Kirkland is a city in King County,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, United States. A suburb east of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, its population was 92,175 in the 2020 U.S. census which made it the sixth largest city in the county and the twelfth largest in the state. The city's downtown waterfront has restaurants, art galleries, a performing arts center, public parks, beaches, and a collection of public art, primarily bronze sculptures. Kirkland was the original home of the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

; the NFL team's headquarters and training facility were located at the Lake Washington Shipyard (now Carillon Point) along Lake Washington for their first ten seasons then at nearby Northwest University through 2007. Warehouse chain

Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...

previously had its headquarters in Kirkland. While Costco is now headquartered in

Issaquah Issaquah ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 40,051 at the 2020 census. Located in a valley and bisected by Interstate 90, the city is bordered by the Sammamish Plateau to the north and the " Issaquah Al ...

, the city is the namesake of its "

Kirkland Signature Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...

" store brand.

History

The land around Lake Washington to the east of Seattle was first settled by Native Americans. English settlers arrived in the late 1860s, when the McGregor and Popham families built homesteads in what is now the Houghton neighborhood. to the north people also settled near what is now called Juanita Bay, a favored campsite of the Natives because a wild potato, " wapato", thrived there. The Curtis family arrived in the area in the 1870s, followed by the French family in 1872. The

Forbes family The Forbes family is one of the components of the Boston Brahmins—they are a wealthy extended American family long prominent in Boston, Massachusetts. The family's fortune originates from trading opium and tea between North America and China ...

homesteaded what is now Juanita Beach Park in 1876, and settled on Rose Hill in 1877. Gradually, additional people settled in the area, and by the end of the 1880s a small number of logging, farming and boat-building communities were established. In 1886, Peter Kirk, a British-born enterprising businessman seeking to expand the family's Moss Bay steel production company, moved to Washington after hearing that

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

deposits had been discovered in the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

. Other necessary components such as

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, needed in steel

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...

, were readily available in the area. Further yet, a small number of

coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

s (a required fuel source for

steel mill A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finish ...

s) had recently been established nearby in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

and train lines were already under construction. Plans were also underway to build the Lake Washington Ship Canal. Kirk realized that if a town were built near the water it would be a virtual freshwater port to the sea, as well as help support any prospective mill. At the time, however, Kirk was not a

U.S. citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

and could not purchase any land. Leigh S. J. Hunt, then owner of the ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was foun ...

'', offered to partner with Kirk and buy the necessary real estate. Under their new venture, the Kirkland Land and Development Company, Kirk and Hunt purchased thousands of acres of land in what is now Kirkland's downtown in July 1888. Kirk and his associates started the construction of a new steel mill soon after, named the Moss Bay Iron and Steel Company of America. After founding the city of Kirkland in 1888, officially one of the earliest on the Eastside at the time, Kirk's vision of a "

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

of the West" was beginning to take form. Construction soon commenced on several substantial brick homes and business blocks that would house and serve the steel mill employees. However, the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway, which had recently been purchased by Tacoma-based Northern Pacific, had now refused to construct a rail line to the lake. This would, after all, have a negative impact on Tacoma, which was furiously competing with Seattle as the dominant

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

seaport. The ensuing financial issues and numerous obstacles took a toll on Kirk, who was running out of investors. Hunt was also in debt from the purchase of land. Nevertheless, the plans continued and the steel mill was eventually completed in late 1892 on Rose Hill (a full from the lake's shore). Financial issues arose and due to the

Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the pres ...

the mill subsequently closed without ever producing any steel. In spite of everything, Kirk was determined not to give up on his namesake town, and Kirkland was finally incorporated in 1905 with a population of approximately 532. A final attempt at a steel mill in Kirkland was planned by James A. Moore in 1906. His Northwestern Iron & Steel Company paid $250,000 in cash for a site, but the mill never materialized. This came at the heels of the Pacific Steel Company, incorporated earlier in 1906 by J.F. Duthie, William Calvert and L.S. Cragin. This company soon amounted to nothing. In 1900, the Curtis family made a living operating a ferry-construction business on Lake Washington. Along with Captain John Anderson, the Curtises were among the first to run ferries in the area. '' Leschi'', first operated on December 27, 1913, was the original wooden ferry to transport automobiles and people between the Eastside and Madison Park until her retirement in 1950. The ferry operations ran nearly continuously for 18 hours each day. The construction of the first Lake Washington floating bridge in 1940, however, made ferry service unprofitable and eventually led to its cancellation. Subsequent years saw wool milling and warship building become the major industries. The first woolen mill in the state of Washington was built in Kirkland in 1892. The mill was the primary supplier of wool products for the Alaska Gold Rush prospectors and for the U.S. military during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. By 1917, after the completion of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, the construction of ocean-going vessels had become a major business. By 1940, the thriving Lake Washington Shipyard had constructed more than 25 warships during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

