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,[6] with Seattle to its west and Bellevue to its east.

Mercer Island, Washington
City
Aerial view of Mercer Island from the north
Aerial view of Mercer Island from the north
Official seal of Mercer Island, Washington
Seal
Location of Mercer Island in King County, Washington
Location of Mercer Island in King County, Washington
Coordinates: 47°34′39″N 122°12′43.2″W
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountyKing
Government
 • TypeCouncil–manager[1]
 • MayorSalim Nice
Area
[2]
 • Total12.90 sq mi (33.41 km2)
 • Land6.38 sq mi (16.53 km2)
 • Water6.52 sq mi (16.88 km2)
Elevation
[3]
338 ft (103 m)
Population
 (2020)[4]
 • Total25,748
 • Density2,000/sq mi (770/km2)
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code
98040
Area code206
FIPS code53-45005
GNIS feature ID1512455[5]
Websitewww.mercerisland.gov
Map of Mercer Island

Mercer Island is 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.[4]

The ZIP code 98040 is unique to Mercer Island.[7] Mercer Island has the fifth highest per-capita income in the state of Washington and is one of the 100 richest ZIP codes in the US according to the IRS figures for Adjusted Gross Income.[8]

History

The western side of the island was home to two Snoqualmie villages prior to white settlement in the Puget Sound region.[9] Mercer Island, named for the Mercer family of Seattle, was first settled by non-indigenous people between 1870 and 1880. The Mercer brothers often rowed between the island and Seattle to pick berries, hunt, and fish. Those brothers, Thomas Mercer and Asa Mercer, were members of the Mercer family of Virginia. The first large settlement, East Seattle, was toward the northwest side of the island—near the McGilvara neighborhood. During 1889, a C.C. Calkins built a large and gilded resort, the Calkins Hotel. The hotel was reached via steamboat 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.

In 1923, the East Channel Bridge was built to connect the island with Bellevue. 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 East Channel Bridge, Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge, and Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge, carry Interstate 90 from Seattle, across Mercer Island, and into Bellevue.

The City of Mercer Island was incorporated from East Seattle on July 5, 1960, and comprised all the island minus 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. The two aforementioned municipalities merged as the City of Mercer Island on May 19, 1970.

Geography
Aerial view of the Interstate 90 floating bridge connecting Seattle and the northern part of Mercer Island

Mercer Island City Hall is located at 47°34′39″N 122°12′43.2″W (47.5775, -122.212).[10] The peak elevation in the city is about 338 feet (103 m), near the center of the island.[3]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.11 square miles (33.95 km2), of which 6.32 square miles (16.37 km2) are land and 6.79 square miles (17.59 km2) are water.[11]

Mercer Island is the most populated island in a lake in the US.[12]

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Mercer Island has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.[13]

Education

The Mercer Island School District operates seven schools on the island: four primary schools (Lakeridge Elementary, Island Park Elementary, West Mercer Elementary and Northwood Elementary); one middle school (Islander Middle School); one high school (Mercer Island High School); and one alternative secondary school (Crest Learning Center).[14]

Mercer Island is also home to St. Monica School's, the French American School of Puget Sound, and the Northwest Yeshiva High School (9-12).[15][16][17]

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
197019,047—
198021,52213.0%
199020,816−3.3%
200022,0365.9%
201022,6993.0%
202025,74813.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[18]
2020[4]

An estimated 25% of city households are Jewish; the island also has two synagogues and a Jewish Community Center.[19]

2020 census

As of the census[20] of 2020, there were 25,748 people and 10,128 households residing in the city. The population density was 4,035.7 inhabitants per square mile (1,558.2/km2).

According to the 2020 United States Census, Mercer Island's racial and ethnic composition is as follows:

There were 10,128 households, of which 62.5% were married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no spouse present, 2.5% had a male householder with no spouse present, and 29.6% were non-families. 34.2% of households had children under the age of 18 living with them. 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.03.

23.6% of residents were under the age of 18, and 20.6% were over the age of 65. 52.5% of residents were female. The median household income was $150,506.

2010 census

As of the census[22] of 2010, there were 22,699 people, 9,109 households, and 6,532 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,591.6 inhabitants per square mile (1,386.7/km2). There were 9,930 housing units at an average density of 1,571.2 per square mile (606.6/km2).

According to the 2010 United States Census, Mercer Island's racial and ethnic composition is as follows:

There were 9,109 households, of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.3% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 28.3% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.97.

