Portal:Seattle

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Seattle

Seattle (IPA: /ˌsi.ˈɶ.ɾl̩/) is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located in the U.S. state of Washington between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, about 96 miles (155 km) south of the United States–Canadian border in King County, of which it is the county seat. Seattle was first settled by Europeans on November 14, 1851, by Arthur A. Denny and his crew, which would subsequently become known as the Denny party. Early settlements in the area were called New York, Alki and Duwamps; in 1853 at the suggestion of Doc Maynard the main settlement was named Seattle, after Sealth, chief of two local tribes. As of 2006, the city had an estimated population of 582,454[1] and an estimated metropolitan area population of approximately 3.3 million[2]. Seattle is the hub for the Greater Puget Sound region. Its official nickname is the Emerald City, the result of a contest by a civic-minded association in the early 1980s to designate a pleasant nickname for the city;[3] the name alludes to the lush evergreen trees in the surrounding area. It is also referred to informally as the Gateway to Alaska, Queen City, and Jet City, due to the local influence of Boeing. (Seattle-area band Queensrÿche also wrote a song called "Jet City Woman".) Seattle residents are known as Seattleites.

Seattle is often regarded as the birthplace of grunge music, and has a reputation for heavy coffee consumption; coffee companies founded in Seattle include Starbucks, Seattle's Best Coffee, and Tully's. There are also many successful independent artisanal espresso roasters and cafes. Seattle was the site of the 1999 meeting of the World Trade Organization, and the attendant demonstrations by anti-globalization activists. Researchers at Central Connecticut State University ranked Seattle the most literate city in America in 2005.[4] Moreover, a United States Census Bureau survey showed that Seattle has the highest percentage of college graduates of any major U.S. city.[5] Based on per capita income, Seattle ranks 36th of 522 studied areas in the state of Washington. Read More...

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Fremont is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington. Named after Fremont, Nebraska, the hometown of two of its founders, L. H. Griffith and E. Blewett, it is situated along the Fremont Cut of the Lake Washington Ship Canal to the north of Queen Anne, the east of Ballard, the south of Phinney Ridge, and the southwest of Wallingford. Its boundaries are not formally fixed, but they can be thought of as consisting of the Ship Canal to the south, Stone Way N. to the east, N. 50th Street to the north, and 8th Avenue N.W. to the west.

The neighborhood's main thoroughfares are Fremont and Aurora Avenues N. (north- and southbound) and N. 46th, 45th, 36th, and 34th Streets (east- and westbound). The Aurora Bridge (George Washington Memorial Bridge) carries Aurora Avenue (Washington State Route 99) over the Ship Canal to the top of Queen Anne Hill, and the Fremont Bridge carries Fremont Avenue over the canal to the hill's base.

The Statue of Lenin in Fremont

Sometimes referred to as "The People's Republic of Fremont," and at one time a center of the counterculture, Fremont has somewhat gentrified in recent years. The neighborhood remains home to a controversial statue of Lenin salvaged from Slovakia by a local art lover who was teaching in the area at the time. Read More...

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Selected biography

Sherman Joseph Alexie, Jr. (born October 7, 1966) is an award-winning and prolific author and occasional comedian. Much of his writing draws on his experiences as a modern Native American. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

Alexie was born in Spokane, Washington and is of Spokane and Coeur d'Alene heritage. He grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington, about 50 miles northwest of the city of Spokane. Read More...

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Did you know?

...that the rehabilitation of the Union Trust Building (pictured) by architect Ralph Anderson set the pattern for reviving Seattle's rundown "Skid Road" neighborhood, Pioneer Square?

...that Yoky Matsuoka, a Seattle-based neuroscience and robotics researcher, was once the 21st ranked tennis player in Japan?

...that early 20th century regrading in Seattle (pictured) was probably the largest alteration of urban terrain up to that time?

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