Poulsbo, Washington
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Poulsbo (the first syllable is pronounced like the name Paul) is a waterfront city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is the third largest city in Kitsap County and one of the main suburbs to Seattle in the Kitsap area. In 2005 the city had a population of 7,450 within city limits and roughly 30,000 counting all people with a Poulsbo address.
Poulsbo has a long history as a destination for immigrants from Scandinavia, particularly Norway and Finland. Downtown Poulsbo maintains a Scandinavian theme in its shops and restaurants, and is a popular regional tourist destination. One of its local products is now available worldwide, Poulsbo Bread, originally made in the local bakery. Many visitors arrive by boat; there are three marinas near the town, and the town's harbor is an excellent anchorage.
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[edit] History
Founded by Norwegian immigrant Jorgen Eliason in the 1880's, Poulsbo was originally settled by a large number of Norwegian and other Scandinavian immigrants because of its similarities to their native countries. Named after Paulsbo, Norway, a mistake on the application for establishing a post office resulted in the town being officially named Poulsbo in 1886. Poulsbo was officially incorporated on December 18, 1907.
Poulsbo, up until World War II, had retained Norwegian as its primary language. However, during World War II, the military constructed about 300 residential units to provide housing for workers at the nearby Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, located in Bremerton, Washington. The population of Poulsbo almost tripled over three years, and the diversification of the population led to the dominance of English as the primary language.
[edit] Food
Poulsbo also has a variety of wonderful restaurants and great take out. Popular restaurants down on Front Street include Casa Luna, Magnolia Cafe, Mor Mor Bistro & Bar, JJ's Fish House, and the Bayside Broiler. Other favorites of the locals include Los Cabo Grill on the corner of the highway and Hostmark avenue, Central Market Pizza, The Poulsbohemian Coffeehouse, and Chung's Teriyaki-To-Go. Recently, a Super Walmart was built and has caused a fluctuation in attendance at Central Market. Central Market, however, did revamp its grocery store and thus has attracted back its previous customers. Various contests have been held at the Central Market to gain back its customers, including a dare to "ride the lightning" (finishing 12 breadsticks in less than five minutes). Poulsbo is also home to 4 Subway restaurants, including a pair that are less than five hundred feet from one another.
[edit] Geography
Poulsbo is located on Liberty Bay, a sheltered arm of Puget Sound, at (47.739137, -122.639278)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.8 km² (3.8 mi²). 8.3 km² (3.2 mi²) of it is land and 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (15.53%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 6,813 people, 2,845 households, and 1,772 families residing in the city. The population density was 819.5/km² (2,121.5/mi²). There were 2,992 housing units at an average density of 359.9/km² (931.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.10% White, 1.01% African American, 0.97% Native American, 2.99% Asian, 0.43% Pacific Islander, 1.92% from other races, and 4.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.84% of the population.
There were 2,845 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and under, there are 78.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,875 and the median income for a family was $51,353. Males had a median income of $40,482 versus $27,899 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,649. 9.1% of the population and 8.2% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 14.1% of those under the age of 18 and 6.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. A large number of employed individuals work on the east side of Puget Sound, in Seattle or other King County cities, and commute to work by ferry.
[edit] Notable Poulsbo natives
- David Bazan
- Richard F. Gordon, Jr.
- Aaron Sele
- Gregory Hillman
- Sam Snook
- Kyle "Gay" Crumbliss
[edit] External links
- 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
- Kitsap Peninsula Visitor Information - Poulsbo
- Greater Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce
