Driving Downtown - Bellevue Washington USA
Driving Downtown -
Bellevue Washington USA -
Season 1 Episode 18.
Starting Point: NE 8th St https://goo.gl/maps/WXRXbu5R8Yz .
Bellevue is a city in the
Eastside region of
King County, Washington,
United States, across
Lake Washington from
Seattle. As
Seattle's largest suburb, Bellevue has variously been characterized as an edge city, a boomburb, or satellite city.[5][6] The city had a population of 122,363 at the
2010 census.
Prior to 2008, downtown Bellevue underwent rapid change, with many high rise projects under construction, and was relatively unaffected by the economic downturn. It is currently the second largest city center in
Washington state with over 35,
000 employees and 5,000 residents.[7]
Based on per capita income, Bellevue is the 6th wealthiest of 522 communities in the state of
Washington.[8] In 2008, Bellevue was named number 1 in CNNMoney's list of the best places to live and launch a business,[9] and in
2010 was again ranked as the 4th best place to live in
America.[10] The name "Bellevue" is
French for "beautiful view".[11] In 2014, Bellevue was ranked as the 2nd best place to live by
USA Today.[12]
Recurring cultural events
Bellevue is the site of the popular annual Bellevue
Arts and Crafts Fair (originally
Pacific Northwest Arts and Crafts Fair), held since
1947 at the end of July. The biennial Bellevue Sculpture
Exhibition draws thousands of visitors to the Downtown
Park to view up to 46 three-dimensional artworks from artists around the country. In celebration of its strawberry farming history, Bellevue holds an annual
Strawberry Festival.[35]
The Bellevue 24-Hour
Relay has also been hosted every July in
Bellevue Downtown Park.
Places of interest
The Bellevue Arts
Museum first opened in
1975, then moved to
Bellevue Square in
1983. In
2001, the museum moved into its own building, designed by
Steven Holl. The museum subsequently ran into financial difficulties and was forced to close to the public in
2003. After a lengthy fundraising campaign, a remodel, and a new mission to become a national center for the fine art of craft and design, the museum reopened on June 18,
2005 with an exhibition of teapots.[36] The
Rosalie Whyel
Museum of Doll Art - now closed - contained one of the largest doll collections in the world—more than a thousand dolls—displayed on two floors of a Victorian-style building.[37] The
KidsQuest Children's Museum is located in
Marketplace @
Factoria. The museum's primary visitors are mothers and care givers with children from pre-crawlers to 12 years of age. Its 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) space houses play and discovery areas, exhibits, offices, educational activities and classroom space.
Near Interstate 405 is
Meydenbauer Center, a convention center that brings corporate meetings and charity events to the downtown area. Meydenbauer also includes a 410-seat theater which attracts operas, ballets, and orchestral performances.[38]
Sports and recreation
Since the
1970s, the city has taken an active role in ensuring that its commercial development does not overwhelm its natural land and water resources.[39]
Today, the Bellevue Parks and
Community Services Department manages more than 2,
500 acres (
10 km2) of parks and open spaces, including the Downtown Park and the
Bellevue Botanical Garden, as well as several playgrounds, beach parks, and trails. More than 5,500 Bellevue residents participate in volunteer activities through this department annually.[40]
Bellevue was home to the
American Basketball Association team, the Bellevue
Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks in 2005, despite being ranked
13th in the league, made it to the championship game in front of 15,000 fans in
Little Rock, Arkansas.[41] The team has been inactive since
2006.[42]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellevue,_Washington
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companies_based_in_Bellevue,_Washington
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g58349-Activities-Bellevue_Washington
.html