm, 44.41 in.), Jacksonville, Florida (1304 mm, 51.34 in.), and most cities on the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. Seattle was also not listed in a study that revealed the 10 rainiest cities in the continental United States. This is due largely to Seattle's dry summers, which result in statistically moderate annual accumulations. However, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center, Seattle is becoming wetter; the current annual rainfall average of 37.49 inches reflects an increase of .42 inches. Seattle receives the largest amount of rainfall of any major (pop > 250,000) U.S. city in November, and is in the top 10 through Winter, but is in the lower half of all cities June–September. Thunderstorms are rare. Seattle reports thunder on just seven days per year For comparison, Fort Myers, Florida reports thunder on 93 days per year Kansas City 52, and New York City 25.

There are occasional downpours. One downpour occurred on December 2–4, 2007, when sustained hurricane-force winds and widespread heavy rainfall associated with a strong "Pineapple Express" event occurred in the greater Puget Sound area and the western parts of Washington and Oregon. People blamed heavy rain and strong winds for several power outages and at least four deaths. Interstate 5 at Chehalis, Washington was flooded and closed for almost two days. Precipitation totals exceeded 14 inches (356 mm) in some areas with winds topping out at 130 mph (209 km/hr) along coastal Oregon. It became the second wettest event in Seattle history when a little over of rain fell on Seattle in a 24 hour period. People claim the rain indirectly led to five deaths and widespread flooding and damage.

Early spring, late fall, and winter are frequently characterized by drizzle. Winters are cool and wet with average lows in the mid 30s °F (2–4 °C) on winter nights. Colder weather does sometimes occur. Summers are fairly dry and warm by comparison, with average daytime highs around . Hotter weather occurs during some summer days. Seattle's hottest official recorded temperature was on July 29, 2009; the coldest recorded temperature was on January 31, 1950. Eastern suburbs of Seattle, such as Bellevue and Issaquah, are typically even hotter when the temperature soars above , due to their location closer to downslope winds from the Cascade Mountains and further from Puget Sound; on Seattle's recorded hottest day of July 29, 2009, parts of south Bellevue, Renton and Issaquah peaked at .

Eighty miles (130 km) to the west, the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park on the western flank of the Olympic Mountains receives an annual average rainfall of . Sixty miles to the south of Seattle, the state capital Olympia, which is out of the rain shadow, receives an annual average rainfall of .

Seattle typically receives some snowfall on an annual basis but heavy snow is rare. Average annual snowfall, as measured at Sea-Tac Airport, is . Single calendar-day snowfall of six inches or greater has occurred on only 15 days since 1948, and only once since February 17, 1990, when 6.8 inches of snow officially fell at Sea-Tac airport on January 18, 2012. This moderate snow event was officially the 12th snowiest calendar day at the airport since 1948 and snowiest since November 1985. Much of the city of Seattle proper received somewhat lesser snowfall accumulations. Locations to the south of Seattle received more, with Olympia and Chehalis receiving 14 to 18 inches even before noon. Another moderate snow event occurred from December 12–25, 2008, when over one foot of snow fell and stuck on much of the roads, causing widespread difficulties in a city not equipped for clearing snow. Seattle's daily record snowfall is on January 13, 1950. The largest snowstorm on record occurred from January 5–9, 1880, with snow drifting to in places at the end of the snow event. From January 31 to February 2, 1916, another heavy snow event occurred with of snow on the ground by the time the event was over.

A very sunny and dry climate typically dominates from May to late September. An average of of rain falls in July and in August. Summer thunderstorms are rare.

The Puget Sound Convergence Zone is an important feature of Seattle's weather. In the convergence zone, air arriving from the north meets air flowing in from the south. Both streams of air originate over the Pacific Ocean; airflow is split by the Olympic Mountains to Seattle's west, then reunited to the east. When the air currents meet, they are forced upward, resulting in convection. Thunderstorms caused by this activity can occur north and south of town, but Seattle itself rarely receives more weather than occasional thunder and small hail showers. The Hanukkah Eve Wind Storm in December 2006 is an exception that brought heavy rain and winds gusting up to , not caused by the Puget Sound Convergence Zone.

One of many exceptions to Seattle's reputation as a damp location occurs in El Niño years, when marine weather systems track as far south as California and little precipitation falls in the Puget Sound area. Since the region's water comes from mountain snow packs during the dry summer months, El Niño winters can not only produce substandard skiing but can result in water rationing and a shortage of hydroelectric power the following summer.

Neighborhoods

Seattle has grown through a series of annexations of smaller neighboring communities. On May 3, 1891, Magnolia, Wallingford, Green Lake, and the University District (then known as Brooklyn) were annexed. The town of South Seattle was annexed on October 20, 1905. Between January 7 and September 12, 1907, Seattle nearly doubled its land area by annexing six incorporated towns and areas of unincorporated King County, including Southeast Seattle, Ravenna, South Park, Columbia City, Ballard, and West Seattle. Three years later, after having difficulties paying a $10,000 bill from the county, the city of Georgetown merged with Seattle. Finally, on January 4, 1954, the area between N. 85th Street and N. 145th Street was annexed, including the neighborhoods of Pinehurst, Greenwood, Blue Ridge, Crown Hill, Broadview, Bitter Lake, Haller Lake, Maple Leaf, Lake City, View Ridge and Northgate.

Former Seattle mayor Greg Nickels is among those who have called Seattle "a city of neighborhoods", although the boundaries (and even names) of those neighborhoods are often open to dispute. For example, a Department of Neighborhoods spokeswoman reported that her own neighborhood has gone from "the 'CD' (Central District) to 'Madrona' to 'Greater Madison Valley' and now 'Madrona Park'.

Over a dozen Seattle neighborhoods have Neighborhood Service Centers, originally known in 1972 as "Little City Halls" and even more have their own street fair and/or parade during the summer months. The largest of the city's street fairs feature hundreds of craft and food booths and multiple stages with live entertainment, and draw more than 100,000 people over the course of a weekend. In addition, at least half a dozen neighborhoods have weekly farmers' markets, some with as many as fifty vendors.

Additionally, Puget Sound Regional Council designates several areas of Seattle as urban centers, defined as "designated planning districts intended to provide a mix of housing, employment and commercial and cultural amenities in a compact form that supports transit, walking and cycling." These urban centers may have the same name as a neighborhood but slightly different borders; for example, the Capitol Hill Urban Center is much smaller than the entire neighborhood.

