Lynnwood is a city in
Snohomish County, Washington
Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 75th-most populous ...
, United States. The city is part of the
Seattle metropolitan area
The Seattle metropolitan area is an urban conglomeration in the U.S. state of Washington that comprises Seattle, its surrounding satellites and suburbs. It contains the three most populous counties in the state—King, Snohomish, and Pierceâ ...
and is located north 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 ...
and south of
Everett, near the junction of
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...
and
Interstate 405. It is the fourth-largest city in Snohomish County, with a population of 38,568 in the
2020 U.S. census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
.
Often characterized as a
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
or
bedroom community
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
, Lynnwood has the highest concentration of retailers in the region and a growing core of businesses, anchored by the
Alderwood Mall
Alderwood, formerly Alderwood Mall, is a regional shopping mall in Lynnwood, Washington. It is anchored by JCPenney, Macy's and Nordstrom and comprises both a traditional enclosed mall and two open-air areas known as The Village and The Terraces. ...
. The city also has a
community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...
, a
convention center
A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...
, and a major
transit center
A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry slips. F ...
. It is headquarters for several major companies, including
Zumiez
Zumiez Inc. () is an American multinational specialty clothing store founded by Thomas Campion and Gary Haakenson in 1978, and publicly traded since 2005. The company is a specialty retailer of apparel, footwear, accessories and hardgoods for y ...
and
SOG Specialty Knives
Sog or SOG may refer to:
People
* Andre Ward, US boxer nicknamed S.O.G. (Son Of God)
Places
* Sog, Tibet (also Sogba), Nagqu Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China
* Sog County, county in Tibet
** Sogchu River, in Sog County, Tibet
* S ...
.
The Lynnwood area was logged and settled by
homesteaders
The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of th ...
in the late 19th century and early 20th century, including the development of
Alderwood Manor
Alderwood Manor is a census-designated place (CDP) in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,198 at the 2020 census. Prior to the 2000 census, Alderwood Manor was counted as part of the Alderwood Manor-Bothell North C ...
as a planned farming community. Lynnwood, named for the wife of a realtor, emerged in the late 1940s around the intersection of
Highway 99 and 196th Street Southwest. The city was
incorporated on April 23, 1959, and grew into a suburban hub in the years following the completion of Interstate 5 and Interstate 405. Alderwood Mall opened in 1979 and spurred the transformation of eastern Lynnwood into a retail and office district.
History
Prior to contact with American settlers, the
Snohomish tribe of Native Americans used the area of modern-day Lynnwood for summertime activities, including hunting, fishing, berry gathering, and root cultivation. The Snohomish were relocated to the
Tulalip
The Tulalip Tribes of Washington (, lut, dxĘ·lilap), formerly known as the Tulalip Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe of Duwamish, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skagit, Suiattle, Samish, and Stillaguamish people. The ...
reservation, near modern-day
Marysville, after the signing of the
Treaty of Point Elliott
The Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855, or the Point Elliott Treaty,—also known as Treaty of Point Elliot (with one ''t'') / Point Elliott Treaty—is the lands settlement treaty between the United States government and the Native American tribes ...
in 1855, opening the area for American settlement.
Brown's Bay, part of
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 ...
, and modern-day Meadowdale were surveyed by American loggers in 1859.
Logging on Brown's Bay began in 1860, and the first American settlers arrived in the 1880s.
Scottish-born
stonemason
Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...
Duncan Hunter became the area's first white resident in 1889, filing an
land claim
A land claim is defined as "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include aboriginal land claims, A ...
on modern-day 36th Avenue West after moving west from
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. The claim was inherited by Hunter's son Basil, who lived on the property until his death in 1982; it was later turned into the city's Pioneer Park in the late 1980s. Hunter was joined to the east by a claim from William Morrice, a fellow stonemason from
Aberdeen, Scotland
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), an ...
.
Settlers from
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
homesteaded along Cedar Valley, to the south of Hunter and Morrice, and near Scriber Lake (named for Peter Schreiber) in 1888, leading to the establishment of the area's first schoolhouse in 1895.
![Lynnwood, WA — Wickers Building — 002](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Lynnwood%2C_WA_%E2%80%94_Wickers_Building_%E2%80%94_002.jpg)
During the early 20th century, the Lynnwood area was gradually logged by private companies and mill operators, leaving behind plots with
tree stump
After a tree has been cut and felled, the stump or tree stump is usually a small remaining portion of the trunk with the roots still in the ground. Stumps may show the age-defining rings of a tree. The study of these rings is known as dendrochrono ...
s. The arrival of the
Seattle–Everett Interurban Railway in 1910 brought reliable transportation to the area, as well as real estate speculators. The
Puget Mill Company Puget may refer to:
*Puget (surname)
*Puget, Vaucluse, a commune in France
*Puget, Washington, a community in the United States
See also
*Puget Creek
*Puget Island
*Puget Sound
*Puget-Ville
Puget-Ville (; oc, Puget Vila) is a commune in the Va ...
, then the largest landowner in southern Snohomish County, established the
planned community
A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...
of "
Alderwood Manor
Alderwood Manor is a census-designated place (CDP) in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,198 at the 2020 census. Prior to the 2000 census, Alderwood Manor was counted as part of the Alderwood Manor-Bothell North C ...
" in 1917 and marketed the area to urban dwellers wishing to build farms in the countryside. Alderwood Manor, located near an Interurban station, gained streets named for tree species and was divided into plots that sold for $200 per acre. A "demonstration farm" was built to educate new residents on raising crops and chickens, as well as market the Alderwood Manor plots to "Little Landers", a nickname for the new residents.
Alderwood Manor grew to over 1,463 people and 200,000 hens by 1922, and had electricity and telephone services to most of its residents.
The Puget Mill Company leased out its demonstration farm in 1933 and ceased operations at Alderwood Manor later in the decade, amid declining sales during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. At the same time, the opening of the
Pacific Highway (modern-day Highway 99) in 1927 and the decline of Interurban service in the 1930s shifted the center of economic growth west near Scriber Lake. Seattle realtor Karl O'Brien filed a
plat
In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...
along Highway 99 at
196th Street Southwest in 1937, naming the development "Lynnwood" after his wife Lynn.
Nearby businesses adopted the name during the 1940s, leading to the formal use of "Lynnwood" by the
chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...
in 1946, instead of the suggested "West Alderwood".
Lynnwood gained its first
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
in 1948, after a successful lobbying campaign by the Lynnwood Commercial Club to the federal
Post Office Department
The United States Post Office Department (USPOD; also known as the Post Office or U.S. Mail) was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, in the form of a Cabinet department, officially from 1872 to 1971. It was headed by the postmas ...
. Throughout the early 1950s, Lynnwood saw slow residential development, in part because of the lack of
sewers and other municipal services.
Local residents sought to be
annexed
Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
into
Edmonds Edmonds may refer to:
* Edmonds (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the surname)
* Edmonds, Washington, a city in Washington, US
** Edmonds station (Washington), a passenger train station in Washington, US
* Edmonds station (SkyTra ...
, but were denied and left to organize their own city.
In 1956, a committee to study
incorporating Lynnwood as a city was formed, proposing an area of and population of 10,744 for the new city. A petition to incorporate was signed by 600 voters and submitted early the following year, proposing a city; during the early months of 1958, several property owners asked to be removed from the proposal over disinterest in the Lynnwood group. An incorporation measure was put before voters on the November 1958, failing by a narrow margin of 890 to 848 votes.
A second attempt at incorporation, with a revised size of and population of 6,000, was approved by a 2-to-1 margin on April 14, 1959. The successful incorporation was credited in part to the movement of dilapidated homes and structures from the
right of way
Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
of
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...
, a freeway to be built through Alderwood Manor, into the Lynnwood area at the behest of the county government. Realtor Jack Bennett was elected the city's first mayor, and 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 ...
first met on April 20.
The
city charter
A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages.
Traditionally the granting of a charter ...
was approved by the county commissioners on April 23, 1959, marking Lynnwood's official incorporation as a third-class city.
Two years after incorporation, the young city was mired in a legal dispute with neighboring Edmonds over the annexation of the Browns Bay area, which was resolved in an out-of-court settlement.
Lynnwood began offering municipal services in its first years, opening a
sewage treatment plant
Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding envir ...
, a public park, new streets, and acquiring a water system from the Alderwood Water District.
The city began building its civic center complex in 1969, shortly after the approval of a
bond issue
In finance, a bond is a type of security under which the issuer (debtor) owes the holder (creditor) a debt, and is obliged – depending on the terms – to repay the principal (i.e. amount borrowed) of the bond at the maturity date as well as i ...
to finance the $1.5 million project (equivalent to $ in dollars). The civic center, located at 44th Avenue West and 194th Street Southwest, came after a decade in leased facilities scattered around the
city center
A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...
. The first buildings on the campus, including the
city hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
and
public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants.
There are ...
, opened in 1971. Later expansions to the civic center added a police station, a
municipal court City court or municipal court is a court of law with jurisdiction limited to a city or other municipality. It typically addresses "violations of city ordinances and may also have jurisdiction over minor criminal cases...and over certain civil cases ...
house, and an indoor recreation center.
The opening of Interstate 5 in 1965 moved the commercial center of Lynnwood east towards Alderwood Manor, which culminated in the proposed construction of a large
shopping center
A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof.
The first known collec ...
in 1968.
The shopping center, named
Alderwood Mall
Alderwood, formerly Alderwood Mall, is a regional shopping mall in Lynnwood, Washington. It is anchored by JCPenney, Macy's and Nordstrom and comprises both a traditional enclosed mall and two open-air areas known as The Village and The Terraces. ...
and developed by
Allied Stores
Allied Stores was a department store chain in the United States. It was founded in the 1930s as part of a general consolidation in the retail sector by B. E. Puckett. See also Associated Dry Goods. It was the successor to Hahn's Department Store ...
, was put on hold during the local recession of the early 1970s and was later sold to shopping mall developer Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. in 1976. Alderwood Mall opened on October 4, 1979, sparking a major retail and residential boom in the Lynnwood area in the early 1980s.
The Swamp Creek Interchange at Interstate 5 and
Interstate 405 was completed in 1984, creating a new regional connection to Alderwood and Lynnwood from the
Eastside region of
King County
King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...
.
During the 1980s, Lynnwood gained its first of several
office park
A business park or office park is a designated area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. These types of developments are often located in suburban areas where land and building costs are more affordable, and are typically ...
s, housing
high-tech
High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...
companies expanding from the Eastside and the Canyon Park area of
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 ...
.
Shopping areas developed around Alderwood Mall at the same time, creating the county's largest retail center, and new housing areas spread out from the city limits of Lynnwood.