for the U.S. Navy, on what is now Carillon Point.

Annexations

Since the incorporation of Kirkland in 1905, the city has grown to approximately 12 times its original geographic boundaries, nearly doubling in size during the 1940s and 1960s. Kirkland consolidated with the neighboring town of

Houghton Houghton may refer to: Places Australia * Houghton, South Australia, a town near Adelaide * Houghton Highway, the longest bridge in Australia, between Redcliffe and Brisbane in Queensland * Houghton Island (Queensland) Canada *Houghton Township, ...

on July 31, 1968, to form one city of 13,500. It annexed the neighborhood of Totem Lake in 1974, and the neighborhoods of South Juanita, North Rose Hill, and South Rose Hill in 1988, which were the largest annexations undertaken in Washington in nearly two decades. This added a further 16,119 people to Kirkland's population and was responsible for 76 percent of Kirkland's population increase between 1980 and 1990. On November 3, 2009, responding to a county initiative to encourage cities to annex or incorporate many of the unincorporated areas within the county, as well as a state sales tax incentive intended to ease the process, three previously unincorporated districts north of the city— Finn Hill, North Juanita, and Kingsgate—voted on whether to annex to Kirkland. The measure failed by seven votes to reach the 60% margin, which was required because the measure included accepting a share of the city's voter-approved debt. However, since the affirmative vote was over 50%, the city council could and did vote to accept the annexation, without the assumption of debt. The annexation added 33,000 residents (combined total population of around 80,000)Nicole Tsong and Katherine Long

, ''Seattle Times'', originally published November 3, 2009 at 9:48 PM, modified November 4, 2009 at 12:39 AM. Accessed online November 4, 2009. and nearly to Kirkland on June 1, 2011. For a 10-year period from 2011 to 2021, the city was eligible and filed annually for a special Annexation State Sales Tax Credit (ASTC) from the State of Washington to bridge the millions of dollars deficit in providing municipal services in the annexation area. The ASTC expired in 2021.

Geography

Kirkland is bordered to the west by Lake Washington, to the east by Redmond, Washington, Redmond, to the south by

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to: Placenames Australia * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales Canada ...

, and to the north by Kenmore,

Woodinville Woodinville is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is a part of the Seattle metropolitan area. There is also a much larger population with Woodinville mailing addresses in adjacent unincorporated areas of King ( Cottage Lake) and ...

, and

Bothell Bothell () is a city in King and Snohomish counties in the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, situated near the northeast end of Lake Washington. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 48,161 resident ...

. Kirkland is accessible via Interstate 405, which connects it with other Eastside cities, including Bellevue, Renton, and Bothell. Seattle, which is west of Kirkland, as well as Redmond to the east, are both accessible through State Highway 520. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which are land and are water. The elevation varies from 14 to

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

Climate

Kirkland's average temperature is , and the average annual precipitation . The highest temperature was recorded as on June 28, 2021. The lowest temperature was recorded as in January 1950.

Demographics

According to the U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts for 2019, the median income for a household in the city was $117,190. The per capita income for the city was $63,135.

2020 census

According to the U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts for 2020, there were 92,175 people residing in the city. Additional demographics breakouts are not yet available.