Cityscape

Landmarks

The Space Needle, dating from the Century 21 Exposition (1962), is Seattle's most recognizable landmark, having been featured in the logo of NBA sports team the ''Seattle SuperSonics'', the MLS sports team the "Seattle Sounders", the television show ''Frasier'' and the backgrounds of the television series ''Dark Angel'', ''Grey's Anatomy'' and ''iCarly'', and films such as ''It Happened at the World's Fair'', ''Sleepless in Seattle'', ''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'' and "Love Happens". The fairgrounds surrounding the Needle have been converted into Seattle Center, which remains the site of many local civic and cultural events, such as Bumbershoot, Folklife, and the Bite of Seattle. Seattle Center plays multiple roles in the city, ranging from a public fair ground to a civic center, though recent economic losses have called its viability and future into question. The Seattle Center Monorail was also constructed for Century 21 and still runs from Seattle Center to Westlake Center, a downtown shopping mall, a little over a mile to the southeast. The Smith Tower was the tallest building on the West Coast from its completion in 1914 until the Space Needle overtook it in 1962. The late 1980s saw the construction of Seattle's two tallest skyscrapers: the 76 story Columbia Center (completed 1985) is the tallest building in the Pacific Northwest and the fourth tallest building west of the Mississippi River; the Washington Mutual Tower (completed 1988) is Seattle's second tallest building. Other notable Seattle landmarks include Pike Place Market, the Fremont Troll, the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (at Seattle Center), and the Seattle Central Library.

Starbucks has been at Pike Place Market since the coffee company was founded there in 1971. The first store is still operating a block south of its original location.

The National Register of Historic Places has over 150 Seattle listings. The city also designates its own landmarks.

Culture

Nicknames

From 1869 until 1982, Seattle was known as the "Queen City". Seattle's current official nickname is the "Emerald City", the result of a contest held in 1981; the reference is to the lush evergreen forests of the area. Seattle is also referred to informally as the "Gateway to Alaska", "Rain City", and "Jet City", the last from the local influence of Boeing. The Seattle area has also been called "The 206" in reference to the telephone area code. Seattle residents are known as ''Seattleites''.

Performing arts

Seattle has been a regional center for the performing arts for many years. The century-old Seattle Symphony Orchestra is among the world's most recorded and performs primarily at Benaroya Hall. The Seattle Opera and Pacific Northwest Ballet, which perform at McCaw Hall (opened 2003 on the site of the former Seattle Opera House at Seattle Center), are comparably distinguished, with the Opera being particularly known for its performances of the works of Richard Wagner and the PNB School (founded in 1974) ranking as one of the top three ballet training institutions in the United States. The Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras (SYSO) is the largest symphonic youth organization in the United States. The city also boasts lauded summer and winter chamber music festivals organized by the Seattle Chamber Music Society.

The 5th Avenue Theatre, built in 1926, stages Broadway-style musical shows featuring both local talent and international stars. Seattle has "around 100" theatrical production companies and over two dozen live theatre venues, many of them associated with fringe theatre; Seattle is probably second only to New York for number of equity theaters (28 Seattle theater companies have some sort of Actors' Equity contract). In addition, the 900-seat Romanesque Revival Town Hall on First Hill hosts numerous cultural events, especially lectures and recitals.

Seattle is considered the home of grunge music because it was home to artists such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Mudhoney, all of whom reached vast audiences in the early 1990s. The city is also home to such varied musicians as avant-garde jazz musicians Bill Frisell and Wayne Horvitz, hot jazz musician Glenn Crytzer, rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot, smooth jazz saxophonist Kenny G, Heart, heavy metal bands Queensrÿche, Demon Hunter, Metal Church, Nevermore, Himsa, and Sunn O))), as well as such poppier rock bands as Harvey Danger, Goodness, and The Presidents of the United States of America. Such musicians as Jimi Hendrix, Duff McKagan, Nikki Sixx, and Quincy Jones spent their formative years in Seattle.

Since the grunge era, the area has hosted a diverse and influential alternative music scene. The Seattle record label Sub Pop—the first to sign Nirvana and Soundgarden—has signed such non-grunge bands as Band of Horses, Modest Mouse, Murder City Devils, Sunny Day Real Estate, Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service, Iron and Wine, Flight of the Conchords, and Fleet Foxes. Seattle has also put out a number of hiphop artists, such as Blue Scholars, Macklemore, Fresh Espresso, and group Shabazz Palaces.

Earlier Seattle-based popular music acts include the collegiate folk group The Brothers Four; The Wailers, a 1960s garage band; The Ventures, an instrumental rock band; pop Young Fresh Fellows and The Posies; pop-punk The Fastbacks; the well-traveled avant-rock of Sun City Girls; and the outright punk of The Fartz (later 10 Minute Warning), The Gits.

Over the years, a number of songs have been written about Seattle.

Seattle annually sends a team of spoken word slammers to the National Poetry Slam and considers itself home to such performance poets as Buddy Wakefield, two-time Individual World Poetry Slam Champ; Anis Mojgani, two-time National Poetry Slam Champ; and Danny Sherrard, 2007 National Poetry Slam Champ and 2008 Individual World Poetry Slam Champ. Seattle also hosted the 2001 national Poetry Slam Tournament. The Seattle Poetry Festival is a biennial poetry festival that (launched first as the Poetry Circus in 1997) has featured local, regional, national, and international names in poetry.

The city also has movie houses showing both Hollywood productions and works by independent filmmakers. Among these, the Seattle Cinerama stands out as one of only three movie theaters in the world still capable of showing three-panel Cinerama films.

Additionally, the city is also home to the Seattle Polish Film Festival, ("SPFF") an annual film festival showcasing current and past films of Polish cinema. The festival is produced by the Seattle-Gdynia Sister City Association and awards the Seattle Spirit of Polish Cinema awards as well as the Viewers Choice of Best Film.

Media

As of 2010, Seattle has one major daily newspaper, ''The Seattle Times''. The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'', known as the ''P-I'', published a daily newspaper from 1863 to March 17, 2009 before switching to a strictly on-line publication. There is also the ''Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce'', and the University of Washington publishes ''The Daily'', a student-run publication, when school is in session. The most prominent weeklies are the ''Seattle Weekly'' and ''The Stranger''; both consider themselves "alternative" papers. ''Real Change'' is a weekly street newspaper that is sold mainly by homeless persons as an alternative to panhandling. There are also several ethnic newspapers, including the ''Northwest Asian Weekly'', and numerous neighborhood newspapers, including the ''North Seattle Journal''.

Seattle is also well served by television and radio, with all major U.S. networks represented, along with at least five other English-language stations and two Spanish-language stations. Seattle cable viewers also receive CBUT 2 (CBC) from Vancouver, British Columbia.