Despite the development boom of unincorporated areas surrounding Lynnwood, growth within the city itself slowed in the late 1980s and 1990s, attributed to few annexations and slow natural growth.
![2015](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/2015.10.19_006_-_CM.JPG)
Lynnwood began developing plans for a "city center" near the Alderwood Mall area in the 1980s.
Like other post-war suburbs, Lynnwood developed without a defined
central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...
and sought to consolidate cultural facilities and high-density development in a manner similar to
Downtown Bellevue
Downtown Bellevue is the central business district of Bellevue, Washington, United States. It is bounded by I-405 to the east, NE 12th Street to the north, 100th Ave NE to the west, and Main Street to the south, and covers an area of around . I ...
.
In the late 1990s, the
Washington State Department of Transportation
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Establi ...
rebuilt several interchanges on Interstate 5 in Lynnwood, including the construction of a full
diamond interchange
A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road.
Design
The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...
at 196th Street Southwest costing $80 million. The city opened a $31 million, medium-sized
convention center
A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...
in 2005 to anchor the future city center. The City of Lynnwood formally adopted its City Center Subarea Plan in 2007, outlining plans to re-develop a area between
Lynnwood Transit Center
Lynnwood Transit Center, also known as Lynnwood TC or LTC, is a bus station and future light rail station in Lynnwood, Washington. It is the largest transit hub in southwestern Snohomish County and is served by Community Transit and Sound Trans ...
and Alderwood Mall into a central business district. Development of the city center began in 2015, with the construction of two apartment buildings and a hotel located near the convention center.
Geography
![164th Street eastbound from Swamp Creek P&R (19036527538)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/164th_Street_eastbound_from_Swamp_Creek_P%26R_%2819036527538%29.jpg)
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 of Lynnwood has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
The city is in the southwestern part of
Snohomish County
Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 75th-most populous ...
in
Western Washington
Western Washington is a region of the United States defined as the area of Washington state west of the Cascade Mountains. This region is home to the state's largest city, Seattle, the state capital, Olympia, and most of the state's residents. The ...
, and is considered part of the
Seattle metropolitan area
The Seattle metropolitan area is an urban conglomeration in the U.S. state of Washington that comprises Seattle, its surrounding satellites and suburbs. It contains the three most populous counties in the state—King, Snohomish, and Pierceâ ...
. It is at the junction of
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...
and
Interstate 405, approximately north 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 ...
, northwest of
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 south of
Everett.
Lynnwood's
city limits
City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate limi ...
are roughly defined to south by
Mountlake Terrace
Mountlake Terrace is a suburban city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It lies on the southern border of the county, adjacent to Shoreline and Lynnwood, and is north of Seattle. The city had a population of 19,909 people counted ...
at 212th Street Southwest and the
Interurban Trail; to the west by
Edmonds Edmonds may refer to:
* Edmonds (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the surname)
* Edmonds, Washington, a city in Washington, US
** Edmonds station (Washington), a passenger train station in Washington, US
* Edmonds station (SkyTra ...
along 76th Avenue West and Olympic View Drive; to the north by the
unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to:
* Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality
* Unincorporated entity, a type of organization
* Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...
Picnic Point-North Lynnwood area, near 164th Street Southwest; and to the east and south by the unincorporated
Alderwood Manor
Alderwood Manor is a census-designated place (CDP) in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,198 at the 2020 census. Prior to the 2000 census, Alderwood Manor was counted as part of the Alderwood Manor-Bothell North C ...
, along
State Route 525 and Interstate 5. The city's
urban growth area (UGA) includes Alderwood Manor and part of North Lynnwood, extending east to Locust Way and
Mill Creek, and north to the
Mukilteo
Mukilteo ( ) is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is located on the Puget Sound between Edmonds, Washington, Edmonds and Everett, Washington, Everett, approximately north of Seattle. The city had a population of 20,254 ...
UGA at 148th Street Southwest.
Lynnwood is situated on a plateau above
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 ...
, which lies to the city's west, and consists of several hills and valleys.
The city has eighteen identified
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...
s, most of which drain into
Swamp Creek or Puget Sound via Lund's Gulch.
Other natural features within Lynnwood include Scriber Lake and Hall Lake. One of the highest hills in the Seattle area is , near the lake of the same name. The city has extensive views of the
Olympic Mountains
The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high – Mount Olympus is the highest at ; however, the easter ...
to the west and the
Cascade Mountains
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, ...
to the east.
The main retail and commercial corridor of the city is the "Lynnwood Triangle", bordered to the east by Interstate 5, to the south by Southwest 196th Street, and to the west by 44th Avenue West. The "Triangle" area has been proposed as the site of a city center for Lynnwood since the 1980s, including planning for a future
light rail station and high-density development surrounding it.
Economy
, Lynnwood has an estimated 19,095 residents who were in the
workforce
The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the Pooling (resource management), pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single types of companies, company or ...
, either employed or unemployed.
Only 12 percent of Lynnwood residents work within city limits, while approximately 31 percent commute to Seattle, 9 percent to Everett, 6 percent to Bellevue, and 4 percent to
Edmonds Edmonds may refer to:
* Edmonds (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the surname)
* Edmonds, Washington, a city in Washington, US
** Edmonds station (Washington), a passenger train station in Washington, US
* Edmonds station (SkyTra ...
.
Regional job centers in
Downtown Seattle
Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...
