Burien and South Seattle
The South of Seattle
Burien is ideally located only 11 miles south of downtown Seattle and 4 miles west of SeaTac Airport. On a Sunday, the drive downtown is less than 15 minutes. On a Friday at rush hour it’s more like 45. Seatac Airport is 5 minutes away on any day.
Forever under the shadow of its giant neighbor to the north, Burien is finally beginning to attract attention and to experience significant development. Recently, more than 500 residential units were constructed around the plaza just a block from the main street through town. Several new restaurants have sprung up offering a selection of cuisine
The city has more than doubled in size since its incorporation in 1993. This growth was helped greatly by the annexation of nearby unincorporated King County neighborhoods.
Burien grew into a functional community under the guidance of its namesake, Gottlieb Burian, a successful Seattle German business man who owned two taverns downtown and a large house on Capitol Hill. After a few early settlers moved on, Mr. Burian built a cabin on the shores of Lake Burien in 1884 as an escape from the stresses of big city life. Not long after, others followed his trail and a thriving community was born.
Today, Burien has a diverse population. Nearly 25% of Burien residents are Hispanic and 10% are Asian. The local school district reports that more than 50 languages are spoken in the homes of its students.
Burien Features & Highlights
- Burien boasts six miles of Puget Sound shoreline – all with no railroad tracks – and
- 26 parks, the largest of which is Seahurst Park with 178 acres on the Sound.
- The city has spectacular sea and mountain views and easy access to the water, Seattle, the airport, and the freeway system. Interstate 405 terminates in Burien and State Route 509 intersects the town north to south.
- Because the city is a number of miles due west of SeaTac, it is not under the flight path and has no noticeable fight noise.
- Costs of homes are significantly lower than those in Seattle, although those along the water often exceed $1,000,000.
Burien in Numbers
- Population 50,187 people
- Median age 37.5 years
- Median household income $54,546
- Poverty rate 17.4%
Source : Census Bureau, 2016 yr. – www.Datausa.io
Other major cities at the South of Seattle include Seatac and Tukwila.
Seatac
The City of Seatac, just east of Burien, surrounds SeaTac Airport. It was incorporated in 1990.
There are seven parks in the city, including the 10 acre Angle Lake Park and the 165 acre North Seatac Park. It’s also home to the Historic Military Road built in 1860, which crosses the east side of the city and connected Fort Steilacoom with Fort Bellingham. Don’t miss the beautiful Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden along this route, which is no longer a military road, but still a very scenic drive.
Tukwila
To the east of SeaTac is the the City of Tukwila. Named after the indigenous word for hazelnut, Tukwila’s first non native resident was a Canadian, Joseph Foster, who built a cabin on the banks of the Duwamish River. During the 1850s Indian Wars, the military built Fort Dent on the same site as the Foster cabin. The city incorporated in 1908.
Tukwila is home to Westfield South Center Mall. Opening originally in 1968, the mall now has 1.7 million square feet of retail space and 218 stores. It is the largest shopping mall in the region.
