Burien, Washington
Encyclopedia : B : BU : BUR : Burien, Washington
Burien is a city in King County, Washington, USA. The population was 31,881 at the 2000 census.
In the 2004 US presidential election, Burien cast 63.07% of its vote for Democrat John Kerry[link].
History
The Burien area was discovered by Mike Kelly in 1870, when they walked up a hill from the South Seattle area. When he emerged from the trees he spoke the words, "This is truly a sunny dale." Still today, the Burien area is called Sunnydale. He claimed a 160 acre plot of land and built a house and a farm.
Ten years later, Gottlieb Von Boorian, a German immigrant, arrived in Sunnydale. At this point, the community was only trails and small houses. There were no roads or buildings. Von Boorian built a cabin on the southeast corner of Lake Burien and also was said to have formed the community into a town bearing his name. (It has been misspelled over the years.) A real estate office was built and soon more people began pouring in to Burien.
In the early 1900s, people of Seattle came by way of the Mosquito Fleet to Three Tree Point, just west of the new town. Here they sunbathed and swam.
In 1915, the Burien railroad was completed. It ran on what is today Ambaum Road from Burien to White Center to Seattle. A small passenger train ran the tracks and was affectionately named by the residents, The Toonerville Trolley. However in the summer, squished caterpillars made the track slippery, and in the winter, the tracks iced over. Soon the Toonerville Trolley was more of a nuisance than anything and it was removed.
Burien was officially incorporated on February 28, 1993. It previously comprised a portion of unincorporated King County.
Late in 2004, the City was assessing the possibility of incorporating North Highline (which includes White Center and Boulevard Park), "one of the largest unincorporated areas of King County," which would double the size of Burien.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 34.2 km² (13.2 mi²). 19.3 km² (7.4 mi²) of it is land and 15.0 km² (5.8 mi²) of it (43.80%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 31,881 people, 13,399 households, and 8,066 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,654.5/km² (4,287.0/mi²). There were 13,898 housing units at an average density of 721.2/km² (1,868.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.74% White, 5.14% African American, 1.29% Native American, 7.00% Asian, 1.16% Pacific Islander, 5.40% from other races, and 4.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.66% of the population.There were 13,399 households out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,577, and the median income for a family was $53,814. Males had a median income of $39,248 versus $29,694 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,737. About 6.9% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.1% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.
External links
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