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Bellevue is a suburb of Seattle and rapidly-growing city in King County, Washington, USA, across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is sometimes categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. In 2003 the Census Bureau estimated the city had a total population of 112,344, making ... more »
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Airports Bellevue is a suburb of Seattle and rapidly-growing city in King County, Washington, USA, across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is sometimes categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. In 2003 the Census Bureau estimated the city had a total population of 112,344, making it the fifth largest city in the state and the largest on the Eastside of King County. According to the Washington State Office of Financial Management's April 1, 2006 estimate, the city has a population of 117,000.
Downtown Bellevue is undergoing rapid change. Lincoln Square, which opened in 2005, and a recently-completed overhaul of the former Qwest building into a new City Hall appear to be the leading edge of a development boom. Over the next few years, the area will see the construction of several additional high-rises and other projects for office, residential, and retail space.
Based on per capita income, one of the more reliable measures of affluence, Bellevue is the 15th wealthiest of 522 areas in the state of Washington.
The city's name is derived from a French term for "beautiful view". Under favorable weather conditions, scenic vistas of the Olympic Mountains and Cascade Mountains can be viewed from hilltops (and strategically-positioned high-rise buildings) within the incorporated city.
The city lies between Lake Washington to the west and the smaller Lake Sammamish to the east. Much of Bellevue is drained by the Kelsey Creek watershed, whose source is located in the Larsen and Phantom Lake greenbelt and whose outlet is near where Interstate 90 meets Lake Washington's eastern shore. The city is bisected by Interstate 405 running north-south, and the southern portion is crossed from west to east by Interstate 90.
South of I-90 the city’s Eastgate neighborhood continues up Cougar Mountain. To the west of Cougar Mountain, Bellevue includes Coal Creek and Factoria, an unincorporated neighborhood.
Bellevue is bordered by the cities of Kirkland to the northwest and Redmond to the northeast along the Overlake neighborhood. Across the short East Channel Bridge, I-90 connects Bellevue to Mercer Island to the southwest. Issaquah is to the east, down I-90 at the south end of Lake Sammamish. The city is also bordered to the west by the extremely wealthy suburbs of Medina, Hunts Point and Yarrow Point.
Bellevue was founded in 1869 by William Meydenbauer and was officially incorporated on March 21, 1953. Prior to the opening of the Lake Washington Floating Bridge in 1940, Bellevue was a rural area with little development. Once the bridge opened, access from Seattle improved, and the area gradually grew into a bedroom community.
Following the 1963 opening of a second bridge across the lake, the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, the city began to grow more rapidly. It has since become one of the largest cities in the state, with several high-rise structures in its core and a burgeoning business community.
Reflective of Bellevue's growth over the years is Bellevue Square, now one of the largest shopping centers in the region. Opened in 1946, Bellevue Square underwent a significant expansion in the 1980s. More recently, an expansion to Bellevue Square along Bellevue Way called "The Lodge" and the new One Lincoln Tower directly across Bellevue Way from the Square promise to solidify downtown Bellevue as the primary Eastside shopping and dining destination. The Bravern, a large mixed-use project currently under construction, will feature a Neiman Marcus (the first in the Pacific Northwest) as well as other upscale shops.
After a regional downturn in the early 2000s stopped construction in its tracks, Bellevue is again growing. The first phase of Ashwood Commons, a mostly-residential hi-rise, recently completed construction. A second tower (for offices) is under construction at Lincoln Square; a new mixed-use development with a Safeway flagship store and luxury apartments (Avalon Meydenbauer) and a two-tower luxury condominum project (Bellevue Towers) have already broken ground. Another development similar to Lincoln Square is also planned for the site of the current Safeway. A "superblock" development called Washington Square will cover nine city blocks and eventually include no fewer than six 22-story towers.
Other projects in Bellevue's future include Meydenbauer Place, a new Performing Arts center, a second City Center office tower (which broke ground in July 2006), three more residential towers, and, at long last, construction has resumed on the abandoned Tech Tower site, now to be called Tower 333. Developers have reported that they do not expect to have any difficulty finding tenants for all this new space.
Bellevue is the site of the popular annual Bellevue Arts & Crafts Fair, held since 1947 at the end of July.
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 centre for the fine art of craft and design, the museum re-opened on June 18, 2005 with an exhibition of teapots.
The Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art contains one of the largest doll collections in the world—more than a thousand dolls—displayed on two floors of a Victorian-style building.
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.
Bellevue has the largest Asian-American population in Washington state (20%). It also has one of the largest foreign-born populations in the state (25%), including sizable Eastern European and rapidly growing Mexican populations. More than sixty languages are spoken in its school district.
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