EDMONDS, WASHINGTON

'Edmonds' is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. Edmonds has a view of the Puget Sound and both the Olympic Mountains and Cascade Range. As of 2007, Edmonds is the second most populous city in Snohomish County, ranking behind Everett.
Edmonds is a port in the Washington State Ferries system. Currently, the only ferry from Edmonds is a short run to Kingston, Washington; in the past, there have been much longer routes from Edmonds to Port Townsend, Washington. ^[1]

Contents

History

The Edmonds Fountain/Gazebo

Demographics

Schools

Recreation

The Arts

Drama

Edmonds Arts Festival

Periodicals

Notable Locals

Sister City

Transportation

References

External links

History

Logger George Brackett founded Edmonds in 1890, naming the city after Vermont Sen. George Franklin Edmunds.^[2] Brackett discovered Edmonds while paddling a canoe north of Seattle, searching for timber. When a gust of wind hit his canoe, Brackett beached in a location later called "Brackett's Landing".^[3] Edmonds is the oldest incorporated city in Snohomish County.

The Edmonds Fountain/Gazebo

The Edmonds fountain, a local landmark, has been a source of major local contention over the past decades. The current Edmonds Fountain is located in the center of the roundabout at Main St. and 5th. Originally built as a plain, whitewashed wooden gazebo over a fountain in 1970, it was wrecked in 1998 from a car crash. The city council and subsequent "Gazebo" subcommittee decided to rebuild. The gazebo was rebuilt a year later, reinforced with stronger wood supports. In 2006, a driver crashed into the gazebo at night.^[4] The resulting discussion over to rebuild or simply landscape the center of the roundabout lasted over a year. Finally, a decision was made to rebuild the gazebo/fountain, this time with steel rods extending from the main pillars deep underground.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 39,515 people, 16,904 households, and 10,818 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,714.3/km² (4,437.6/mi²). There were 17,508 housing units at an average density of 759.5/km² (1,966.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.73% White, 1.34% African American, 0.80% Native American, 5.56% Asian, 0.26% Pacific Islander, 1.26% from other races, and 3.05% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.32% of the population.

There were 16,904 households out of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.85.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.6% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $53,522, and the median income for a family was $66,126. Males had a median income of $46,226 versus $33,863 for females. The per capita income for the city was $30,076. About 2.6% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.9% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

Edmonds is served in its entirety by the Edmonds School District, which also serves Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Brier, and Woodway. Within the city limits of Edmonds, there is one high school (Edmonds-Woodway), one middle school (College Place), eight primary schools (Chase Lake, College Place, Edmonds, Evergreen, Seaview, Sherwood, Westgate, and Woodway). In addition, Edmonds is served by three K-8 schools; Maplewood, Madrona, and Terrace Park.^[5]
In 1990, Edmonds High School merged with Woodway High School to form Edmonds-Woodway High School, which is currently one of only eight schools in the state to host an IB Diploma Programme.^[6][7]

Recreation

Edmonds hosts a variety of parks, including a dog park, and the Edmonds Underwater Park.
In addition, Edmonds has one of the largest marine facilities in Snohomish County, the Port of Edmonds. The marina is partly artificial, being dredged to a depth of 13 feet, and can house 948 craft (668 in the water, and 280 in dry storage).^[8]

The Arts

In 2006, the Edmonds Center for the Arts was opened.^[9] This is one of two current theatres available for general performing arts, the other being the theatre at Edmonds-Woodway High School.

Drama

Edmonds has one permanent, privately-funded drama group, The Driftwood Players. Their theatre, the Wade James Theatre, is located at 950 Main St., adjacent to Yost Park. Usually, they have 4-5 main performances per season, supplemented with short, one night plays. They have been present in the community since 1957.^[10]

Edmonds Arts Festival

Since 1957, Edmonds has annually hosted the Edmonds Arts Festival, a three-day art exhibit, on Fathers Day weekend.^[11][12][13]

Periodicals

The Edmonds community is home to two weekly publications. The ''Edmonds Enterprise'' and the ''Edmonds Beacon.'' The opinion pages of these two newspapers have had major influence on city council decisions, building code enforcement, dog park rule enforcement and local elections. Most notably, they provide a public forum for long and short heated debates.

Notable Locals

Birthplace of:

★ Ken Jennings, popular ''Jeopardy!'' contestant
Hometown of:

★ Rick Steves, the well-known travel writer

★ Rosalynn Sumners, the Olympic figure skating medalist

★ Steven Bailey, actor

★ David Bazan, musician

★ Anna Faris, actress

★ Alex Mindt, author

★ Martell Webster, guard for the Portland Trailblazers, as of 2007

★ Dean Demopoulos, assistant coach of the Portland Trailblazers^[14]

Sister City

Edmonds has one sister city:^[15]

★ Hekinan, Japan

Transportation

★ Edmonds (Amtrak station)

References

1. Ferry service returns to Port Townsend after a 40-year absence on February 21, 1979
2. Seattle PI (2007)[1] Retrieved February 13, 2007.
3. Edmonds, The First Century, , Archie, Satterfield, City of Edmonds, 1990,
4. KOMO TV (2007). [2] Retrieved February 13, 2007.
5. Edmonds School District
6. Edmonds School District Profile:Edmonds-Woodway
7. ED.GOV Archives
8. Port of Edmonds
9. Edmonds Center for the Arts (2007) [3] Retrieved February 13, 2007.
10. Driftwood Players History (2007). [4] Retrieved February 13, 2007.
11. Edmonds Arts Festival
12. EAF Foundation
13. ArtWorks Edmonds
14. NBA.com Profile of Dean Demopoulos
15. Edmonds Sister City Commission

External links

★ City of Edmonds

★
★ Nearby hiking trails on Hikipedia

★ The Driftwood Players