, the
Boeing assembly plant near
Paine Field
Paine Field , also known as Snohomish County Airport, is a commercial and general aviation airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in unincorporated Snohomish County, Washington, between the ...
in Everett,
Downtown Bellevue
Downtown Bellevue is the central business district of Bellevue, Washington, United States. It is bounded by I-405 to the east, NE 12th Street to the north, 100th Ave NE to the west, and Main Street to the south, and covers an area of around . I ...
, and the
Microsoft Redmond Campus
The Microsoft campus is the corporate headquarters of Microsoft, located in Redmond, Washington, United States, a part of the Seattle metropolitan area. Microsoft initially moved onto the grounds of the campus on February 26, 1986, shortly befor ...
employ the majority of Lynnwood workers.
The average one-way commute for Lynnwood workers in 2015 was approximately 30 minutes; 69 percent of workers drove alone to their workplace, while 12 percent
carpool
Carpooling (also car-sharing, ride-sharing and lift-sharing) is the sharing of car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car, and prevents the need for others to have to drive to a location themselves.
By having more people usi ...
ed, and 10 percent used
public transit
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
.
The largest industry of employment for Lynnwood workers are educational services and health care, with approximately 23 percent, followed by retail (15%), food services (13%), and professional services (12%).
Lynnwood is also a major job center for Snohomish County, with approximately 24,767 jobs in 2012, but only seven percent of workers in Lynnwood live within the city limits. Over 52 percent of workers in Lynnwood reside within Snohomish County, while 9 percent reside in Seattle.
The largest industry in Lynnwood is the services sector, with approximately 45 percent of workers, followed by retail (28%) and education (8%).
The retail sector, centered around Alderwood Mall, employs 7,000 people and generates 50 percent of the city's tax revenue.
Professional services are concentrated in
office park
A business park or office park is a designated area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. These types of developments are often located in suburban areas where land and building costs are more affordable, and are typically ...
s near Alderwood Mall, comprising 176 buildings with nearly of leasable office space.
The largest non-retail employers in the city include the
Edmonds School District
Edmonds School District No. 15 is the public school district of Edmonds, Washington, United States. It serves the entire city as well as the cities of Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Woodway, and Brier along with parts of unincorporated Snohomish ...
, the city government, and
Automatic Data Processing
ADP, Inc. (originally an acronym for Automatic Data Processing) is an American provider of human resources management software and services.
History
In 1949, Henry Taub founded Automatic Payrolls, Inc. as a manual payroll processing business wit ...
(ADP).
Clothing retailer
Zumiez
Zumiez Inc. () is an American multinational specialty clothing store founded by Thomas Campion and Gary Haakenson in 1978, and publicly traded since 2005. The company is a specialty retailer of apparel, footwear, accessories and hardgoods for y ...
and knife manufacturer
SOG Specialty Knives
Sog or SOG may refer to:
People
* Andre Ward, US boxer nicknamed S.O.G. (Son Of God)
Places
* Sog, Tibet (also Sogba), Nagqu Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China
* Sog County, county in Tibet
** Sogchu River, in Sog County, Tibet
* S ...
are headquartered in Lynnwood.
Demographics
The
1960 census counted 7,207 residents within Lynnwood city limits, which grew by 134 percent to nearly 17,000 by the
1970 census. From 1970 to 1990, the city's population nearly doubled, fueled by annexations and suburban development. During this period, Lynnwood gained a significant population of
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...
s, primarily of
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or ChosĹŹn'gĹl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
and
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
origin, eventually growing to 14 percent of the city's population by 2000. The estimated population of Lynnwood was 36,420 in 2015, with an additional 28,973 people living outside city limits in Lynnwood's urban growth area. By 2035, the Lynnwood area is projected to have a population of over 92,000 people, including 54,400 people within the current city limits. Lynnwood residents had an estimated median household income of $47,700 in 2011, ranking lower than comparable suburban cities in the Seattle metropolitan area.
2010 census
As of the
2010 census, there were 35,836 people, 13,950 households, and 8,501 families residing in the city of Lynnwood. 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 14,939 housing 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 63.8% White (58.6%
non-Hispanic white
Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Amer ...
), 5.5% African American, 1.1% Native American, 17.3% Asian, 0.5% Pacific Islander, 6.6% from other races, and 5.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.3% of the population.
There were 14,107 households, of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.6% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.7% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.13.
The median age in the city was 37.3 years. 21.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28% were from 25 to 44; 26.2% were from 45 to 64; and 13.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49% male and 51% female.
2000 census
As of the
2000 census, there were 33,847 people, 13,328 households, and 8,330 families residing in the city of Lynnwood. The population density was 4,431.2 people per square mile (1,710.5/km
2). There were 13,808 housing units at an average density of 1,807.7 per square mile (697.8/km
2). 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 74.3% White, 3.3% African American, 1.0% Native American, 13.87% Asian, 0.40% Pacific Islander, 2.80% from other races, and 4.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.96% of the population.
There were 13,328 households, out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.5% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 24.4% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $42,814, and the median income for a family was $51,825. Males had a median income of $37,395 versus $30,070 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 $19,971. About 6.2% of families and 9.5% 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 9.8% of those under age 18 and 12.2% of those age 65 or over.
Crime
The Lynnwood Police Department has 70 officers and 38 support staff, overseen by chief Tom Davis since his appointment to the position in August 2016. In 2015, Lynnwood had 81
violent crime
A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violence, violent act is t ...
s and 2,162
property crime
Property crime is a category of crime, usually involving private property, that includes, among other crimes, burglary, larceny, theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, shoplifting, and vandalism. Property crime is a crime to obtain money, property, o ...
s reported to law enforcement.
