|
Renton is a city in King County, Washington, United States. Situated southeast of downtown Seattle, Washington, Renton straddles the southeast shore of Lake Washington, at the mouth of the Cedar River. While long an important salmon fishing area for Native Americans, Renton was first settled by people of European descent in the 1860s, and its early economy was based on coal mining, clay production, and timber export. Today, Renton is best known as the final assembly point for the Boeing 737 family of commercial airplanes, but it is also home to a growing number of well known manufacturing, technology, and service companies, including Boeing, Paccar, GEICO, Parallels, Inc., Providence Health & Services, and Wizards of the Coast. The population was 90,927 at the 2010 census. Renton currently contains the 8th largest population in the state, and is the 4th largest in King County. The National Football League's Seattle Seahawks have a training facility in Renton. It is the second-largest facility in the NFL at . ==History== Among the first European settlers in Renton were Henry Tobin and his wife Diana Tobin. The town of Renton was founded as the 'Renton Cooperative Coal Organization' on Feb 16, 1895 by Erasmus M. Smithers. Smithers discovered coal there and brought in Charles D. Shattuck as coal mine operator. Renton was incorporated as a city in 1901 (September 6) when coal mining and timber processing were the most important economic industries in the area. The town was prone to flooding from the Cedar and Black Rivers. In 1916 the completion of the Lake Washington Ship Canal lowered the surface of Lake Washington several feet which consequently eliminated drainage of Lake Washington through the Black River. The Cedar River was then diverted to drain into Lake Washington instead of the Black River. The culmination of these actions reduced the threat of annual flooding. The population sharply increased during World War II when Boeing built their Renton Factory to produce the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-29 Superfortress. Game company Wizards of the Coast also is headquartered in Renton. Providence Health System has centralized is administrative offices in Renton. Owing to its location at the confluence of three major freeways (I-5, I-405, and SR 167), Renton's economic development team has lured a number of specialty retailers that draw consumers from around the region, including Fry's Electronics and IKEA. Some retail establishments were unwanted though, and the city successfully defended zoning restrictions on pornographic theaters before the U.S. Supreme court in ''Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc.'' Renton has a unique and well-loved institution in its library, built directly over the Cedar River. Designed by Johnston-Campanella & Co. in 1964, the Cedar River Library stretches across the river, next to Liberty Park. The walkway in front of the library's entrance forms a deck from which salmon can be viewed as they make their way up the river, particularly during spawning season. Most recently, the iconic building has been the center of much controversy, with the City of Renton and the King County Library System developing plans to build a new library closer to the downtown core. Residents wishing to retain the library in its river setting sponsored a petition, and were ultimately successful in convincing City leaders to put the issue to a vote of the people. On August 7, 2012, Renton voters decided the fate of the library with Proposition 1, and found 76% of the voting population supporting the Cedar River location. Discussions continue between citizen activist groups, city leaders and KCLS over how the library plans will move forward in light of this change, and what affect it will have on the Highlands Library project. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Renton, Washington」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|