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 48,787 people, 22,445 households, and 12,014 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was . There were 24,345 dwelling units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the city was 79.3% White, 1.8% African American, 0.4% Native American, 11.3% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 2.5% from other races, and 4.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.3% of the population. There were 22,445 households, of which 24.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.3% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 46.5% were non-families. 36.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.83. The median age in the city was 37.5 years. 18.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 35.1% were from 25 to 44; 27% were from 45 to 64; and 10.9% 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 45,054 people, 20,736 households, and 11,031 families residing in the city. The

was 4,220.3 people per square mile (1,628.8/km²). There were 21,831 dwelling units at an average density of 2,045.0 per square mile (789.2/km²). The

of the city was 85.28% White, 1.59% African American, 0.53% Native American, 7.80% Asian, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 1.69% from other races, and 2.92% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos, who may be of any race, were 4.11% of the population. There were 20,736 households, out of which 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.0% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.8% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.80. In the city, the population was spread out, with 18.5% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 38.1% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $60,332, and the median income for a family was $73,395. Males had a median income of $50,691 versus $39,737 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $38,903. About 3.9% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Kirkland had a gallery district downtown until recent years when all but three galleries closed or moved away. The

Kirkland Performance Center The Kirkland Performance Center is a 394-seat theater in downtown Kirkland, Washington. It opened in June 1998. Notable performances * Philip Glass (2012) * Judith Hill (2017) * Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 197 ...

hosts a number of performing arts events. The Kirkland Arts Center, located in the historic Peter Kirk Building on Market Street, provides classes, workshops and community-oriented gallery space. Kirkland hosted the annual Kirkland Concours d'Elegance at Carillon Point from 2003 until 2011, showing vintage and classic automobiles (and wooden boats) from across the country. The

Porsche Club of America The Porsche Club of America (PCA) is a non profit organization of Porsche enthusiasts in the United States and Canada. It is organized into 147 regions, which are grouped into 14 zones. PCA has more than 150,000 members and is the largest singl ...

now hosts an annual Porsche car show at the Carillon Point location every September.

Teen Union Building

The Kirkland Teen Union Building (KTUB) in downtown Peter Kirk Park is supported by the city and a number of nonprofit organizations. It has two music stages, a recording studio, darkroom and year-round activities and programs for youth.

Sports

The local

Lake Washington High School Lake Washington High School is a four-year public high school in Kirkland, Washington, a suburb east of Seattle. It is one of four main high schools in the Lake Washington School District, with an enrollment capacity of approximately 1,500 student ...

lacrosse team defeated intercity rival

Juanita High School Juanita High School is a high school in Kirkland, Washington, administered by Lake Washington School District. It was opened on September 4, 1971, as a result of a campaign driven by an education theory known as the "Juanita Concept", developed by ...

in the state championship 8–7 in 2015 to secure a state title. The Lake Washington High school Baseball team won the first ever State Championship (3A) in school history during 2016, defeating Lakeside School 2–0. Kirkland FC is an amateur soccer club in the

Western Washington Premier League Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

, which began play in 2018. They are referred to as the Goats.

Seahawks

Kirkland was the original home of the

Little League

Kirkland has two Little Leagues: Kirkland American Little League and Kirkland National Little League. Kirkland National won the 1982 Little League World Series championship. They defeated a team from Taiwan 6–0 on August 28, 1982. The Kirkland Baseball Commission provides recreational baseball for players ages 13–18. It is affiliated with the national Pony Baseball organization. The 1982 Kirkland National Little League team won the

Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the Wor ...

Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in, and the county seat of, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It recorded a population of 27,754 at the 2020 Census. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a popula ...

. That event is the subject of the

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

30 for 30 ''30 for 30'' is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This includes three "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series un ...

'' documentary ''Little Big Men''. It also was the home to Little League's 1992 Big League Softball World Series Champions representing the Eastside District Nine Leagues. Since 1999, Kirkland has been the home of the Little League Junior Softball World Series held each August at Kirkland's Everest Park.

Parks and recreation

During the summer, residents of neighboring cities flock to Kirkland to visit Kirkland's many waterfront parks on Lake Washington. Kirkland has neighborhood parks as well, contains a corner of

Saint Edward State Park Saint Edward State Park is a -park in Kenmore, Washington and Kirkland, Washington. It is part of the Washington State Park System. Before becoming a Catholic seminary and later a state park, the area was logged in the 19th century and again in th ...

, and abuts the equestrian Bridle Trails State Park. The waterfront parks are linked by a paved trail, which is open until dusk.

Juanita Beach Park Juanita Beach Park is a waterfront park located on the northeast shore of Lake Washington in the Juanita neighborhood, managed by the city of Kirkland, Washington in the United States. It was historically the home of several popular private ...

is another major park in Kirkland, and is a tourist attraction. The Cross Kirkland Corridor is a rail-trail that roughly bisects the city.