The median age in the city was 46 years. 24.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19% were from 25 to 44; 32% were from 45 to 64; and 19.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.7% male and 51.3% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 22,036 people, 8,437 households, and 6,277 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,452.0 inhabitants per square mile (1,333.6/km2). There were 8,806 housing units at an average density of 1,379.5 per square mile (532.9/km2). 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.

Government
Presidential Elections Results[23]
Year Republican Democratic Third Parties
2020 21.52% 3,617 75.98% 12,768 2.49% 419

Mercer Island uses a Council–manager government and the city council selects the mayor. The City Hall building in the northeast part of the city hosts offices for the City Manager and most local administrative employees, the municipal court, and the police department.

At the national level, Mercer Island is located in Washington's 9th congressional district, which is currently represented by Democrat Adam Smith. The City of Mercer Island is part of the 41st Legislative District, served by two State Representatives and one State Senator.

The Mercer Island Fire Department operates out of two facilities, both of which are close to Island Crest Way. The Mercer Island Police Department operates out of one facility, which is adjacent to I-90. The city operates neither a potable water treatment facility nor a wastewater treatment facility, the latter being handled by the King County Wastewater Treatment Division, which owns and operates a collector sewer around the island. The Public Works Department operates an office facility, street maintenance facility, and city shop from a building south of the City Hall.

In February 2021, a 6–1 majority of the Mercer Island City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting outdoor camping on public property, mainly to restrict homeless and unhoused people from overnight stays. The ordinance was criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and other public advocates for the homeless.[24][25]

Parks

Luther Burbank Park covers 77 acres (310,000 m2) of land and has 0.75 miles (1.21 km) of waterfront. The park has a public boat dock and fishing pier, a swimming beach, an amphitheater, tennis courts, barbecues and picnic facilities, and an off-leash dog area.[26] The city assumed maintenance of the park on January 1, 2003 from King County, which had purchased the park land in 1969.[27]

The Aubrey Davis Park is atop the I-90 tunnel entrances. This park has softball fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, picnic shelters, and the Freeway Sculpture Park. Due to its location atop the I-90 tunnel, the park is also locally referred to as "The Lid." [28][29]

Pioneer Park covers 113 acres (0.46 km2) and has equestrian, bicycle, and hiking trails.[30] Deane's Children's Park, also known as "Dragon Park", is a small park with playground equipment including a large concrete dragon structure.[31]

Clarke Beach is located at the south end of Mercer Island and is home to the annual polar bear swim on New Year's Day.

Mercer Island also has many smaller parks maintained by the city, some of which have waterfront access. In 2010, the city built a well in Rotary Park to supply the area with water in the event of a major disaster, specifically an earthquake.[32]

Culture

Sister cities

Mercer Island's sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International, is Thonon-les-Bains, France.[33][34]

Annual events
  • Summer Celebration is a celebration that occurs once a year on the weekend after the 4th of July. It lasted for 30 years before being cancelled in 2019 due to budget cuts.[35] It was revived in 2022.
  • The Mercer Island Farmers Market operates most Sundays between June and October. A special version of the market called the Harvest Market occurs on a Sunday in November. There is no farmer's market on the Summer Celebration weekend nor on the Seafair weekend. The market contains local produce including fruit, vegetables and some crafts.[36]

Notable people

Transportation

Mercer Island is bisected by Interstate 90, which connects the city to Seattle in the west and Bellevue in the east. The freeway travels over the Lacey V. Murrow and Homer M. Hadley floating bridges over Lake Washington to Seattle and the East Channel Bridge towards Bellevue. The bridges also carry the Mountains to Sound Greenway, which includes a multi-purpose pedestrian and bicycle path. A significant section of the freeway is recessed below street level and covered by the Mercer Island Lid, which includes several parks.[52]

The city's public transportation is provided by King County Metro and Sound Transit, mainly consisting of express bus routes to Seattle and the Eastside. Several routes connect to a park and ride on the north side of the island with 447 stalls.[53] It was expanded into a two-story parking garage in 2008.[54][55] All-day service for most of the island is provided by Metro Route 204, which is supplemented by Route 630 and several school bus routes during peak periods.[56][57]

In early 2025, a light rail station at the park and ride facility will be opened by Sound Transit, providing service on the 2 Line to Seattle and the Eastside.[58] The light rail line will replace several express routes on Interstate 90 and Mercer Island is expected to function as a major bus–rail interchange.[53]