Non-commercial radio stations include NPR affiliates KUOW-FM 94.9 and KPLU-FM 88.5 (Tacoma). Other stations include KEXP-FM 90.3 (affiliated with EMP), community radio KBCS-FM 91.3 (affiliated with Bellevue College), and high school radio KNHC-FM 89.5, which broadcasts an electronic music radio format and is owned by the public school system and operated by students of Nathan Hale High School. Many Seattle radio stations are also available through Internet radio, with KEXP in particular being a pioneer of Internet radio. Seattle also has numerous commercial radio stations, including KING-FM, one of the last commercial classical music stations in the United States.

Seattle-based online magazines Worldchanging and Grist.org were two of the "Top Green Websites" in 2007 according to TIME.

Seattle also has many online news media websites. The two largest are ''The Seattle Times'' and ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer''.

Tourism

Among Seattle's prominent annual fairs and festivals are the 24-day Seattle International Film Festival, Northwest Folklife over the Memorial Day weekend, numerous Seafair events throughout July and August (ranging from a Bon Odori celebration to the Seafair Cup hydroplane races), the Bite of Seattle, one of the largest Gay Pride festivals in the United States, and the art and music festival Bumbershoot, which programs music as well as other art and entertainment over the Labor Day weekend. All are typically attended by 100,000 people annually, as are the Seattle Hempfest and two separate Independence Day celebrations. In the past, the Gay Pride parade and festival have been centered on Capitol Hill, but since 2006, festivities have been held city-wide, and the parade has followed a route downtown along 4th Avenue from the central shopping district to Seattle Center.

Other significant events include numerous Native American pow-wows, a Greek Festival hosted by St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Montlake, and numerous ethnic festivals (many associated with Festál at Seattle Center). There are other annual events, ranging from the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair & Book Arts Show; an anime convention, Sakura-Con; Penny Arcade Expo, a gaming convention; a two-day, 9,000-rider Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic, and specialized film festivals, such as the Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival, the Northwest Asian-American Film Festival, Children's Film Festival Seattle, Translation: the Seattle Transgender Film Festival, and the Seattle Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.

The Henry Art Gallery opened in 1927, the first public art museum in Washington. The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) opened in 1933; SAM opened a museum downtown in 1991 (expanded and reopened 2007); since 1991, the 1933 building has been SAM's Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM). SAM also operates the Olympic Sculpture Park (opened 2007) on the waterfront north of the downtown piers. The Frye Art Museum is a free museum on First Hill. Regional history collections are at the Loghouse Museum in Alki, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, the Museum of History and Industry and the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. Industry collections are at the Center for Wooden Boats and the adjacent Northwest Seaport, the Seattle Metropolitan Police Museum, and the Museum of Flight. Regional ethnic collections include the Nordic Heritage Museum, the Wing Luke Asian Museum and the Northwest African American Museum. Seattle has artist-run galleries, including 10-year veteran Soil Art Gallery, and the newer Crawl Space Gallery.

Woodland Park Zoo opened as a private menagerie in 1889, but was sold to the city in 1899. The Seattle Aquarium has been open on the downtown waterfront since 1977 (undergoing a renovation 2006). The Seattle Underground Tour is an exhibit of places that existed before the Great Fire. There are also many community centers for recreation, including Rainier Beach, Van Asselt, Rainier, and Jefferson south of the Ship Canal and Green Lake, Laurelhurst, Loyal Heights north of the Canal, and Meadowbrook.

Since the middle 1990s, Seattle has experienced significant growth in the cruise industry, especially as a departure point for Alaska cruises. In 2008, a record total of 886,039 cruise passengers passed through the city, surpassing the number for Vancouver, BC, the other major departure point for Alaska cruises.

Professional sports

!Club	!Sport	!League	!Venue	!Established	!Championships
Seattle Mist	Football		ShoWare Center	2009	N/AQ
Seattle Mariners	Baseball		Safeco Field	1977	0
Seattle Seahawks			CenturyLink Field	1976	0
Seattle Sounders FC	Soccer		CenturyLink Field	2007	3
Seattle Storm	Basketball		KeyArena	2000	2
Seattle Thunderbirds	Ice hockey		ShoWare Center	1977	0
	Ice Hockey		Olympic View Ice Arena	2005	4

Seattle's professional sports history began at the start of the 20th century with the PCHA's Seattle Metropolitans, which in 1917 became the first American hockey team to win the Stanley Cup. Today Seattle has three major professional sports teams: The National Football League's Seattle Seahawks, Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners, and Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders FC. Other sports teams include the 2004 and 2010 Women's National Basketball Association champions, Seattle Storm. From 1967 to 2008 Seattle was also home to an NBA franchise, the Seattle SuperSonics, who were the 1978–79 NBA champions. The team relocated to Oklahoma City after the 2007–08 season and became the Oklahoma City Thunder. Seattle was also home to a previous Major League Baseball franchise in 1969, the Seattle Pilots. The team relocated to Milwaukee and became the Milwaukee Brewers in 1970. The Seattle Thunderbirds are a major-junior hockey team that plays in one of the Canadian major-junior hockey leagues, the WHL (Western Hockey League). The Thunderbirds moved to nearby Kent, Washington during the 2008–2009 season. The Seattle Sounders FC began play in Major League Soccer in 2009.

The Major League Baseball All-Star game was held in Seattle twice, first at the Kingdome in 1979 and again at Safeco Field in 2001. That same year, the Seattle Mariners tied the all-time single regular season wins record with 116 wins. The NBA All-Star game was also held in Seattle twice, the first in 1974 at the Seattle Center Coliseum and the second in 1987 at the Kingdome.

In 2006, CenturyLink Field hosted the 2005–06 NFL playoffs. In 2008, CenturyLink Field hosted the first game of the 2007–08 NFL playoffs, in which the Seahawks defeated the Washington Redskins, 35–14. CenturyLink Field also serves as the home field for the Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer. Seattle also boasts a strong history in collegiate sports. The University of Washington and Seattle University are NCAA Division I schools.

Outdoor activities

Seattle's mild, temperate marine climate allows year-round outdoor recreation, including walking, cycling, hiking, skiing, snowboarding, kayaking, rock climbing, motor boating, sailing, team sports, and swimming. In town, many people walk around Green Lake, through the forests and along the bluffs and beaches of Discovery Park (the largest park in the city) in Magnolia, along the shores of Myrtle Edwards Park on the Downtown waterfront, along the shoreline of Lake Washington at Seward Park, along Alki Beach in West Seattle, or along the Burke-Gilman Trail. Also popular are hikes and skiing in the nearby Cascade or Olympic Mountains and kayaking and sailing in the waters of Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Strait of Georgia. In 2005, ''Men's Fitness'' magazine named Seattle the fittest city in the United States.