The city's violent
crime rate
Crime statistics refer to systematic, quantitative results about crime, as opposed to crime news or anecdotes. Notably, crime statistics can be the result of two rather different processes:
* scientific research, such as criminological studies, vi ...
was 220 per 100,000 people, ranking below the
national
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
and state averages; the property crime rate of 5,861 per 100,000 people was significantly above the national and state averages.
Lynnwood has a relatively low overall crime rate compared to cities of the same size in Washington state, but ranks high for property crime, particularly
larceny
Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Engla ...
attributed to the nearby Alderwood Mall.
In an effort to curb traffic violations, the city government installed twelve
red light camera
A red light camera (short for red light running camera ) is a type of traffic enforcement camera that photographs a vehicle that has entered an intersection after the traffic signal controlling the intersection has turned red. By automatically phot ...
s and four
school zone
A school zone refers to an area on a street near a school or near a crosswalk leading to a school that has a likely presence of younger pedestrians. School zones generally have a reduced speed limit during certain hours.
Fines
Fines for speedin ...
cameras that took approximately 44,000 photos per year and generated $3.4 million in ticket revenue in 2018.
The 2008 rape of a teenage woman in Lynnwood, part of a
serial rape case, was the subject of "
An Unbelievable Story of Rape
"An Unbelievable Story of Rape" is a 2015 article about a series of rapes in the American states of Washington and Colorado that occurred between 2008 and 2011, and the subsequent police investigations. It was a collaboration between two American ...
", an article published by ProPublica and the Marshall Project and the winner of a
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
. It was adapted into the true crime miniseries ''
Unbelievable'' for Netflix in 2019.
Between 2008 and 2012, Lynnwood police had labeled 21 percent of rape cases as "unfounded", five times the national average for similarly sized municipalities.
The victim, known as "Marie", was initially dismissed by detectives with the Lynnwood police department before the assailant, a
serial rapist
A serial rapist is someone who commits multiple rapes, whether with multiple victims or a single victim repeatedly over a period of time. Some serial rapists target children. The terms ''sexual predator'', ''repeat rape'' and ''multiple offending ...
, was charged and convicted for the rapes of five more women. The city government agreed to a $150,000 settlement in the victim's lawsuit in 2014 and later changed the police department's procedures on sexual assault investigations.
Government and politics
Lynnwood is defined as a non-charter code city and operates under a
mayor–council government
The mayor–council government system is a system of local government that has a mayor who is directly elected by the voters serve as chief executive, and a separately elected legislative city council. It is one of the two most common forms of loc ...
, with a full-time mayor and city council elected by residents. The mayor serves a four-year term, with no
term limit
A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...
s, and is joined in the Executive Department by an Executive Assistant and Assistant City Administrator. Former city councilmember Christine Frizzell was elected mayor in 2021, succeeding two-term mayor Nicola Smith.
The Lynnwood city council is composed of seven residents who are elected in
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 ...
,
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 to four-year terms that are staggered every two years. The council also appoints a city manager to oversee city operations.
The council's meetings are held twice per month in a chamber at Lynnwood's city hall. According to the
Washington State Auditor
The State Auditor of Washington is an independently elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. State of Washington. Eleven individuals have held the office of State Auditor since statehood. The incumbent i ...
, Lynnwood's municipal government employs 373 people full-time and operates on a
biennial
Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years.
In particular, it can refer to:
* Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and th ...
budget of $197.5 million.
The municipal government provides emergency services, water and sewage utilities, street maintenance, parks and recreation, and the municipal court and jail.
The municipal government has contracted with
South County Fire to provide
firefighting
Firefighting is the act of extinguishing or preventing the spread of unwanted fires from threatening human lives and destroying property and the environment. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter.
Firefighters typically ...
and
emergency medical services
Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...
since it was formed in 2017 by a merger of the Lynnwood
fire department
A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...
and a county fire district.
At the federal level, Lynnwood has been part of
Washington's 2nd congressional district
Washington's 2nd congressional district includes all of Island, San Juan, Skagit, and Whatcom counties, as well as western Snohomish County. It stretches from Bellingham and the Canada–US border in the north to Lynnwood and the King/ Snohom ...
since 2012,
Inset map
represented by Democrat
Rick Larsen
Richard Ray Larsen (born June 15, 1965) is an American politician and lobbyist serving as the United States House of Representatives, United States representative for since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Part ...
. Prior to the 2012 redistricting in Washington, Lynnwood was part of the
1st congressional district, represented by
Jay Inslee
Jay Robert Inslee (; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representat ...
. At the state level, the city is part of the
32nd legislative district, which also includes Woodway, western Mountlake Terrace, and
Shoreline
A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...
.
Lynnwood is wholly part of the
Snohomish County Council
The Snohomish County Council is the legislative body of Snohomish County, Washington. The county council was created in 1979 and consists of five members serving four-year terms.
Members
;Notes
History
The county council was created on No ...
's 3rd district, alongside Edmonds and Woodway.
Education
Public schools in Lynnwood are operated by the
Edmonds School District
Edmonds School District No. 15 is the public school district of Edmonds, Washington, United States. It serves the entire city as well as the cities of Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Woodway, and Brier along with parts of unincorporated Snohomish ...
, which also serves the cities of
Edmonds Edmonds may refer to:
* Edmonds (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the surname)
* Edmonds, Washington, a city in Washington, US
** Edmonds station (Washington), a passenger train station in Washington, US
* Edmonds station (SkyTra ...