See also

References
  1. "City Council". City of Mercer Island. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  2. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  3. "Mercer Island Topographic Map". Sameer Burle. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  4. "QuickFacts: Mercer Island city, Washington". census.gov. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  5. "Mercer Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  6. Update of Statistical Area Definitions and Guidance on Their Uses Archived November 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Office of Management and Budget, November 20, 2007. Accessed December 10, 2008.
  7. "AreaConnect Zip Code Finder".
  8. "100 richest zip codes in the United States".
  9. Corsaletti, Louis T. (January 27, 2000). "Mercer Island memories". The Seattle Times. p. B3. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  10. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  11. "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on January 25, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  12. "American Island Superlatives".
  13. "Mercer Island, Washington Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)".
  14. "Groundbreaking ceremony scheduled at future site of new elementary school - Mercer Island Reporter". Mercer Island Reporter. March 11, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  15. "Home". NYHS. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  16. "Contact". www.fasps.org. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  17. "Map". St. Monica Catholic School. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  18. United States Census Bureau. "Census of Population and Housing". Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  19. "Seattle's Jewish population jumped by 70 percent, study finds". February 2, 2015.
  20. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  21. Bureau, U.S. Census. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  22. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  23. King County Elections
  24. Cornwell, Paige (February 16, 2021). "Mercer Island restricts camping on public property in near-unanimous vote". The Seattle Times. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  25. Moorer, Brit (February 16, 2021). "Mercer Island approves camping ban on public property". KING. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  26. "Luther Burbank Park". City of Mercer Island. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  27. "History". City of Mercer Island. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  28. "Aubrey Davis Park". City of Mercer Island. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  29. Morris, Keiko (February 23, 1998). "A Sculpture Garden Grows On Island 'Lid'". Seattle Times. Retrieved March 11, 2009.
  30. "Pioneer Park". City of Mercer Island. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  31. "Deane's Children's Park". City of Mercer Island. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  32. "Emergency Well". City of Mercer Island. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  33. "Sister Cities International". Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  34. "Mercer Island Sister City Association - Welcome".
  35. "Mercer Island Cancels 'Summer Celebration' Citing Prop 1 Failure". Mercer Island, WA Patch. January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  36. "Mercer Island Farmer's Market Homepage". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  37. Bracetti, Alex. "The Most Baller Mansions of Tech CEOs". Complex.com. Complex Media Inc. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  38. "Matthew Boyd Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  39. Martin, Johnathan (April 8, 2008). "Obama's mother known here as "uncommon"". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  40. Lien, Tracey (October 1, 2017). "Box CEO and Mercer Island High School friends turned tech dabbling into 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity'". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  41. Allen, Percy (February 20, 2005). "Rashard Lewis: A star comes of age". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  42. "Obituaries; G. W. Lightfoot Taken By Death" (PDF), The Seattle Times, April 18, 1941
  43. Glascock, Stuart (August 6, 2008). "No longer an isle unto themselves". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  44. Metzger, Katie (November 3, 2016). "Joel McHale entertains Island Books crowd". mi-reporter.com. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  45. Cohen, Aubrey (September 6, 2014). "Steve Miller's former home flies like an eagle off the market". seattlePI. seattlePI. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  46. Livarchik, Joe (January 22, 2016). "It's official: Mercer Island's Morris signs with Sounders". Mercer Island Reporter. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  47. Song, Kyung M. (April 8, 2001). "Boeing's Mr. Nice Guy: Alan Mulally steps into the limelight". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  48. "George Russell, Jr. Trial: 1991". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  49. Keppel, Robert D.; Birnes, William J. (1997). Signature Killers. Simon and Schuster. p. 253. ISBN 978-0-671-00130-8.
  50. Raley, Dan (December 11, 2003). "Quin comes home". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  51. Peterson, Matt (October 14, 2003). "Flashback: Mary Wayte Bradburne, Mercer Island, Class of 1983". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  52. Lee, Jessica (May 11, 2017). "From the archives: A look back at the I-90 floating bridges before light-rail work begins". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  53. "Island transit update: Parking for transit remains limited; layover space plans move forward". Mercer Island Reporter. July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  54. "Sound Transit Park-and-Ride". City of Mercer Island. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  55. Brown, Charles (August 25, 2008). "Mercer Island's new park-and-ride garage already full". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  56. "Bus route changes will affect Island commuters". Mercer Island Reporter. March 13, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  57. Metro Transit System: Central Area (Map). King County Metro. March 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  58. Lindblom, Mike (August 24, 2023). "Eastside-only light rail should open in March, Sound Transit says". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
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