Economy

Seattle's economy is driven by a mix of older industrial companies, and "new economy" Internet and technology companies, service, design and clean technology companies. The city's gross metropolitan product was $231 billion in 2010, making it the 12th largest metropolitan economy in the United States. The Port of Seattle, which also operates Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, is a major gateway for trade with Asia and cruises to Alaska, and is the 8th largest port in the United States in terms of container capacity. Though it has been affected by the recent recession, Seattle has retained a comparatively strong economy, and remains a hotbed for start-up businesses, especially in green building and clean technologies: it was ranked as America's No. 1 "smarter city" based on its government policies and green economy. February 2010, the city government committed Seattle to becoming North America's first "climate neutral" city, with a goal of reaching zero net per capita greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Still, very large companies dominate the business landscape. Three companies on the 2008 Fortune 500 list of the United States' largest companies, based on total revenue are headquartered in Seattle: Internet retailer Amazon.com (#100), coffee chain Starbucks (#241), and department store Nordstrom (#270). Other Fortune 500 companies popularly associated with Seattle are based in nearby Puget Sound cities. Warehouse club chain Costco (#29), the largest retail company in Washington, is based in Issaquah. Providence Health & Services, the largest health care system and the fifth largest employer, is based in Renton, Washington. Microsoft (#44) and Nintendo of America are located in Redmond. Weyerhaeuser, the forest products company (#147), is based in Federal Way. Finally, Bellevue is home to truck manufacturer PACCAR (#169), and to international mobile telephony giant T-Mobile's U.S. subsidiary, T-Mobile USA. The city has a reputation for heavy coffee consumption; coffee companies founded or based in Seattle include Starbucks, Seattle's Best Coffee, and Tully's. There are also many successful independent artisanal espresso roasters and cafes.

Prior to moving its headquarters to Chicago, aerospace manufacturer Boeing (#27) was the largest company based in Seattle. Its largest division is still headquartered in nearby Renton, and the company has large aircraft manufacturing plants in Everett and Renton, so it remains the largest private employer in the Seattle metropolitan area. Former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels announced a desire to spark a new economic boom driven by the biotechnology industry in 2006. Major redevelopment of the South Lake Union neighborhood is underway, in an effort to attract new and established biotech companies to the city, joining biotech companies Corixa (acquired by GlaxoSmithKline), Immunex (now part of Amgen), Trubion, and ZymoGenetics. Vulcan Inc., the holding company of billionaire Paul Allen, is behind most of the development projects in the region. While some see the new development as an economic boon, others have criticized Nickels and the Seattle City Council for pandering to Allen's interests at taxpayers' expense. Also in 2006, ''Expansion Magazine'' ranked Seattle among the top 10 metropolitan areas in the nation for climates favorable to business expansion. In 2005, ''Forbes'' ranked Seattle as the most expensive American city for buying a house based on the local income levels.

Alaska Airlines, operating a hub at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, maintains its headquarters in the city of SeaTac, next to the airport.

Demographics

According to the 2010 census, Seattle had a population of 608,660 and the racial composition was as follows:

White: 69.5% (Non-Hispanic Whites: 66.3%)

Asian: 13.8% (4.1% Chinese, 2.6% Filipino, 2.2% Vietnamese, 1.3% Japanese, 1.1% Korean, 0.8% Indian, 0.3% Cambodian, 0.3% Laotian, 0.2% Thai)

Black or African American: 7.9%

American Indian and Alaska Native: 0.8%

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.4%

Other Race: 2.4%

Two or more races: 5.1%

Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 6.6% (4.1% Mexican, 0.3% Puerto Rican, 0.2% Guatemalan, 0.2% Salvadoran, 0.2% Cuban)

Seattle's population has historically been predominantly white, but the percentage of whites has been gradually declining. In 1960, whites comprised 91.6% of the city's population, but by 2010 the percentage of whites had shrunk to 69.5%. According to the 2006–2008 American Community Survey, approximately 78.9% of residents over the age of five spoke only English at home. People who spoke Asian languages at home made up 10.2% of the population—the largest percentage of non-English languages spoken at home—and Spanish was spoken by 4.5% of the population, while people who spoke other Indo-European languages made up 3.9% of the population. People who spoke other languages made up 2.5% of the population.

Seattle has seen steady growth in racial and ethnic diversity. In recent decades, the city has seen a major increase in immigration, with the foreign-born population growing 40% between the 1990 and 2000 censuses. According to a 2010 United States Census Bureau report, Seattle's 98118 zip code (in the Columbia City neighbourhood) was the most multicultural zip code in the United States. The Chinese population in the Seattle area has origins in mainland China, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan. The earliest Chinese-Americans that came in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were almost entirely from Guangdong province. The Seattle area is also home to a high Vietnamese population, at over 55,000 residents, and over 30,000 Somali immigrants. The Seattle-Tacoma area is also home to one of the largest Cambodian communities in the United States, enumerating about 19,000 Cambodian Americans, as well as one of the largest Samoan communities in the mainland U.S., with over 15,000 people having Samoan ancestry. The Seattle area also had the highest percentage of self-identified mixed-race people of any large metropolitan area in the United States, according to the 2000 United States Census Bureau.

As of 1999, the median income of a city household was $45,736, and the median income for a family was $62,195. Males had a median income of $40,929 versus $35,134 for females. The per capita income for the city was $30,306. 11.8% of the population and 6.9% of families are below the poverty line. Of people living in poverty, 13.8% are under the age of 18 and 10.2% are 65 or older.

It is estimated that King County has 8,000 homeless people on any given night, and many of those live in Seattle. In September 2005, King County adopted a "Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness", one of the near-term results of which is a shift of funding from homeless shelter beds to permanent housing.

In recent years, the city has seen steady population growth, and has been faced with the issue of accommodating more residents. In 2006, after growing by 4,000 citizens per year for the previous 16 years, regional planners expected the population of Seattle to grow by 200,000 people by 2040. However, former mayor Greg Nickels supported plans that would increase the population by 60%, or 350,000 people, by 2040 and worked on ways to accommodate this growth while keeping Seattle's single-family housing zoning laws. The Seattle City Council later voted to relax height limits on buildings in the greater part of Downtown, partly with the aim to increase residential density in the city centre. As a sign of increasing inner-city growth, the downtown population crested to over 60,000 in 2009, up 77% since 1990.

Seattle also has a robust LGBT population. A 2006 study by UCLA indicated that the city has one of the highest LGBT populations per capita. With 12.9% of citizens polled identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, the city ranks second of all major U.S. cities, behind San Francisco and slightly ahead of Atlanta and Minneapolis. Greater Seattle also ranks second among major U.S. metropolitan areas, with 6.5% of the population being LGBT.