,
Mountlake Terrace
Mountlake Terrace is a suburban city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It lies on the southern border of the county, adjacent to Shoreline and Lynnwood, and is north of Seattle. The city had a population of 19,909 people counted ...
, and
Woodway. The district had an enrollment of approximately 20,847 students in 2014 and has 41 schools, of which 16 are located in or around Lynnwood.
The Edmonds School District has three
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
s located in the Lynnwood area:
Lynnwood High School
Lynnwood High School is a high school in the Edmonds School District, located in Bothell, Washington. The school has approximately 1600 students enrolled for grades 9–12 as of the 2013-2014 school year. Lynnwood High School's mascot is a Chimer ...
,
Meadowdale High School, and
Scriber Lake High School
Scriber Lake High School (SLHS), located in the city of Edmonds, Washington, is one of five high schools within the Edmonds School District. It is the only High School of Choice
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmosp ...
.
The Lynnwood High School was originally located adjacent to Alderwood Mall, but moved to a new campus a mile () east on North Road in northern
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 ...
.
Lynnwood is also home to two
post-secondary
Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...
educational institutions.
Edmonds College
Edmonds College, formerly Edmonds Community College, is a public community college in Lynnwood, Washington. More than 17,000 students annually take courses for credit toward a certificate or degree at the college. The college employs more than 1 ...
, established in 1967, offers two-year degree programs and other services. It enrolls an average of 11,100 students per quarter.
Central Washington University
Central Washington University (CWU) is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington. Founded in 1891, the university consists of four divisions: the President's Division, Business and Financial Affairs, Operations, and Academic and Student Life ...
offers four-year
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
s in select programs at its
Lynnwood campus, which it has shared with Edmonds College since 1975.
Lynnwood also has several
private school
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (RyĹŤko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
s, both religious and secular, including
The Soundview School, St, Thomas More Parish, and the Brighton School.
Culture
Parks and recreation
The city of Lynnwood has over of open space in 19 community and neighborhood
park
A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...
s, as well as of recreational trails. Part of the open space is set aside as natural conservation areas, including Lund's Gulch and Scriber Creek. The city also has special recreational facilities, including a municipal
golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...
,
skate park
A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, qua ...
, sports fields, a water park, and a
senior center
A senior center (or senior centre) is a type of community center where older adults congregate for fellowship with others to fulfill many of their social, physical, emotional, and intellectual needs. A regular part of senior centers is card and bo ...
.
Central Lynnwood has two major parks: the
Scriber Lake nature reserve; and Wilcox Park, the first park in the city, established in 1962. The city government also organizes several regular community events, including the annual Fair on 44th
block party
A block party or street party is a party in which many members of a single community congregate, either to observe an event of some importance or simply for mutual solidarity and enjoyment. The name comes from the form of the party, which ofte ...
, movie screenings, and
Shakespeare in the Park
Shakespeare in the Park is a term for outdoor festivals featuring productions of William Shakespeare's plays. The term originated with the New York Shakespeare Festival in New York City's Central Park, originally created by Joseph Papp. This conc ...
.
Media
From 1958 to 2012, Lynnwood and southern Snohomish County were served by a weekly newspaper, ''
The Enterprise''. The newspaper was acquired by ''
The Everett Herald
''The Everett Herald'' is a daily newspaper based in Everett, Washington, United States. It is owned by Sound Publishing, Inc. The paper serves residents of Snohomish County.
History
''The Daily Herald'' was first published on February 11, 190 ...
'' in 1996 and renamed to ''The Weekly Herald'' in 2011.
''The Weekly Herald'' published its final issue on August 29, 2012, due to revenue issues.
The city is home to ''Lynnwood Today'', a local
blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
that was established in March 2010 and is affiliated with ''
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 ...
''; it was acquired by ''My Edmonds News'', which also owns ''MLTnews'', in 2013.
Lynnwood is part of the
Seattle–Tacoma media market, and is served by Seattle-based media outlets including ''The Seattle Times''; broadcast television stations
KOMO-TV
KOMO-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Seattle, Seattle, Washington, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue-licensed Univision a ...
,
KING-TV
KING-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Seattle, Washington, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Everett-licensed independent station KONG (channel 16). Both stations share studios at the Home Plate ...
,
KIRO-TV
KIRO-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Seattle, Washington, United States, affiliated with CBS and Telemundo. Owned by Cox Media Group, the station maintains studios on Third Avenue in the Belltown section of Downtown Seattle, and its ...
, and
KCPQ-TV
KCPQ (channel 13) is a television station licensed to Tacoma, Washington, United States, broadcasting the Fox network to the Seattle area. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV outlet K ...
; and various radio stations. Non-commercial radio station
KSER
KSER (90.7 FM) is a non-commercial radio station and airs a mix of music and news/public affairs. The station, which is owned and operated by the non-profit KSER Foundation, broadcasts at 90.7 MHz with an ERP of 5.8 kW and is licensed ...
was based in Lynnwood from 1991 to 1994, when it moved to Everett.
Lynnwood opened its municipal
library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
in 1971, contracting services to the regional
Sno-Isle Libraries
Sno-Isle Libraries is a public library system serving Island and Snohomish counties in the U.S. state of Washington. The system is among the largest in Washington state and has an annual circulation of 11 million materials. The library's 23 bra ...
district. The library is the most-visited in the system, which serves most of Snohomish and
Island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
counties, with 504,000 annual visits . Lynnwood residents voted in 2006 to be annexed into the Sno-Isle Libraries district, also approving an expansion and modernization that took place in 2013.
