Bellevue tourist information
Bellevue is a very special place. Our visitors share a unique bond with us. The folks who visit here come to play in our waters, savor our quiet beauty, walk in our parks, and appreciate our small town charm and friendliness.
To some people, "vacation" means hours of driving in heavy traffic, big city hassles, outrageous prices, and constant hustle and bustle.
If a real vacation is what you're looking for, Bellevue is for you. If not, please help us keep our special secret.
It's not by chance that new development and historic landmarks can co-exist in such proximity in Bellevue. In this river town of 7,000, new development and old-fashioned charm are the name of the game.
“That was the game plan we adopted very early in this administration,” said four-term Mayor Tom Wiethorn. “We knew we wanted to grow, but we couldn't injure any historic aspect of Bellevue.”
Over the past 12 years, an estimated $9 million has been invested in both public and private funds in Bellevue's historic district, according to the mayor. While encouraging renovation of historic houses through various programs and state grants, city officials also kept a close eye on new development and how the new structures would fit with the old.
Bellevue, the state's oldest, was incorporated in 1855. While its population of almost 50,000 may not equal the crowd at a Cornhusker game, it is enough to place the City third in the state, behind Omaha and Lincoln.
Bellevue shares its northern border with Omaha and its southern edge with Offutt Air Force Base, home of U.S. Stratcom, a joint command staffed by members from all branches of the military.
The City of Bellevue began as a fur post established by the Missouri Fur Company in 1822 to serve as a central trading point with local Omaha, Otoe, and Pawnee tribes. It received its name from early trappers who were impressed with the beauty of the view overlooking the Missouri River. Ideally situated on the Missouri River with access to the Platte valley, it became a hub for transfer of manufactured goods from the East and furs from the West. From the 1830s until the 1850s, Bellevue prospered. With the decline of the fur trade, Bellevue changed during the decade of the 1850s. With the opening of eastern Nebraska to settlement in 1854, Bellevue experienced a building boom, with the erection of the First Presbyterian Church (pictured), a bank, a hotel, and dozens of private homes.
The boom was short-lived, however. The expansion had been built on the premise that the city was to be selected as the territorial capital. As the oldest and most widely known settlement in the territory, it seemed a logical choice. In fact, the territorial governor , Francis Burt, had already moved into a residence in Bellevue. Shortly after he arrived, the new governor died. His replacement, T.B. Cuming, selected a new upstart community as the territorial capital -Omaha.
The second half of the century witnessed Bellevue's slip into relative obscurity. While Omaha grew from a few hundred in population in 1855 to 104,000 in 1890, Bellevue's numbers continued to slide until the city was near extinction. In 1876, the county seat was transferred to Papillion, 10 miles to the west. In the 1880s, Bellevue College was established. In the 1890s, an offer of inexpensive land brought Fort Crook to the Bellevue area. Both organizations provided an insurance against extinction. It would be the fort, however, that would cause the biggest impetus to Bellevue's population in the future.
From the 1880s to 1940, Bellevue's population grew only minimally, from around 500 to not more than 1200 in 1940. The small growth was primarily due to the improved transportation access to Omaha, which allowed for easier commuting.
It was Fort Crook, later named Offutt Air Force Base, that spurred Bellevue's largest growth. When Offutt became home to the huge Martin bomber plant during World War II and then , shortly after the war, housed the headquarters of the Strategic Air Command, thousands of workers, both civilian and military, made Bellevue their home. Bellevue's population grew from less than 1200 in 1940, to almost 4000 in 1950 and then almost 9000 ten years later. A decade later, Bellevue's population again more than doubled, to over 20,000.
Today, Bellevue's growth is primarily due to an expanding economy in the civilian sector. With the opening of the Kennedy Freeway, a limited access highway linked to the interstate system, a new building boom is in progress. Commercial, industrial, and residential construction are all expanding. Bellevue has finally fulfilled the promise that its founders saw nearly two centuries ago.
Hon. C.H. Gallup, of Norwalk, President of the Firelands Historical Society, delivered an address entitled "One Hundred Years of Bellevue and Origins of Names," before the pupils of the high school and a large number of citizens Monday afternoon. Superintendent Warner presided and introduced the speaker, who was given a cordial reception. On account of strong local interest the address is given in full and is as follows.
The Pilgrims were English "Separatists" who sailed from Delf shaven (in the Netherlands) in the Mayflower and founded Plymouth Colony, New England, Nov. 11, 1620. In 1630 they were followed by others of like faith and hopes, among whom was John Winthrop, bearing a royal commission as Governor of Massachusetts Colony. April 23, 1662, John Winthrop and eighteen associates received from Charles II of England the munificent grant of "All that part of our dominions in New England in America - - - from Narragansett Bay in the East to the South Sea on the West, with the islands thereto adjoining." The same year "The Solemn League and Covenant" for religious reforms and liberties in England, Scotland and Ireland were renounced and by order of King Charles declared illegal.