In addition, Seattle has a relatively high number of people living alone. According to the 2000 U.S. Census interim measurements of 2004, Seattle has the fifth highest proportion of single-person households nationwide among cities of 100,000 or more residents, at 40.8%.

Government and politics

Seattle is a charter city, with a Mayor–Council form of government. Since 1911, Seattle's nine city councillors have been elected at large, rather than by geographic subdivisions. The only other elected offices are the city attorney and Municipal Court judges. All city, county, and state offices are technically non-partisan. Like most parts of the United States, government and laws are also run by a series of ballot initiatives (whereby citizens can pass or reject laws), referenda (whereby citizens can approve or reject legislation already passed), and propositions (where specific government agencies can propose new laws/tax increases directly to the people)

Seattle's political culture is strongly liberal and progressive, although there is a small libertarian movement within the metropolitan area. It is one of the most liberal cities in the United States, with approximately 80% voting for the Democratic Party; only two precincts in Seattle—one in the Broadmoor community, and one encompassing neighboring Madison Park—had a majority of votes for Republican George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election. In addition, all precincts in Seattle voted for Democratic Party candidate Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, including the two precincts which had previously voted Republican in 2004. In partisan elections for the Washington State Legislature and United States Congress, nearly all elections are won by Democrats.

Seattle is one of the most politically progressive cities in North America, with an overwhelming majority of voters supporting Democratic politicians; support for liberal issues such as same-sex marriage, reproductive rights, and gun control is largely taken for granted in local politics. Like much of the Pacific Northwest (which has the lowest rate of church attendance in the United States and consistently reports the highest percentage of atheism), church attendance, religious belief, and political influence of religious leaders are much lower than in other parts of America. Seattle also has a thriving alternative press, with the Web-based daily ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'', several other online dailies (including ''Publicola'' and ''Crosscut''), ''The Stranger'' (an alternative, left-leaning weekly), and a number of issue-focused publications, including the nation's two largest online environmental magazines, ''Worldchanging'' and ''Grist.org''.

Federally, Seattle is part of Washington's 7th congressional district, represented by Democrat Jim McDermott, elected in 1988 and one of Congress's most liberal members.

Education

Of the city's population over the age of 25, 53.8% (vs. a national average of 27.4%) hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and 91.9% (vs. 84.5% nationally) have a high school diploma or equivalent. A United States Census Bureau survey showed that Seattle had the highest percentage of college and university graduates of any major U.S. city. The city was listed as the most literate of the country's sixty-nine largest cities in 2005 and 2006, the second most literate in 2007, after Minneapolis, and the most literate in 2008 in a tie with Minneapolis in studies conducted by Central Connecticut State University.

Seattle Public Schools desegregated without a court order but continue to struggle to achieve racial balance in a somewhat ethnically divided city (the south part of town having more ethnic minorities than the north). In 2007, Seattle's racial tie-breaking system was struck down by the United States Supreme Court, but the ruling left the door open for desegregation formulae based on other indicators (e.g., income or socioeconomic class).

The public school system is supplemented by a moderate number of private schools: five of the private high schools are Catholic, one is Lutheran, and six are secular.

Seattle is home to one of the United States's most respected public research universities, the University of Washington, as well as its professional and continuing education unit, University of Washington Educational Outreach. A study by ''Newsweek International'' in 2006 cited UW as the twenty-second best university in the world. Seattle also has a number of smaller private universities including Seattle University and Seattle Pacific University, both founded by religious groups; universities aimed at the working adult, like City University and Antioch University; colleges, such as North Seattle Community College, Seattle Central Community College, and South Seattle Community College; and a number of arts colleges, such as Cornish College of the Arts, Pratt Fine Arts Center, and The Art Institute of Seattle. In 2001, ''Time'' magazine selected Seattle Central Community College as community college of the year, stating the school "pushes diverse students to work together in small teams".

Infrastructure

Health systems

The University of Washington is consistently ranked among the country's top leading institutions in medical research, earning special merits for programs in neurology and neurosurgery. Seattle has seen local developments of modern paramedic services with the establishment of Medic One in 1970. In 1974, a ''60 Minutes'' story on the success of the then four-year-old Medic One paramedic system called Seattle "the best place in the world to have a heart attack".

Three of Seattle's largest medical centers are located on First Hill. Harborview Medical Center, the public county hospital, is the only Level I trauma hospital serving Washington, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. Virginia Mason Medical Center and Swedish Medical Center's two largest campuses are also located in this part of Seattle, including the Virginia Mason Hospital. This concentration of hospitals resulted in the neighborhood's nickname "Pill Hill".

Located in the Laurelhurst neighborhood, Seattle Children's, formerly Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, is the pediatric referral center for Washington, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has a campus in the Eastlake neighborhood and also shares facilities with the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and University of Washington Medical Center. The University District is home to the University of Washington Medical Center which, along with Harborview, is operated by the University of Washington. Seattle is also served by a Veterans Affairs hospital on Beacon Hill, a third campus of Swedish in Ballard, and Northwest Hospital and Medical Center near Northgate Mall.

Transportation

The first streetcars appeared in 1889 and were instrumental in the creation of a relatively well-defined downtown and strong neighborhoods at the end of their lines. The advent of the automobile sounded the death knell for rail in Seattle. Tacoma–Seattle railway service ended in 1929 and the Everett–Seattle service came to an end in 1939, replaced by inexpensive automobiles running on the recently developed highway system. Rails on city streets were paved over or removed, and the opening of the Seattle trolleybus system brought the end of streetcars in Seattle in 1941. This left an extensive network of privately owned buses (later public) as the only mass transit within the city and throughout the region.

King County Metro provides frequent stop bus service within the city and surrounding county, as well as a South Lake Union Streetcar line between the South Lake Union neighborhood and Westlake Center in downtown. Seattle is one of the few cities in North America whose bus fleet includes electric trolleybuses. Sound Transit currently provides an express bus service within the metropolitan area; two Sounder commuter rail lines between the suburbs and downtown; and its Central Link light rail line, which opened in 2009, between downtown and Sea-Tac Airport gives the city its first rapid transit line that has intermediate stops within the city limits. Washington State Ferries, which manages the largest network of ferries in the United States and third largest in the world, connects Seattle to Bainbridge and Vashon Islands in Puget Sound and to Bremerton and Southworth on the Kitsap Peninsula.

According to the 2007 American Community Survey, 18.6% of Seattle residents used one of the three public transit systems that serve the city, giving it the highest transit ridership of all major cities without heavy or light rail prior to the completion of Sound Transit's Central Link line. The city has also been described as the fourth most walkable city in the United States.

Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, locally known as Sea-Tac Airport and located just south in the neighboring city of SeaTac, is operated by the Port of Seattle and provides commercial air service to destinations throughout the world. Closer to downtown, Boeing Field is used for general aviation, cargo flights, and testing/delivery of Boeing airliners.

The main mode of transportation, however, relies on Seattle's streets, which are laid out in a cardinal directions grid pattern, except in the central business district where early city leaders Arthur Denny and Carson Boren insisted on orienting their plats relative to the shoreline rather than to true North. Only two roads, Interstate 5 and State Route 99 (both limited-access highways), run uninterrupted through the city from north to south. State Route 99 runs through downtown Seattle on the Alaskan Way Viaduct, which was built in 1953. However, due to damage sustained during the 2001 Nisqually earthquake the viaduct will be replaced by a tunnel in 2015 at a cost of US$4.25 billion.

From 2006 to 2008, transit ridership in Seattle went up by 23%, and many bus routes in the central part of the city are routinely forced to leave passengers because they are full. Seattle has the 12th worst traffic congestion of all American cities.

The city has started moving away from the automobile and towards mass transit. In 2006, voters in King County passed proposition 2(Transit Now) which increased bus service hours on high ridership routes and paid for five Bus Rapid Transit lines called RapidRide. After rejecting a roads and transit measure in 2007, Seattle-area voters passed a transit only measure in 2008 that increases ST Express bus service and extends the Link Light Rail system (currently with under construction) by over 30 miles, and expands and improves Sounder commuter rail service. A light rail line from downtown heading south to the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport began service on December 19, 2009, giving the city its first rapid transit line with intermediate stations within the city limits. An extension north to the University of Washington is under construction as of 2010; and further extensions are planned to reach Lynnwood to the north, Des Moines to the south, and Bellevue and Redmond to the east by 2023. Mayor Michael McGinn hopes to put another transit measure on the 2011 ballot to build light rail from Downtown Seattle to Ballard, Fremont, and West Seattle after seeing a surprisingly large amount of support for it from its campaign (and now city's) policy forum.

Walkability

A 2011 study by Walk Score ranked Seattle the sixth most walkable of the fifty largest U.S. cities.

Utilities

Water and electric power are municipal services, provided by Seattle Public Utilities and Seattle City Light respectively. Other utility companies serving Seattle include Puget Sound Energy (natural gas, electricity); Seattle Steam Company (steam); Waste Management, Inc and CleanScapes, Inc. (curbside recycling and solid waste removal); and Verizon Communications, Century Link and Comcast (telephone, Internet, and cable television).

Sister cities

Beer Sheva, Israel Bergen, Norway Cebu, Philippines Chongqing, Republic of China Kaohsiung, Taiwan Christchurch, New Zealand Daejeon, South Korea Galway, Ireland Gdynia, Poland Haiphong, Vietnam Kobe, Japan Limbe Cameroon Mazatlán, Mexico Mombasa, Kenya Nantes, France Pécs, Hungary Perugia, Italy Reykjavík, Iceland Sihanoukville, Cambodia Surabaya, Indonesia Tashkent, Uzbekistan Izmir, Turkey

See also

List of people from Seattle

List of Seattle sister cities

National Register of Historic Places listings in Seattle, Washington

Sustainable Seattle

Tillicum Village

Seattle tugboats

References

Further reading

Sanders, Jeffrey Craig. ''Seattle and the Roots of Urban Sustainability: Inventing Ecotopia'' (University of Pittsburgh Press; 2010) 288 pages; the rise of environmental activism

External links

Historylink.org, history of Seattle and Washington.

Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project

Pacific Northwest Labor History Projects

Seattle, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary

Category:Cities in Washington (state) Category:Cities in the Seattle metropolitan area Category:County seats in Washington (state) Category:Populated places in King County, Washington Category:Port settlements in Washington (state) Category:Populated places established in 1853 Category:Isthmuses Category:Populated places on Puget Sound

af:Seattle am:ስያትል ar:سياتيل، واشنطن zh-min-nan:Seattle be:Горад Сіэтл be-x-old:Сіетл bg:Сиатъл bs:Seattle, Washington ca:Seattle cs:Seattle co:Seattle cy:Seattle da:Seattle de:Seattle et:Seattle el:Σιάτλ es:Seattle eo:Seattle eu:Seattle fa:سیاتل fo:Seattle fr:Seattle ga:Seattle gd:Seattle gl:Seattle, Washington ko:시애틀 hi:सीऐटल hr:Seattle, Washington io:Seattle ig:Seattle id:Seattle os:Сиэтл zu:Washington (isifunda eMelika) is:Seattle it:Seattle he:סיאטל pam:Seattle, Washington ka:სიეტლი kw:Seattle sw:Seattle, Washington ht:Seattle, Washington mrj:Сиэтл la:Seattlum lv:Sietla lb:Seattle lt:Sietlas hu:Seattle mk:Сиетл mi:Seattle mr:सिअ‍ॅटल, वॉशिंग्टन ms:Seattle nl:Seattle ja:シアトル no:Seattle nn:Seattle oc:Seattle uz:Sietl pnb:سیاٹل pap:Seattle km:ស៊ីតថល pms:Seattle nds:Seattle pl:Seattle pt:Seattle ro:Seattle qu:Seattle (Washington) ru:Сиэтл sah:Сиэтл sco:Seattle scn:Seattle simple:Seattle sk:Seattle sl:Seattle, Washington szl:Seattle sr:Сијетл sh:Seattle fi:Seattle sv:Seattle tl:Seattle, Washington ta:சியாட்டில் tt:Сиэтл th:ซีแอตเทิล tg:Сиэтл, Вашингтон tr:Seattle uk:Сієтл ug:Séatl vec:Seattle vi:Seattle vo:Seattle war:Seattle yi:סיאטל yo:Seattle zh-yue:西雅圖 zh:西雅圖

name	Óliver Pérez
position	Relief pitcher
team	Seattle Mariners
number	36
bats	Left
throws	Left
birth date	August 15, 1981
birth place	Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico
debutdate	June 16
debutyear	2002
debutteam	San Diego Padres
statyear	2010
stat1label	Win–loss record
stat1value	58–69
stat2label	Earned run average
stat2value	4.63
stat3label	Strikeouts
stat3value	1,126
teams	San Diego Padres (–) Pittsburgh Pirates (–) New York Mets (–)
Awards	Led MLB in K/9 (2004) }}

Óliver Pérez Martínez (born August 15, 1981 in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico) is a left-handed pitcher currently in the Seattle Mariners organization.

Professional career

San Diego Padres

Pérez was signed by the San Diego Padres as an amateur free agent in 1999. He made his debut with the Padres in . Pérez did well for a rookie after being called up by the Padres in 2002, striking out over a batter per inning, but he suffered from control issues at times. He regressed somewhat in .