Historical preservation
![Keelers Corner](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Keelers_Corner.jpg)
Lynnwood has one property listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
(NRHP): Keeler's Korner, an automobile
service station built in 1927 on Highway 99 at 164th Street Southwest.
The Alderwood Manor Heritage Association was formed in 1991 after the demolition of the oldest home in Alderwood Manor, located east of Lynnwood city limits. The preservation group succeeded in saving other early 20th century homes that were slated for demolition during a highway expansion, moving them to a new, city-owned park. The $1.8 million Heritage Park, opened in 2004, includes the
Tudor-style
Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...
,
timber-framed
Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...
Wickers Building, originally built in 1919; a cottage built for the Alderwood Manor superintendent in 1917; and a restored
Interurban
The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...
trolley car.
The city has two other buildings determined to be eligible for a NRHP listing: the Masonic Temple, built in 1921; and a former schoolhouse built in 1917. Both buildings are located near the city center southwest of Alderwood Mall.
Notable people
Notable people from Lynnwood include:
*
Kenneth Bae, missionary and North Korean prisoner
*
Steven W. Bailey
Steven W. Bailey (born July 1, 1971) is an American actor.
Bailey is best known for taking on the character of Steve Williams in the TV show ''My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance'' in 2004, and for playing the recurring character of Joe, a bartender ...
, actor
*
Randy Couture
Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American actor, former United States Army, U.S. Army sergeant, former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former Collegiate wrestling, collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman ...
, UFC/MMA fighter and actor
*
Myles Gaskin
Myles Gaskin (born February 15, 1997) is an American football running back for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Washington Huskies football, Washington.
Early years
Gaskin was raised in Lyn ...
, American football player
*
Paul Kenneth Keller
Paul Kenneth Keller (born January 6, 1966) is a serial arsonist and convicted murderer from Lynnwood, Washington. He is serving 107 years in prison and will be eligible for parole in 2079. He was convicted of setting over 107 fires and admitted t ...
, serial arsonist
*
Paul Lyttle
Paul Lyttle (born February 24, 1977) is a Canadian- American curler from Lynnwood, Washington. He has competed in four United States Men's Curling Championships. He curls out of the Granite Curling Club in Seattle, Washington.
Career
Lyttle ...
, curler
*
Tom McGrath, animator and film director
*
Edward Nixon
Edward Calvert Nixon (May 3, 1930 – February 27, 2019) was an American entrepreneur and the youngest brother of United States President Richard Nixon.
Early life
Born in Whittier, California, Edward was the youngest child of Francis and Hann ...
, brother of President Richard Nixon
*
Mikayla Pivec
Mikayla Pivec (born November 18, 1997) is an American basketball player for :es:Club Deportivo Promete, Club Deportivo Promete of :es:Liga Femenina de baloncesto, La Liga Feminina in Spain. Born in Bellevue, Washington, Pivec went to Lynnwood High ...
, professional basketball player
*
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 ...
, professional baseball player
*
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 ...
, rock musician
*
Katie Thurston
Katie Lane Thurston (born January 3, 1991) is an American television personality. She received national recognition as a contestant on season 25 of '' The Bachelor'', and as the star of season 17 of ''The Bachelorette''.
Early life and education ...
, television personality, contestant and star on ''
The Bachelorette A bachelorette is an unmarried woman. Bachelorette may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Bachelorette'', a reality television dating show part of ''The Bachelor'' franchise with numerous versions:
** ''The Bachelorette'' (American TV ser ...
''
Infrastructure
Transportation
![Interstate 5 northbound in Lynnwood, WA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Interstate_5_northbound_in_Lynnwood%2C_WA.jpg)
Lynnwood is located at the northern junction of
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...
and
Interstate 405, the two primary north–south freeways in the
Seattle metropolitan area
The Seattle metropolitan area is an urban conglomeration in the U.S. state of Washington that comprises Seattle, its surrounding satellites and suburbs. It contains the three most populous counties in the state—King, Snohomish, and Pierceâ ...
. Interstate 5 continues south to
Downtown Seattle
Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...
, and north to
Everett and
Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
; Interstate 405 continues south to
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 the
Eastside, and north to
Mukilteo
Mukilteo ( ) is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is located on the Puget Sound between Edmonds, Washington, Edmonds and Everett, Washington, Everett, approximately north of Seattle. The city had a population of 20,254 ...
as
State Route 525. Lynnwood has two additional state highways:
State Route 99, running north to Everett and south to Seattle; and
State Route 524, connecting to Edmonds in the west as 196th Street Southwest.
Public transportation in Lynnwood is provided by
Community Transit
Community Transit (CT) is the public transit authority of Snohomish County, Washington, United States, excluding the city of Everett, in the Seattle metropolitan area. It operates local bus, paratransit and vanpool service within Snohomish Cou ...
, which serves most of Snohomish County, and
Sound Transit
Sound Transit (ST), officially the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, is a public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It operates the Link light rail system in Seattle and Tacoma, r ...
, the regional system serving the entire metropolitan area. Most bus service in Lynnwood is concentrated at hubs, including the
Lynnwood Transit Center
Lynnwood Transit Center, also known as Lynnwood TC or LTC, is a bus station and future light rail station in Lynnwood, Washington. It is the largest transit hub in southwestern Snohomish County and is served by Community Transit and Sound Trans ...
