Mercer Island, Washington
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mercer Island is a city in King County, Washington, U.S. The population was 22,036 at the 2000 census. It is also the name of the island in Lake Washington with which the city is coterminous. Based on per capita income, one of the more reliable measures of affluence, Mercer Island is the seventh wealthiest of 522 areas in the state of Washington.
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[edit] History
Mercer Island was first settled by non-Natives in the 1870s. It was named after early visitors, the Mercer brothers, who rowed from Seattle often for berry picking, hunting and fishing.[citation needed] The first large settlement was on the northwest side of Mercer Island, called "East Seattle." C.C. Calkins built a resort, the Calkins Hotel, in 1889 in East Seattle. This resort led to the development of a ferry dock (Calkins landing), which in turn led to a growing population. While the Calkins hotel burned to the ground in 1908, the ferry service continued, and a small business district prospered. In the 1930s, George W. Lightfoot began campaigning for a bridge to Seattle. The Lake Washington Floating Bridge was built in 1940, and this spurred the move of the business district to its present location near the northern end of the island.
The City of Mercer Island incorporated on July 5, 1960. It included all the land area of the island with the exception of the 70 acre (280,000 m²) business district. Just over a month later, on August 9, the business district incorporated as the Town of Mercer Island, wholly surrounded by the City. The two municipalities finally merged on May 19, 1970.
[edit] Notable residents
- Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft and owner of the Seattle Seahawks, the Portland Trail Blazers, venture capital firms, Experience Music Project (EMP), and multiple other initiatives. As of 2006 he is ranked as the seventh richest person in the world, worth an estimated $22 billion.
- Howard Behar, retired president of Starbucks Coffee Company's international division, and retired head of North America.
- Michael Medved, acclaimed radio talk show host, author, film critic.
- Phil Borges, author and photographer. Through his various exhibits, books and educational programs, he strives to promote cultural diversity.
- Jack Prelutsky, children's poet. He has written a collection of children poem books but has since stopped writing poems.
- Paul Maritz, former Microsoft senior executive
- Daniel Lorenz Johnson, social activist and artist. Co-founder of World Naked Bike Ride and Body Freedom Collaborative.
- Daniel Lapin, rabbi, commentator, and radio personality
- Alex glass, noted jouster
[edit] Film and television personalities
- Jean Enersen, television news anchor and reporter for KING-TV in Seattle.
- Joel McHale, actor and cast member of Almost Live! as well as television show host.
- Stanley Kramer, film director and one-time UW teacher.
[edit] Sports figures
- Fred Brown, Seattle Supersonics basketball player.
- Michael Chang, tennis star
- Mike Holmgren, Seattle Seahawks headcoach.
- Rashard Lewis, Seattle Sonics basketball player.
- Blair Rasmussen, played for the Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, and the Atlanta Hawks.
- Bill Russell, Celtic basketball player and winner of five Most Valuable Player of the Year awards as well as 12-time All-Star.
- Mary Wayte, swimmer. Raised on Mercer Island, she won the gold medal in the women's 200m Freestyle at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. Northwest Center's Mary Wayte Pool's namesake.
- Jim Zorn, former Seahawks football player and their current quarterback coach.
- Darius Ghoddoussi former MIHS kicker, who went on to play at New Mexico State University.
- David Kirtman, Seattle Seahawks full back, formerly of the USC Trojans.
- Quin Snyder, former basketball coach at University of Missouri
- Ichiro Suzuki, baseball player for the Seattle Mariners
[edit] Geography
Mercer Island is located at (47.569271, -122.232337).GR1
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 34.0 km² (13.1 mi²). 16.5 km² (6.4 mi²) of it is land and 17.4 km² (6.7 mi²) of it (51.33%) is water.
Mercer Island is the most populated island in a freshwater lake in the United States.
[edit] Bridges
Mercer Island is connected to Seattle in the west by Interstate 90, carried by the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge (the fifth longest floating bridge in the world) and the Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge (the second longest in the world). I-90 also connects Mercer Island to Bellevue in the east, over the East Channel Bridge.
There is also an educational program in the Mercer Island High School called BRIDGES2, which stands for Building Relationships In Diverse Groups Empowering Students and Staff. In this class held on Mondays and Fridays students discuss issues and bridge the social gap between different grades. BRIDGES group number 17 rules!
[edit] Education
The Mercer Island School District operates six schools on the island: three elementary schools (West Mercer Elementary, Island Park Elementary and Lakeridge Elementary) one middle school (Islander Middle School), one high school (Mercer Island High School), and one alternative high school (Crest Learning Center).
Mercer Island is also home to the St. Monica School(K-8), the French American School of Puget Sound (P-5), and the Northwest Yeshiva High School (9-12).
There are also a number of preschools on Mercer Island (members of the Mercer Island Preschool Association).
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 22,036 people, 8,437 households, and 6,277 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,333.6/km² (3,452.0/mi²). There were 8,806 housing units at an average density of 532.9/km² (1,379.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.09% White, 1.14% African American, 0.16% Native American, 11.87% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 2.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.86% of the population.
There were 8,437 households out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.6% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.6% were non-families. 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 21.2% from 25 to 44, 29.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $91,904, and the median income for a family was $110,830. Males had a median income of $82,855 versus $46,734 for females. The per capita income for the city was $53,799. About 1.9% of families and 3.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.4% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Sister city
Mercer Island has one Sister City, designated by Sister Cities International:
[edit] Claims to fame
Mercer Island was spoofed in an episode of Frasier (starring Kelsey Grammer). In Episode 5.12, "The Zoo Story," a crane at the fictitious Mercer Island Zoo is named after Frasier as part of a publicity stunt concocted by his new agent.
Mercer Island is focal to annual performances by the Blue Angels during Seattle's summer Seafair celebration. A few F/A-18s fly sufficiently low over homes in their flight path that spectators can briefly see helmet-clad pilots in their cockpits.
Mercer Island is also home to Youth Theatre Northwest.
[edit] External links
- Mercer Island Online Community Forum & Discussion Board
- City of Mercer Island
- Mercer Island Reporter Local newspaper
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