Government

Kirkland has a council–manager form of government, with a

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...

hired by the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

. The seven councilmembers are elected

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

for staggered four-year terms in

non-partisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

elections. The city council selects a mayor from among its members, who serves as council chair but has no veto power. , the mayor is Penny Sweet and the city manager is former King County Executive Kurt Triplett.

Education

Most of Kirkland is part of the

Lake Washington School District The Lake Washington School District #414 or LWSD is a public school district in King County, Washington, in suburbs east of Seattle. Its headquarters is in Redmond. it is the second-largest school district in Washington. It serves the region t ...

, which also serves other communities. The school district operates two high schools, Juanita and Lake Washington, within Kirkland city limits as well as five middle schools and thirteen elementary schools. A portion is in the

Bellevue School District Bellevue School District No. 405 (BSD) is a public school district in King County, headquartered in Bellevue. As of October 1, 2016, the district has an enrollment of 19,974 students. The Bellevue School District includes 28 schools: 15 element ...

and another portion is in the

Northshore School District Northshore School District is a public school district covering portions of King County and Snohomish County, Washington. The district's service area covers the cities of Bothell, Brier, Woodinville, and Kenmore as well as portions of unincor ...

. The city is also home to several private schools, including the Eastside Preparatory School, Puget Sound Adventist Academy, and Eastside Preparatory School, as well as several public magnet schools including the Environmental and Adventure Jr. High School, International Community School, B.E.S.T. High School, and Northstar Jr. High. Kirkland is home to Lake Washington Technical College and Northwest University, a small Christian college. Additionally, Kirkland is bordered on the northwest by the campus of

Bastyr University Bastyr University is a private alternative medicine university with campuses in Kenmore, Washington, and San Diego, California. Programs include naturopathy, acupuncture, Traditional Asian medicine, nutrition, herbal medicine, ayurvedic medic ...

(which is technically in Kenmore).

Economy

According to the city's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Media

Kirkland is served by several news sources, including: * ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...

'', the largest daily newspaper in the Seattle metro area. It is designated the city of Kirkland's official

newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and include some of the o ...

. * ''The Kirkland Reporter'' (formerly the ''Kirkland Courier''), an online weekly publication of Sound Publishing (

Black Press Black Press Group Ltd. is a Canadian publisher of prominent daily newspapers in Hawaii and Alaska and numerous non-daily newspapers in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, and (via Sound Publishing) the U.S. state of Washington. Black Press M ...

). * ''The City Update Newsletter'', the city's official newsletter. It provides information about city programs, legislative updates and neighborhood highlights. * ''Currently Kirkland'', the city's official video news segment. It airs every two weeks on Kirkland's two local TV stations: K Life and K Gov.

Infrastructure

Transportation

In 2006, Kirkland was the first city in Washington to adopt a

Complete Streets Complete streets is a transportation policy and design approach that requires streets to be planned, designed, operated and maintained to enable safe, convenient and comfortable travel and access for users of all ages and abilities regardless of ...

ordinance, whereby pedestrian and bicycle facilities are addressed as a part of all road construction and improvement planning projects. Kirkland passed an Active Transportation Plan in 2009 specifically targeting improvements to pedestrian, bicycle, and equestrian facilities. Kirkland is served by

King County Metro King County Metro, officially the King County Metro Transit Department and often shortened to Metro, is the public transit authority of King County, Washington, which includes the city of Seattle. It is the eighth-largest transit bus agency in t ...

and

Sound Transit Express Sound Transit Express (ST Express) is a network of regional express buses, operated by the multi-county transit agency, Sound Transit. The routes connect major regional hubs throughout 53 cities in three counties (King, Pierce, and Snohomish) i ...

buses that converge in Downtown Kirkland, the Totem Lake neighborhood, and South Kirkland. The city also has several

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...

facilities along Interstate 405. Buses connect Kirkland to Bellevue, Seattle, Redmond, Bothell, Kenmore, and Woodinville. As part of

Sound Transit 3 Sound Transit 3, abbreviated as ST3, was a ballot measure during the November 2016 elections in Seattle, Washington, proposing an expansion of the regional public transit system. The measure was proposed by Sound Transit, which was established ...

