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Mercer Island, Washington
Mercer Island is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located on an island of the same name in the southern portion of Lake Washington. Mercer Island is in the Seattle metropolitan area, connected to the mainland on both sides by bridges carrying Interstate 90, with the city of Seattle to the west and the city of Bellevue to the east.
The Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge and the parallel Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge are floating bridges that span Lake Washington and carry, respectively, eastbound and westbound lanes of Interstate 90 and connect Mercer Island to the northern portion of Seattle's South End. I-90 traverses the northern portion of Mercer Island and is then carried from the island to Bellevue over the East Channel of Lake Washington by the East Channel Bridge. Mercer Island is located closer to Bellevue than it is to Seattle, and is therefore often considered to be part of King County's Eastside.
The population was 25,748 at the 2020 census. Mercer Island is one of the 100 richest ZIP codes in the US according to the IRS figures for Adjusted Gross Income.
The western side of the island was home to two Snoqualmie settlements prior to the 19th-century arrival of European American settlers in the Puget Sound region. Mercer Island was named for a member of the Mercer family of Seattle by 1860; Thomas Mercer, Aaron Mercer, and Asa Mercer, members of the Mercer family from Virginia, often rowed between the island and Seattle to pick berries, hunt, and fish.[citation needed] The first non-indigenous people to permanently settle on the island, Charles and Agnes Olds, arrived in 1885 and were followed by 15 other families within five years. The first large community, East Seattle, was toward the northwest side of the island—near the McGilvara neighborhood. Charles C. Calkins created the settlement in 1887 and later built a large and gilded resort, the Calkins Hotel. The hotel was reached via a steamboat ferry between Madison Park, Leschi Park, and the Eastside. Guests included President Benjamin Harrison, of 1901, amongst other well-to-do dignitaries from Seattle to the East Coast of the United States. Burned by a mysterious fire, the hotel was razed during 1908.
The Calkins Landing continued service and presumably aided the establishment of a more permanent population. A denser urban community with business district developed toward the central northern island between the McGilvra neighborhood and Luther Burbank Park. This community now composes the majority of the island's crest through the Middle Island neighborhood.[citation needed]
In 1923, the wooden East Channel Bridge was built to connect the island with Bellevue; it was later replaced by a new concrete span in the 1930s. In 1930, George W. Lightfoot requested a bridge between Mercer Island and Seattle. The Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge, currently the second longest floating bridge in the world, was built and opened in 1940. In 1989, a second bridge, the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge, was built parallel to the Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge. The third East Channel Bridge, Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge, and Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge were incorporated into the route of Interstate 90 from Seattle, across Mercer Island, and into Bellevue.[citation needed]
The opening of the first floating bridge made Mercer Island into a bedroom community for commuters, which accelerated after bridge tolls were removed in 1949. The island's population grew from 1,200 in 1940 to 4,500 in 1950, necessitating municipal services that the King County government could not provide. The City of Mercer Island was incorporated from East Seattle on July 5, 1960, and comprised all of the island with the exception of the 70-acre (280,000 m2) business district. Just over one month later, August 9, the Town of Mercer Island was incorporated from that business district, creating an enclave. The two municipalities merged as the City of Mercer Island on May 19, 1970, after several failed attempts at annexing each other.
Mercer Island lies in the southern half of Lake Washington between the cities of Seattle to the west, Bellevue to the east, and Renton to the south. The city limits are conterminous with the island, which is described as "shaped like a footprint without toes". According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.90 square miles (33.41 km2), of which 6.38 square miles (16.52 km2) are land and 6.52 square miles (16.89 km2) are water. Mercer Island is approximately six miles (9.7 km) long and up to four miles (6.4 km) wide.
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Mercer Island, Washington
Mercer Island is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located on an island of the same name in the southern portion of Lake Washington. Mercer Island is in the Seattle metropolitan area, connected to the mainland on both sides by bridges carrying Interstate 90, with the city of Seattle to the west and the city of Bellevue to the east.
The Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge and the parallel Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge are floating bridges that span Lake Washington and carry, respectively, eastbound and westbound lanes of Interstate 90 and connect Mercer Island to the northern portion of Seattle's South End. I-90 traverses the northern portion of Mercer Island and is then carried from the island to Bellevue over the East Channel of Lake Washington by the East Channel Bridge. Mercer Island is located closer to Bellevue than it is to Seattle, and is therefore often considered to be part of King County's Eastside.
The population was 25,748 at the 2020 census. Mercer Island is one of the 100 richest ZIP codes in the US according to the IRS figures for Adjusted Gross Income.
The western side of the island was home to two Snoqualmie settlements prior to the 19th-century arrival of European American settlers in the Puget Sound region. Mercer Island was named for a member of the Mercer family of Seattle by 1860; Thomas Mercer, Aaron Mercer, and Asa Mercer, members of the Mercer family from Virginia, often rowed between the island and Seattle to pick berries, hunt, and fish.[citation needed] The first non-indigenous people to permanently settle on the island, Charles and Agnes Olds, arrived in 1885 and were followed by 15 other families within five years. The first large community, East Seattle, was toward the northwest side of the island—near the McGilvara neighborhood. Charles C. Calkins created the settlement in 1887 and later built a large and gilded resort, the Calkins Hotel. The hotel was reached via a steamboat ferry between Madison Park, Leschi Park, and the Eastside. Guests included President Benjamin Harrison, of 1901, amongst other well-to-do dignitaries from Seattle to the East Coast of the United States. Burned by a mysterious fire, the hotel was razed during 1908.
The Calkins Landing continued service and presumably aided the establishment of a more permanent population. A denser urban community with business district developed toward the central northern island between the McGilvra neighborhood and Luther Burbank Park. This community now composes the majority of the island's crest through the Middle Island neighborhood.[citation needed]
In 1923, the wooden East Channel Bridge was built to connect the island with Bellevue; it was later replaced by a new concrete span in the 1930s. In 1930, George W. Lightfoot requested a bridge between Mercer Island and Seattle. The Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge, currently the second longest floating bridge in the world, was built and opened in 1940. In 1989, a second bridge, the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge, was built parallel to the Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge. The third East Channel Bridge, Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge, and Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge were incorporated into the route of Interstate 90 from Seattle, across Mercer Island, and into Bellevue.[citation needed]
The opening of the first floating bridge made Mercer Island into a bedroom community for commuters, which accelerated after bridge tolls were removed in 1949. The island's population grew from 1,200 in 1940 to 4,500 in 1950, necessitating municipal services that the King County government could not provide. The City of Mercer Island was incorporated from East Seattle on July 5, 1960, and comprised all of the island with the exception of the 70-acre (280,000 m2) business district. Just over one month later, August 9, the Town of Mercer Island was incorporated from that business district, creating an enclave. The two municipalities merged as the City of Mercer Island on May 19, 1970, after several failed attempts at annexing each other.
Mercer Island lies in the southern half of Lake Washington between the cities of Seattle to the west, Bellevue to the east, and Renton to the south. The city limits are conterminous with the island, which is described as "shaped like a footprint without toes". According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.90 square miles (33.41 km2), of which 6.38 square miles (16.52 km2) are land and 6.52 square miles (16.89 km2) are water. Mercer Island is approximately six miles (9.7 km) long and up to four miles (6.4 km) wide.