Pittsburgh Pirates

In August 2003, Pérez was sent by San Diego to Pittsburgh along with Jason Bay and Cory Stewart in the same trade that brought Brian Giles to the Padres. Pérez continued to struggle for his new team.

Before the season, the team overhauled his pitching mechanics. His average of 10.97 strikeouts per nine innings was highest in the Majors (239 SO/196 IP); his 2.98 ERA was fifth in the National League (tied with Roger Clemens); and his 12–10 record could have been ever better with reasonable run support early in the season. Pirates' bats provided two or fewer runs in Pérez' 16 starts before All-Star break, causing him to post a 5–4 record with five no decisions despite a 3.24 ERA. In that season, Pérez pitched at least six innings and allowed three or fewer runs in 21 of his 30 starts (70%). Through this first three seasons, Pérez had compiled a 20–25 record with 474 strikeouts and a 3.86 ERA in 412.2 innings. His 239 strikeouts that year are currently the third-most in a season by a modern-day Pirate, trailing only Bob Veale's 276 in and 250 in .

By contrast, Pérez's season was disappointing. He posted a 5.85 ERA in a season plagued by injuries. The Pirates were forced to place him on the disabled list on June 29 after he broke his toe kicking a cart following a loss to St. Louis. He missed two and a half months, returning in September to post a 4.58 ERA in 19.2 late season innings. Pérez had also lost significant speed off his fastball.

Pérez represented Mexico in the inaugural World Baseball Classic, where Mexico was eliminated in the second group stage.

In 2006, Pérez opened the Pirates' season as the number one starter. On June 27, Pérez was sent to the Pirates bullpen after struggling through the first half of the season with an ERA over 6.00. On June 29, he was sent to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, with Tom Gorzelanny being called up to replace him in the starting rotation.

New York Mets

On July 31, 2006, Pérez and Roberto Hernández were traded to the New York Mets in exchange for Xavier Nady. The Mets assigned Pérez to their AAA affiliate, the Norfolk Tides. He was recalled to the Mets' major league roster on August 26, 2006. After two subpar starts, Pérez threw a complete game shutout against the Atlanta Braves in the second game of a doubleheader on September 6, 2006.

After the Mets lost two starting pitchers to injury in the final week before the playoffs started, they were forced to use Pérez in the playoff rotation. His first playoff start came in Game 4 of the NLCS, in which he picked up his first career postseason win. His second playoff start came in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS vs the Cardinals, he went 6 strong innings allowing 1 ER, The Mets would eventually go on to lose the game 3–1.

Entering the season, there were concerns about the Mets' pitching staff and whether Pérez could live up to his potential. However, Pérez emerged as one of the Mets' most consistent pitchers. Pérez finished the 2007 season 15–10 with a 3.56 ERA, striking out 174 in 177 innings pitched, while walking only 79.

In the 2008 season, Pérez was inconsistent, posting a record of 10–7 with a 4.22 ERA. He was also prone to big innings striking at any moment. An example would be in a start against the San Francisco Giants, he went of an inning allowing 5 hits and 6 runs all of them earned. An example of his dominance would be his start against the New York Yankees on June 29, 2008. Pérez went 7 innings allowing just one run on a home run by Wilson Betemit striking out a season high 8 batters. After the firing of manager Willie Randolph, Pérez pitched better. At the request of Pedro Martinez and pitching coach Dan Warthen, he has changed his delivery to the plate. Instead of letting his head hang down when he makes his delivery, he now makes a bowing motion. He led the majors in walks, with 105.

On February 3, , the Mets signed Pérez to a three-year $36 million deal to return. On May 6, Pérez was put on the disabled list due to patellar tendinitis in his right leg. He returned to the rotation on July 8, 2009.

On August 26, 2009, Pérez was diagnosed with patellar tendinitis in his right knee and underwent undergo season-ending surgery. He finished the season 3–4 with a 6.82 ERA.

On May 15, 2010, manager Jerry Manuel moved Pérez to the bullpen. Pérez refused a minor league assignment to work on his pitching despite both his poor play and repeated attempts by the Mets' front office.

On June 5, 2010, the Mets placed Pérez on the 15-day DL due to a patella tendinitis of right knee. As Pérez was placed on the DL soon after refusing an assignment to the minor leagues a second time, the league investigated the timing of the DL stint, later clearing it. After July 21, Pérez made only six appearances, all in relief. Pérez finished the 2010 season with 0 wins, 5 losses, and a 6.80 ERA in just 46.1 innings pitched.

The Mets unconditionally released Pérez on March 21, 2011, still being responsible for the remaining 12 million dollars on his contract.

Washington Nationals

On March 23, 2011, the Washington Nationals signed Perez to a minor league deal and assigned him to Class AAA Syracuse. Perez was later moved to the AA Harrisburg Senators, where he joined veteran pitcher Chien-Ming Wang and young phenom Bryce Harper.

Seattle Mariners

On January 19, 2012, the Seattle Mariners signed Perez to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. Perez will make $750K if he's on the 25-man roster by the start of the season, with up to $250K in incentives based on innings and games pitched.

References

External links

Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:San Diego Padres players Category:Pittsburgh Pirates players Category:New York Mets players Category:2006 World Baseball Classic players Category:2009 World Baseball Classic players Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Major League Baseball players from Mexico Category:People from Culiacán Category:Arizona League Padres players Category:Idaho Falls Padres players Category:Leones de Yucatán players Category:Fort Wayne Wizards players Category:Lake Elsinore Storm players Category:Mobile BayBears players Category:Portland Beavers players Category:Indianapolis Indians players Category:Norfolk Tides players Category:Gulf Coast Mets players Category:St. Lucie Mets players Category:Brooklyn Cyclones players Category:Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Category:Harrisburg Senators players Category:Tacoma Rainiers players

fr:Óliver Pérez ko:올리베르 페레스 ja:オリバー・ペレス

Name	Brandon McCarthy
Position	Starting pitcher
Team	Oakland Athletics
Number	32
Bats	Right
Throws	Right
Birth date	July 07, 1983
Birth place	Glendale, California
Debutdate	May 22
Debutyear	2005
Debutteam	Chicago White Sox
Statyear	2011 Season
Stat1label	Win-Loss
Stat1value	29-33
Stat2label	Earned run average
Stat2value	4.17
Stat3label	Strikeouts
Stat3value	374
Teams	Chicago White Sox (–) Texas Rangers (–) Oakland Athletics (–present) }}

Brandon Patrick McCarthy (born July 7, 1983, in Glendale, California) is a Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher for the Oakland Athletics.

Early life

He graduated from Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2001.

