Redmond, Washington
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Redmond is a city located in King County, Washington. It is situated on the eastern edge of the Seattle urban area, in what is known as the Eastside. In 2003 the Census Bureau estimated the city had a total population of 46,391. Redmond is best known as the home of Microsoft and Nintendo of America. With an annual bike race on city streets and the state's only velodrome, Redmond is also known as "the bicycle capital of the Northwest". The city has many parks and is known for its wooded beauty.
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History
Although Native Americans had settled in the Redmond area 3,000 years prior, the first white settlers arrived in the 1870s. Luke McRedmond filed a homestead claim for land next to the Sammamish River on September 9, 1870, and the following year Warren Perrigo took up land adjacent to him. The rivers and streams had so many salmon that the settlement was initially named Salmonberg. More settlers came, and with the establishment of the first post office in 1881, the name of the community was changed to Melrose. The new name was taken from the Perrigos' successful inn, Melrose House, which upset McRedmond. After becoming postmaster, he successfully petitioned to have the name changed to Redmond in 1883.
The abundant forests and fish of Redmond provided jobs for loggers and fishermen, and with those jobs came demand for goods and services, bringing in merchants. The logging industry expanded significantly with the building of a railroad through town. The first plat for Redmond was filed on May 11, 1891, encompassing much of the area now known as downtown. After reaching the necessary population of 300, Redmond was incorporated on December 31, 1912.
Redmond faced an economic downturn in the 1920s. Prohibition forced saloons to close, cutting off a large portion of the city's tax base. The forests were dwindling after heavy logging, causing lumber mills to shut down. Fortunately, the deforested land was suitable for farming. Agriculture became Redmond's primary business, keeping residents fed during the Great Depression. When the U.S. entered World War II, shipyard jobs and other wartime work came to Redmond.
After the war, Redmond's growth began in earnest. The city grew over thirty times larger in area through annexations between 1951 and 1967. The completion of the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge across Lake Washington in 1963 allowed Redmond to flourish as a suburb of Seattle. In 1978, the U.S. Census Bureau proclaimed Redmond the fastest growing city in the state. Many technology companies made the city their home, and the increasing population demanded more retail shops. Redmond underwent a commercial boom during the 1990s, culminating in 1997 with the opening of Redmond Town Center, a major regional shopping center on the site of a long-defunct golf course.
Geography
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Location of Redmond, Washington
Redmond is bordered by Kirkland to the west, Bellevue to the southwest, and Sammamish to the southeast. Unincorporated King County lies to the north and east. The city is situated on the north end of Lake Sammamish, with the Sammamish River running through its center.
Redmond is located at 47°40'10" North, 122°7'26" West (47.669414, -122.123875)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 42.9 km² (16.6 mi²). 41.2 km² (15.9 mi²) of it is land and 1.7 km² (0.7 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 4.05% water.
Government and politics
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Redmond has a non-partisan mayor-council form of government, with the mayor and the seven council members elected at large for staggered four-year terms. The current mayor, Rosemarie Ives, has been in office since 1992. The city council authorized a ballot measure in 2003 that would have changed Redmond to a council-manager government, but over 70 percent of voters voted against it.
Education
Redmond is part of the Lake Washington School District. The public schools in Redmond include nine elementary schools, three junior high schools, and Redmond High School. Three private schools offer secondary education: the Overlake School (secular), the Bear Creek School (Christian), and the Conservatory High School (for performing arts students).
DigiPen Institute of Technology (a college for students in the field of video games) and the secondary campus of Lake Washington Technical College are also located in Redmond.
The city is home to Redmond Regional Library, the second-largest library in the King County Library System.
Economy
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A number of companies in the high-tech industry are based in Redmond. The largest employer in the city by far is Microsoft Corporation, with over 22,000 full-time workers and more than 8 million square feet (750,000 square meters) of office space. Other companies with headquarters in Redmond include Nintendo of America, Eddie Bauer, Data I/O Corporation, Genie Industries, and Medtronic Emergency Response Systems. Redmond was also the home of AT&T Wireless, which has since become a part of Cingular.
Safeco Corporation, one of the city's major employers, announced in April 2005 that it would be consolidating its offices in Seattle's University District.
Parks and recreation
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Redmond has 23 developed public parks, totaling over a thousand acres (4 km²). Many of these are neighborhood parks with picnic tables and sports fields or courts. Redmond's largest park is 560 acre (2.3 km²) Marymoor Park, one of the most popular in King County. It features a climbing rock, a model airplane flying field, an outdoor theater, and a velodrome.
The city also offers 17 miles of developed trails for hiking, bicycling, and horseback riding. The Sammamish River Trail connects to the Burke-Gilman Trail in Bothell and can be followed all the way to Seattle's Ballard neighborhood.
Culture
Redmond Derby Days is an annual community festival held every July. It began as a race around Lake Sammamish called the Redmond Bicycle Derby in 1939, and since then has become a multi-day event including a bicycle criterium, parade, carnival, and entertainment stage.
Performing arts in Redmond include the Eastside Symphony, the SecondStory Repertory theater company, and the Washington Academy of Performing Arts.
Redmond is home to the largest church in the state, Overlake Christian Church. The so-called megachurch moved to the city in 1997 after outgrowing its Kirkland location.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 45,256 people, 19,102 households, and 11,346 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,099.7/km² (2,848.8/mi²). There are 20,248 housing units at an average density of 492.0/km² (1,274.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 79.26% White, 1.52% African American, 0.45% Native American, 13.02% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander, 2.46% from other races, and 3.11% from two or more races. 5.61% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 19,102 households out of which 28.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% are married couples living together, 7.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 40.6% are non-families. 30.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.33 and the average family size is 2.95.
In the city the population is spread out with 21.5% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 37.9% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 99.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $66,735, and the median income for a family is $78,430. Males have a median income of $58,112 versus $37,200 for females. The per capita income for the city is $36,233. 5.3% of the population and 3.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 6.3% of those under the age of 18 and 6.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
References
- Malowney, Georgeann (2002). Redmond (Images of America: Washington). Chicago: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0738520713.
- Way, Nancy (1989). Our Town Redmond. Redmond, Washington: Marymoor Museum. ISBN 0962458724.
External links
- City of Redmond Home (http://www.ci.redmond.wa.us/)
- Redmond - Thumbnail History (http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=304)
- Marymoor Velodrome (http://marymoor.velodrome.org)
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