, Kirkland is slated to receive a short

Link light rail Link light rail is a light rail rapid transit system serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is managed by Sound Transit in partnership with local transit providers, and consists of two non-connected lines: t ...

line from Issaquah and Downtown Bellevue that will terminate at South Kirkland Park and Ride. Originally scheduled to open in 2041, due to projected revenue declines resulting from the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic, the Sound Transit Board issued a Sound Transit 3 "reallignment" plan on August 5, 2021, which delays the Issaquah to South Kirkland light rail line to 2044. The Sound Transit 3 program also includes a

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

line on Interstate 405, with stops at NE 85th Street and the existing Totem Lake Freeway Station. The NE 85th Street station is projected to cost $235–300 million, making it one of the most expensive bus projects under consideration by Sound Transit, due to the need to completely rebuild the cloverleaf interchange. The city's existing transit center about a mile away and about lower in elevation could be connected with the first

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...

in the Seattle area. The station was originally planned to open in 2024 after three years of construction, but Sound Transit is delaying opening to 2026 due to revenue declines as a result of the

pandemic.

Health care

Kirkland is served by

EvergreenHealth EvergreenHealth is an American regional healthcare system based in the Seattle metropolitan area of Washington state. It has two general hospitals in Kirkland and Monroe, and several smaller clinics and urgent care facilities in King and Sno ...

, a public healthcare system that operates a 318-bed hospital complex near Totem Lake. It was founded in 1967 and opened the first phase of Evergreen General Hospital in 1972.

COVID-19 pandemic

The city was the first in the country to suffer a cluster of cases of

Coronavirus disease 2019 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, including the first six U.S. fatalities. Many of the confirmed cases originated from a

Life Care Centers of America Life Care Centers of America is the largest privately held long-term elderly care company in the U.S., with facilities across 28 states, and the third largest in the U.S. It is headquartered in Cleveland, Tennessee. History Life Care Centers of ...

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...

in Kirkland.

Notable people

Dorothy Anstett Dorothy Catherine Anstett (born June 28, 1947) is an American pageant titleholder who held the Miss USA 1968 title. Anstett competed in the Miss Washington pageant in July 1967 and placed first runner-up. In April of the following year she won th ...

Miss Washington USA The Miss Washington USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Washington in the Miss USA pageant. It is currently produced by Pageants NW Productions based in Puyallup, Washington, which also produces I ...

1968 and

Miss USA 1968 Miss USA 1968 was the 17th Miss USA pageant, televised live by CBS from Miami Beach, Florida on May 18, 1968 hosted by Bob Barker. The pageant was won by Dorothy Anstett of Washington, who was crowned by outgoing titleholder Cheryl Patton of Fl ...

Mark Arm Mark Arm (born Mark Thomas McLaughlin; February 21, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the vocalist for the grunge band Mudhoney. His former group, Green River, was one of the first grunge bands, along with Malfunkshun, So ...

, musician in the bands Green River and Mudhoney *

Chris Bingham Christopher Bingham (born December 15, 1971) is an American professional racing driver from Kirkland, Washington. He is a noted sports car driver but also competed in stock cars, with eleven Busch Series starts and one ARCA start in his career. ...

, race car driver *

Gail Brodsky Gail Brodsky (born June 5, 1991) is an American former professional tennis player. Her career-high WTA singles ranking is 182, reached on March 19, 2012. On May 2, 2011, she peaked at No. 348 in the doubles rankings. On the ITF Circuit, she h ...

, tennis player *

Mitchie Brusco Mitchell "Mitchie" Brusco (born February 20, 1997) is an American professional skateboarder. Nicknamed "Little Tricky", he began skateboarding at the age of three in Kirkland, Washington, gaining popularity and recognition as a young talent in s ...

, professional skateboarder *

Dori Hillestad Butler Dori Hillestad Butler (born August 26, 1965) is an American author of more than 40 children's books, as well as magazine stories, plays and educational materials. Her first book, ''The Great Tooth Fairy Rip-Off'', was published in 1997. She is kno ...

, children's author, resides in Kirkland *

Deb Caletti Deb Caletti (born June 16, 1963) is an American writer of young adult and adult fiction. Caletti is a National Book Award finalist, and a Michael L. Printz Honor Book medalist, as well as the recipient of other numerous awards including thPEN US ...