, Ash Way Park and Ride, and
Edmonds College
Edmonds College, formerly Edmonds Community College, is a public community college in Lynnwood, Washington. More than 17,000 students annually take courses for credit toward a certificate or degree at the college. The college employs more than 1 ...
. Community Transit operates local routes, including
Swift bus rapid transit
Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to:
* SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks
** SWIFT code
* Swift (programming language)
* Swift (bird), a family of birds
It may also refer to:
Organizations
* SWIFT, a ...
on State Route 99, and
peak Peak or The Peak may refer to:
Basic meanings Geology
* Mountain peak
** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics
* Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion
* Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-di ...
-only commuter service to Downtown Seattle and the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
. Sound Transit operates
all-day express service from Lynnwood Transit Center and Ash Way Park and Ride to Downtown Seattle and
Downtown Bellevue
Downtown Bellevue is the central business district of Bellevue, Washington, United States. It is bounded by I-405 to the east, NE 12th Street to the north, 100th Ave NE to the west, and Main Street to the south, and covers an area of around . I ...
. In 2024, Sound Transit will begin operating
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 ...
service to Lynnwood Transit Center, connecting it to Downtown Seattle and the Bellevue–
Redmond area. Light rail service is planned to be extended north to Downtown Everett, via Ash Way and
Paine Field
Paine Field , also known as Snohomish County Airport, is a commercial and general aviation airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in unincorporated Snohomish County, Washington, between the ...
, in 2036.
Utilities
Electric power
Electric power is the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt, one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with other SI units: thousands, millions and billions o ...
in Lynnwood is provided by the
Snohomish County Public Utility District
The Snohomish County Public Utility District is a public utility agency providing power to over 367,000 customers in Snohomish County and on Camano Island, Washington. It provides water service to about 23,000 customers in the northeast section ...
(PUD), a consumer-owned
public utility
A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...
that serves all of Snohomish County.
Puget Sound Energy
Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is an energy utility company based in the U.S. state of Washington that provides electrical power and natural gas to the Puget Sound region. The utility serves electricity to more than 1.1 million customers in Island, Ki ...
provides
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
service to the city; Lynnwood is also the terminus of a minor gas
pipeline
Pipeline may refer to:
Electronics, computers and computing
* Pipeline (computing), a chain of data-processing stages or a CPU optimization found on
** Instruction pipelining, a technique for implementing instruction-level parallelism within a s ...
operated by the Northwest Pipeline Company.
The Alderwood Water and Wastewater District provides
municipal tap water service for Lynnwood, sourced from Everett's
Spada Lake
The Culmback Dam (also known as the George Culmback Dam or the Snoqualmie National Forest Dam) is a large rockfill hydroelectric and water supply dam on the Sultan River, a tributary of the Skykomish River, in Washington. Built in 1965, the dam is ...
Reservoir. The City of Lynnwood handles
sanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is an underground pipe or tunnel system for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings (but not stormwater) to a sewage treatment plant or disposal. Sanitary sewers are a type of gravity sewer and are part of an o ...
and
wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment is a process used to remove contaminants from wastewater and convert it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once returned to the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on the environme ...
; its wastewater treatment plant treats 5 million gallons per day () that is discharged into
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 ...
. The water district serves the unincorporated areas around Lynnwood and also operates
Well Number 5
Well Number 5, also called 164th Street Artesian Well, is an artesian well in North Lynnwood, Washington at Swamp Creek. The well puts out between per minute.
It is one of ten artesian wells that originally supplied the Alderwood area in the 19 ...
, an
artesian well
An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure. An artesian aquifer has trapped water, surrounded by layers of impermeable rock or clay, which apply positive pressure to the water contained within th ...
in North Lynnwood that has gained popularity for its quality. The city contracts with
Republic Services
Republic Services is an American waste disposal company whose services include non-hazardous solid waste collection, waste transfer, waste disposal, recycling, and energy services. It is the second largest provider of waste disposal in the Unite ...
and
Waste Management
Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal.
This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring ...
for
garbage
Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produc ...
,
recycling
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
, and
yard waste
Green waste, also known as "biological waste", is any organic waste that can be composted. It is most usually composed of refuse from gardens such as grass clippings or leaves, and domestic or industrial kitchen wastes. Green waste does not inclu ...
disposal.
Health care
Lynnwood does not have any
general hospital
''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...
s, but is located near the Edmonds branch of
Swedish Medical Center
Swedish Health Services, formerly Swedish Medical Center, is the largest nonprofit health provider in the Seattle metropolitan area. It operates five hospital campuses (in the Seattle neighborhoods of First Hill, Cherry Hill and Ballard, and th ...
, formerly known as Stevens Hospital. The city has several community and specialty
clinic
A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...
s operated by regional healthcare providers, including the Community Health Center of Snohomish County,
Virginia Mason, and
The Everett Clinic
Optum, Inc. is an American pharmacy benefit manager and health care provider. It has been a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group since 2011. UHG formed Optum by merging its existing pharmacy and care delivery services into the single Optum brand ...
.
Sister cities
*
Damyang
Damyang County (''Damyang-gun'') is a county in Jeollanam-do, South Korea. Tourism is a major local industry. Notable local products include bamboo goods and strawberries.
Damyang is not to be confused with Danyang, which is located in eastern ...
, South Korea
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Cities in Snohomish County, Washington
Cities in the Seattle metropolitan area
Cities in Washington (state)