Seattle in Washington
Monday, 21 March 2016 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: North America / Nordamerika Category/Kategorie: General
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Downtown Seattle and Space Needle from Queen Anne Hill © Rattlhed
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Seattle is a West Coast inlet seaport city and the seat of
King County . With an estimated 663,000 residents as of 2015, Seattle is the largest city in both the state of
Washington and the
Pacific Northwest region of
North America . In July 2013 it was the fastest-growing major city in the United States, and remained in the top five in May 2015 with an annual growth rate of 2.1%. The
Seattle metropolitan area of around 3.6 million inhabitants is the
15th largest metropolitan area in the United States. The city is situated on an
isthmus between
Puget Sound (an inlet of the Pacific Ocean) and
Lake Washington , about 100 miles (160 km) south of the
Canada–United States border . A major gateway for trade with Asia, Seattle is the third largest
port in North America in terms of container handling as of 2015.
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, the Great Depression severely damaged the city’s economy. Growth returned during and after World War II , due partially to the local Boeing company, which established Seattle as a center for aircraft manufacturing. The Seattle area developed as a technology center beginning in the 1980s, with companies like Microsoft becoming established in the region. In 1994 the Internet retail giant Amazon was founded in Seattle. The stream of new software, biotechnology, and Internet companies led to an economic revival, which increased the city’s population by almost 50,000 between 1990 and 2000.
Seattle has a noteworthy musical history. From 1918 to 1951, nearly two dozen jazz nightclubs existed along Jackson Street, from the current Chinatown/International District , to the Central District . The jazz scene developed the early careers of Ray Charles , Quincy Jones , Ernestine Anderson and others. Seattle is also the birthplace of rock musician Jimi Hendrix and the alternative rock style grunge . 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. 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.
Downtown Seattle and Space Needle from Queen Anne Hill © Rattlhed
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), 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. 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
Seattle Asian American Film Festival (formerly known as the
Northwest Asian American Film Festival ),
Children’s Film Festival Seattle ,
Translation: the Seattle Transgender Film Festival , the
Seattle Gay and Lesbian Film Festival , and the
Seattle Polish 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 . The
Seattle Great Wheel , one of the largest
Ferris wheels in the U.S., opened in June 2012 as a new, permanent attraction on the city’s
waterfront , at Pier 57, next to
Downtown Seattle . The city also has 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.
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. The
Seattle Underground Tour is an exhibit of places that existed before the Great Fire.
List of museums and galleries of Seattle
Read more on
Seattle ,
VisitSeattle.org ,
Wikivoyage Seattle and
Wikipedia Seattle (
Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State -
Weather report by weather.com -
Global Passport Power Rank -
Travel Risk Map -
Democracy Index -
GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank -
Global Competitiveness Report -
Corruption Perceptions Index -
Press Freedom Index -
World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index -
UN Human Development Index -
Global Peace Index -
Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index ). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at
comment@wingsch.net . Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.
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