, author, young adult and adult fiction *

David DeCastro David William DeCastro (born January 11, 1990) is a former American football guard. He played college football for Stanford University, and earned unanimous All-American honors. The Pittsburgh Steelers selected him in the first round of the 20 ...

, lineman for

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

* Tom Evans, MLB baseball (

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

, Texas Rangers) * Ryan Hall, retired runner, holder of U.S. half marathon record *

Marion Hutton Marion Hutton (born Marion Thornburg; March 10, 1919 – January 10, 1987) was an American singer and actress. She is best remembered for her singing with the Glenn Miller Orchestra from 1938 to 1942. She was the sister of actress and singer ...

, singer and actress *

Ken Lehman Kenneth Karl Lehman (June 10, 1928 – December 4, 2010) was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who pitched for three different teams between the 1952 and 1961 seasons. Listed at , , he batted and threw left-handed. Born in Seattle, Washin ...

, MLB pitcher (

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

) *

Ally Maki Ally Maki Matsumura (born December 29, 1986), known professionally as Ally Maki, is an American actress and model. She portrayed Jess Kato in the TBS comedy series '' Wrecked'' and the voice of Giggle McDimples in ''Toy Story 4''. Career Maki ...

, actress *

Rick May Rick May (September 21, 1940 – April 8, 2020) was a Canadian-American voice actor, theatrical performer, director, and teacher. May provided the English-language voice for Peppy Hare and Andross in ''Star Fox 64'', the Soldier in '' Team Fort ...

, voice actor and theatrical director and actor * Michael O'Hearn, bodybuilder, actor and model *

Robin Pecknold Robin Noel Pecknold (born March 30, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter, who serves as the principal songwriter and vocalist for indie folk band Fleet Foxes, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. He is known for his distinct bariteno ...

, singer, lead songwriter of Fleet Foxes *

Jennie Reed Jennie Reed (born April 20, 1978) is a World and U.S. champion track cyclist and Olympian (2004, 2008, 2012). Jennie began track cycling at the age of 16 in Redmond, Washington. She won National titles in the match sprint and individual pursuit ...

, champion track cyclist and Olympian (2004, 2008, 2012) *

Cher Scarlett Cher Scarlett (born ) is an American software engineer and writer. She is a workers' rights activist and has organized staff at Apple, Activision Blizzard, and Starbucks. Scarlett, who has bipolar disorder, experienced struggles in her early l ...

, software developer and activist *

Travis Snider Travis James Snider (born February 2, 1988) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. Nicknamed Lunchbox, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Baltimore Orioles. Amateur caree ...

, MLB baseball (

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

) *

Layne Staley Layne Thomas Staley (born Layne Rutherford Staley; August 22, 1967 – April 5, 2002) was an American musician, songwriter and the original lead singer of the rock band Alice in Chains, which rose to international fame in the early 1990s as part ...

, lead singer of Alice in Chains *

Rosalynn Sumners Rosalynn Diane Sumners (born April 20, 1964) is an American former competitive figure skater. She was the World Junior champion in 1980, the U.S. National champion in 1982, 1983 and 1984, World champion in 1983, and won a silver medal at the ...

, World and National champion figure skater, Olympic silver medalist (1984) *

Johnny Whitney Johnny Whitney (born June 28, 1981) is a singer, author and multi-instrumentalist from Seattle. He is probably most well known for his vocals and keyboarding alongside Jordan Blilie in the post-hardcore band, The Blood Brothers. He is also the ...

, singer and musician *

Lana Wilson Lana Wilson is an American filmmaker. She directed the feature documentaries ''After Tiller'', '' The Departure,'' and '' Miss Americana''. The first two films were nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary. Life and career ...

, filmmaker

Sister city

Kirkland has one

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

: *

Emmerich am Rhein Emmerich am Rhein ( Low Rhenish and nl, Emmerik) is a city and municipality in the northwest of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The city has a harbour and a quay at the Rhine. In terms of local government organization, it is ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(1995)

References

External links

City of Kirkland Government
{{authority control Cities in Washington (state) Cities in King County, Washington Cities in the Seattle metropolitan area Populated places established in 1888