Medina, Washington facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Medina
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Medina, pictured front just after the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, with the Bellevue skyline behind
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Location of Medina, Washington
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City limits of Medina
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| Country | United States | |
| State | Washington | |
| County | King | |
| Platted | 1914 | |
| Incorporated | August 19, 1955 | |
| Named for | Medina, Saudi Arabia | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | Council–manager | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 4.83 sq mi (12.51 km2) | |
| • Land | 1.44 sq mi (3.72 km2) | |
| • Water | 3.39 sq mi (8.79 km2) | |
| Elevation | 69 ft (21 m) | |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 2,915 | |
| • Density | 2,291.29/sq mi (884.44/km2) | |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) | |
| ZIP code |
98039
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| Area code(s) | 425 | |
| FIPS code | 53-44725 | |
| GNIS feature ID | 1512453 | |
Medina (pronounced m-uh-DYE-nuh) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It's located on a piece of land that sticks out into Lake Washington. The city is mostly made up of homes.
Medina is across the lake from Seattle. It shares borders with Clyde Hill and Hunts Point to the east. Water surrounds Medina on all other sides. In 2020, about 2,915 people lived there. Famous people like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos have homes in Medina. Many other wealthy people and tech company leaders also live here.
Contents
History of Medina
The land on the eastern side of Lake Washington was once covered in trees. These trees were cut down in the 1870s. In 1886, a businessman from Seattle named Thomas Dabney settled here. He was the first permanent white settler in the area.
How Medina Got Its Name
In 1890, Thomas Dabney built a ferry dock and called it Dabney's Landing. The land around it became farms for berries and fruits. More settlers came to Dabney's Landing. For a short time, the area was called Flordeline. But in 1891, a group of women suggested the Arabic name "Medina". After some discussions, Medina was chosen as the town's name.
Becoming a City
Medina was officially planned out in 1914. It became an official city on August 19, 1955. Rich business people from Seattle started building large homes here in the 1920s. This happened because ferries began offering direct service to the area. This led to Medina being called Washington's "Gold Coast".
During the 1940s, many Japanese American farmers in the area had to leave their farms. This was part of the Japanese American internment. Their farms were then used for new buildings.
Keeping Medina Safe
In 2009, Medina installed cameras at the entrances to the city. This was done with a lot of support from the people living there. These cameras record the license plate numbers of cars entering the city.
A special security system checks these numbers. If a car's license plate is in a police database, the system tells the local police. Signs tell drivers that they are entering a "24 Hour Video Surveillance Area." The police chief said that all information collected is kept for 60 days. This helps police if a crime happens later. City leaders felt that preventing crime was very important. This system was inspired by a similar one in nearby Hunts Point. That town had very few break-ins after installing their system.
Medina's Tree Code
Medina has been named a "Tree City USA" since 2006 by the Arbor Day Foundation. This means the city is a leader in protecting its urban trees. Since 1972, Medina has had rules about how important trees are to the community. These "Tree Code" rules have been updated many times over the years.
Big changes were made in 2000, 2003, and 2006. These changes made the tree code one of the strongest in the region. The current rules protect large trees. If a large tree is removed, new trees must be planted to make up for it. The city continues to work on updating these rules to keep Medina green.
Geography and Climate
Medina covers a total area of about 4.79 square miles (12.41 km2). Of this, 1.44 square miles (3.73 km2) is land and 3.35 square miles (8.68 km2) is water.
Medina is connected to Seattle by Washington State Route 520. This road goes over the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge. This bridge is the longest floating bridge in the world.
Medina's Weather
Medina has warm, but not very hot, and dry summers. The average monthly temperature never goes above 71.6 degrees Fahrenheit. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Medina has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate. This type of climate is often called "Csb" on climate maps.
People of Medina
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1960 | 2,285 | — | |
| 1970 | 3,455 | 51.2% | |
| 1980 | 3,220 | −6.8% | |
| 1990 | 2,981 | −7.4% | |
| 2000 | 3,011 | 1.0% | |
| 2010 | 2,969 | −1.4% | |
| 2020 | 2,915 | −1.8% | |
| 2021 (est.) | 2,886 | −2.8% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census 2015 Estimate |
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2010 Census Information
In 2010, there were 2,969 people living in Medina. There were 1,061 households, which are groups of people living together in one home. About 865 of these were families. The city had about 2,061.8 inhabitants per square mile (796.1/km2) people per square mile.
Most of the people in Medina were White (83.5%). About 11.7% were Asian. Other groups made up smaller parts of the population. About 2.6% of the people were Hispanic or Latino.
In Medina, 40% of households had children under 18. Most households (73.1%) were married couples living together. The average household had 2.80 people, and the average family had 3.13 people. The average age in the city was 45.5 years old. About 29% of residents were under 18.
Famous People from Medina
Medina has been home to many well-known people:
- Jeff Bezos, who started Amazon.
- Jeffrey Brotman, who helped start Costco Wholesale Corporation.
- Jeff Cirillo, a former baseball player for MLB.
- Bill Gates, who co-founded Microsoft.
- Melinda French Gates, who co-founded the Gates Foundation.
- Nathan Myhrvold, a former Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft.
- Wayne M. Perry, a former president of McCaw Cellular.
- Mark Pigott, who leads the board of Paccar.
- William Ruckelshaus, a former head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
- MacKenzie Scott, an author and giver of money to good causes.
- Jon Shirley, a former president of Microsoft.
- Jack Sikma, a Hall of Fame basketball player for the Seattle SuperSonics.
- Charles Simonyi, a former Microsoft executive.
- Lenny Wilkens, a former basketball player and coach for the Seattle SuperSonics.
Education in Medina
Public schools in Medina are part of the Bellevue School District. There are schools within Medina and in nearby Bellevue.
Students usually go to Medina Elementary School (Kindergarten to 5th grade), Chinook Middle School, and Bellevue High School.
Medina also has two private schools:
- Bellevue Christian School - Three Points Elementary (for K to 6th grade)
- Saint Thomas School (for pre-Kindergarten to 8th grade)
See also
In Spanish: Medina (Washington) para niños
