Sure, the Pacific Northwest is green. Yeah, there are lots of trees. Yeah, it's lovely. Yeah, it rains a lot -- a real lot. It rains so much Seattle is lampooned as Drizzle City. It has consistently ranked among the top 10 most rainiest cities in the United States. If you like rain, if you think it's romantic, Emerald City is you kind of town.
The name itself -- Seattle -- was once the name of the chief of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes that had inhabited the area for something close to 4,000 years. That's 4,000 years of harmony shot down the proverbial tubes with the arrival of the first European settlers in'53.
Predictably, by the end of the'th Century, the area was home to a few thousand Europeans. The natives? They were relocated or burned out of their homes. You know, the typical tactics. By'97, Seattle became a hub for the Yukon Gold craze that was sweeping the nation. It was that semi-porous yellow metal that put Seattle on the national map.
When the gold in them there hills disappeared, the city became a shipbuilding and shipping hub. It was an industrial city, home to the largest west coast shipyard in the country. The builders and tradesmen were so plentiful Seattle would host the first general strike in US history. In fact, all the labor disputes and attempts to break the burgeoning unions meant a good deal of shipbuilding contracts were moved to Los Angeles.
Somehow, Seattle manage to lure the aircraft industry right around the end of World War II. The big boy on the block, Boeing was headquartered in Seattle until 2001, when it moved to Chicago. Still, the Emerald City is home to a hefty Boeing presence. That, and Starbucks, Nike, and Hewlett-Packard. Somehow, people manage to stay productive with 226 days a year of cloud cover and rain. - 33387
The name itself -- Seattle -- was once the name of the chief of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes that had inhabited the area for something close to 4,000 years. That's 4,000 years of harmony shot down the proverbial tubes with the arrival of the first European settlers in'53.
Predictably, by the end of the'th Century, the area was home to a few thousand Europeans. The natives? They were relocated or burned out of their homes. You know, the typical tactics. By'97, Seattle became a hub for the Yukon Gold craze that was sweeping the nation. It was that semi-porous yellow metal that put Seattle on the national map.
When the gold in them there hills disappeared, the city became a shipbuilding and shipping hub. It was an industrial city, home to the largest west coast shipyard in the country. The builders and tradesmen were so plentiful Seattle would host the first general strike in US history. In fact, all the labor disputes and attempts to break the burgeoning unions meant a good deal of shipbuilding contracts were moved to Los Angeles.
Somehow, Seattle manage to lure the aircraft industry right around the end of World War II. The big boy on the block, Boeing was headquartered in Seattle until 2001, when it moved to Chicago. Still, the Emerald City is home to a hefty Boeing presence. That, and Starbucks, Nike, and Hewlett-Packard. Somehow, people manage to stay productive with 226 days a year of cloud cover and rain. - 33387
About the Author:
If you are in town on rain-soaked business that'll take you longer than the obligatory weekend, book yourself into a corporate housing suite, like the ones affiliated with the Bellevue hotels. After a week, you'll be thanking me.