McCarthy was playing baseball for Lamar Community College in Colorado when he was drafted in the 17th round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft by the Chicago White Sox.

Minor leagues

In the minor leagues in , McCarthy posted impressive stats and showed excellent control, pitching 101 innings, striking out 125 batters, and walking only 15 batters. In 2004, he led all minor league pitchers in strikeouts, with 202.

Major leagues

Chicago White Sox

McCarthy made his major league debut on May 22, , as a spot starter for the Chicago White Sox in a game against the Chicago Cubs. McCarthy would make several additional spot starts that year before earning a permanent spot on the team as a reliever in .

Texas Rangers

On December 23, 2006, McCarthy was traded along with David Paisano to the Texas Rangers for John Danks, Nick Masset and Jake Rasner. McCarthy endured an injury-plagued season in his first year for the Rangers (and his first full year as a starter) in , most notably dealing with a stress fracture in his right shoulderblade that kept him sidelined for nearly 2 months. His luck did not improve in , as he developed inflammation in his right elbow during spring training and consequently missed most of the 2008 season.

Oakland Athletics

He signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics on December 14, 2010.

As part of the starting pitcher rotation for the Oakland Athletics in 2011, McCarthy strengthened his mechanics and had his most productive major league season, pitching twenty-five games, five complete. McCarthy adapted his pitch repertoire to emphasize two-seam fastballs and cutters, which helped increase his ground-ball percentage and lower his home-run rate while developing control and limiting walks allowed. He finished the year with the lowest FIP among American League starters.

References

External links

McCarthy in the minors

Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:Chicago White Sox players Category:Texas Rangers players Category:Oakland Athletics players Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Baseball players from California Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Arizona League White Sox players Category:Great Falls White Sox players Category:Kannapolis Intimidators players Category:Winston-Salem Warthogs players Category:Birmingham Barons players Category:Charlotte Knights players Category:Oklahoma RedHawks players Category:Arizona League Rangers players Category:Oklahoma City RedHawks players Category:Stockton Ports players

fr:Brandon McCarthy ko:브랜던 매카시 ja:ブランドン・マッカーシー

name	Jesús Montero
team	Seattle Mariners
number	63
position	Catcher / Designated hitter
birth date	November 28, 1989
birth place	Guacara, Venezuela
bats	Right
throws	Right
debutdate	September 1
debutyear	2011
debutteam	New York Yankees
statyear	May 1, 2012
stat1label	Batting average
stat1value	.308
stat2label	Home runs
stat2value	8
stat3label	Runs batted in
stat3value	25
teams	New York Yankees () Seattle Mariners (–present) }}

Jesús Alejandro Montero (born November 28, 1989) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball. He was originally signed by the New York Yankees before being traded to the Mariners. At the time of his signing, the Yankees projected him as a possible future replacement for Jorge Posada, however there were doubts about whether his height and weight were conducive to being an everyday catcher.

Jesus Montero is known for being the first person to walk on water since another famous Jesus did so over 2000 years ago

Career

Minor leagues

On July 2, 2006, Montero signed with the New York Yankees, receiving $1.6 million. Montero was considered to be the best player and to have the best power of any 2006 international signee.

In 2007, at the age of 17, Montero made his professional debut for the Gulf Coast Yankees. He was invited to 2008 Spring Training, where he hit a home run in his only at bat before being assigned to minor league camp. He spent the 2008 season with the Class A Charleston RiverDogs, where he batted .326 with 17 home runs and 87 RBI, with 2 stolen bases.

He began 2009 with the Tampa Yankees, the Class A-Advanced Florida State League affiliate of the Yankees, but on June 3, 2009, Montero was promoted to the Double-A Trenton Thunder. Despite having played only a portion of the 2009 season in Trenton, Montero was added to the Eastern League All-Star roster. He was named the Yankees' second best prospect for 2009 and the third best prospect in baseball by Baseball America. He was named to the All-Star Futures Game for the second year in a row, which features baseball's best minor league prospects. Montero's season ended prematurely when he sustained a broken finger while catching.

Montero was named the Yankees' best prospect for 2010 by Baseball America and the fifth best in all of baseball. He was invited to spring training, where Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long declared him ready for the Majors as a hitter, though the team wanted to see improvement on defense. Montero spent the 2010 season with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Early in the season, Montero struggled, but he improved after the All-Star break. He was named to the International League All-Star game the Postseason All-Star team, and was chosen as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Player of the Year.

At the 2010 MLB trade deadline, the Yankees and Seattle Mariners almost completed a deal that would have sent Montero, Zach McAllister, and David Adams to the Mariners for Cliff Lee. When the teams shared medical reports, the Mariners were concerned by Adams' health. As a result, they chose to trade Lee to the Texas Rangers in a package centered around Justin Smoak.

Montero contended for a spot on the Yankees' 25 man roster in 2011 spring training. Yankees officials believed Montero was ready to be the starting catcher, which would have enabled Jorge Posada to shift to designated hitter, though the signing of Russell Martin allowed the Yankees to be patient with Montero. A spring training injury to Francisco Cervelli gave the Yankees an opportunity to use Montero as Martin's backup, but they decided to have Montero begin the 2011 season in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Major leagues

New York Yankees

Montero was promoted to the Yankees on September 1, 2011. He started his first major league game that same day as the designated hitter against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Montero went 0-4 and was hit by a pitch, but scored the go-ahead run when he was driven in by Yankee catcher Russell Martin in the seventh inning. He made his first start at Yankee Stadium on September 3, 2011, against the Toronto Blue Jays. He went 1-3, hitting a single to left field in the 6th inning with 2 outs for his first major league hit. Montero hit his first and second Major League home runs on September 5, 2011 against the Baltimore Orioles in an 11–10 victory, becoming the first 21-year-old player to hit two home runs in a game since Manny Ramirez in 1993. Montero started his first game as a catcher against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on September 11. Against the Red Sox on September 24, Montero fell a triple short of hitting for the cycle. Montero ended the year with a .328 batting average, having hit 4 home runs.

Seattle Mariners

During the 2011-12 offseason, the Yankees traded Montero to the Mariners with Héctor Noesí for Michael Pineda and José Campos.

References

External links

Category:1989 births Category:Living people Category:New York Yankees players Category:Seattle Mariners players Category:All-Star Futures Game players Category:Major League Baseball catchers Category:Major League Baseball designated hitters Category:Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Category:People from Carabobo Category:Venezuelan baseball players Category:Gulf Coast Yankees players Category:Charleston RiverDogs players Category:Tampa Yankees players Category:Trenton Thunder players Category:Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players

fr:Jesús Montero it:Jesùs Montero ja:ヘスス・モンテロ zh:赫蘇斯·蒙特羅