In 1685 Louis XlV of France revoked the "Edict of Nantes" the charter of Huguenot liberties. Those reactionary measures placed the brightest intellects of Europe at the mercy of bigotry and intolerance and drove the independent, brainy men of many faiths and nationalities to this new world to find and establish civil and religious liberty. The descendants of the composite race thus begotten, formed the finest body of creative statesmen since the days of "Moses the Lawgiver" and gave this country the proud title of "The Beacon Light of Liberty."
In 1779, George III, in an effort to check and destroy this new spirit of liberty which was challenging the "Divine Rights of Kings to Rule" sent Governor Tryon and Benedict Arnold with an army into Connecticut that destroyed Greenwich, Fairfield, Danbury, Ridgefield, Norwalk, New Haven, East Haven, New London and Groton by fire.
September 13, 1786, Connecticut ceded to the United States for the benefit of herself and the twelve other states, all of the King Charles grant lying West of a line parallel to, and one hundred and twenty miles west from the west line of Pennsylvania (West boundaries of Huron and Erie Counties). The one hundred and twenty mile strip was reserved from that concession of Connecticut and has ever since been known as "The Western Reserve."
In 1792, the state of Connecticut, to reimburse those of her citizens who suffered loss by the Tryon-Benedict raid,dedicated five hundred thousand acres of land lying next to the west line of "The Western Reserve" (Huron and Erie Counties, or Huron County as first organized). This grant to the fire sufferers is known as "the Firelands."
Disputes arose between the grantors and the United States relating to the ownership of the land. May 30, 1800, the United States ceded the land titles to the fire sufferers and the representatives of the ‘‘Reserve" transferred the political jurisdiction to the general government. The Indian title was extinguished by treaty July 4, 1805, on payment of $18,916.67.
Bellevue PA
The Borough of Bellevue is a Home Rule Charter Community situated along the Ohio River north of the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County Pennsylvania. Bellevue has 9,000 residents in one square mile with a busy business district. Bellevue Borough was established in 1867 and named by a French linguist for it's "beautiful view".
Bellevue is located three miles east of Seattle, between Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish, and about ten miles west of the foothills of the Cascade Mountains.
The city’s resident population of 117,000 and daily workforce of about 121,000 make it Washington’s fifth-largest city. Bellevue is a prosperous, increasingly diverse city that has evolved from a “bedroom community” into the economic and cultural hub of the Seattle-area’s Eastside. The city has developed its downtown core into a major business and retail center while maintaining the safe, comfortable family neighborhoods for which it has long been popular.
Bellevue has a thriving business community anchored by high-tech firms, quality retail businesses, banking, services and corporate headquarters offices. The city's resident population is 117,000, while its workforce is estimated at about 121,000.
The City of Bellevue recognizes that a strong business community is essential to the city's quality of life. In the past 20 years, Bellevue has transformed itself from a bedroom community to major regional business and retail center, but thriving business activity also helps to support high quality parks, transportation, public safety and other services in the quiet suburban neighborhoods for which Bellevue has long been popular.
Bellevue started as a pastoral market hub for blueberry fields and farms. Founded in 1869 by William Meydenbauer, the rural community did not change much until the first floating bridge crossed Lake Washington in 1940. In the past two decades the city has grown to skyscraper heights and shed its "suburban" status to become a thriving metropolis and a "Technology Corridor" that is home to many of the world’s leading high tech companies.
Bellevue is the metropolitan hub for leading high tech companies encompassing such sectors as software development, internet and network services, multi and digital media, and biotech. Its prestigious high-rise core provides office space for thousands of professionals. Microsoft Corporation and the University of Washington, one of the nation’s largest public research institutions, are within close proximity.
A diversified mix of industries exists within Bellevue with retail and service sectors being the largest. Department stores, automobile dealerships, and electronic/computer stores lead the retail sector. The service sector has a high concentration of real estate companies, engineering firms, financial institutions, accounting firms, and computer software companies.
Bellevue is a major trading center which is well linked to established transportation corridors. Two busy interstate highways converge at Bellevue: I-90 links the city to the east-west interstate system and I-405 connects Bellevue with the north-south interstate system. Its convention center attracts over a quarter of a million people to the city each year. The Port of Seattle, the second largest container port in the United States, is less than 20 minutes by interstate highway from downtown Bellevue. The city is also less than one-half hour from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and several commuter airfields which provide links to other cities in the Pacific Northwest as well as internationally.
Bellevue residents value information technology and are among the nation’s most "connected" citizens. Based on a survey conducted in early 2001, more than 85 percent of homes in Bellevue have a computer, well above the national average, and about 82 percent have accessed the Internet. People use the Internet for a variety of daily activities including access to the City of Bellevue’s web page. Nearly 40 percent of Bellevue residents are aware of the city’s Internet site and about 50 percent of these residents used it last year.
by City of Bellevue Washington
Bellevue aerial map
Please click on any icon on the Bellevue aerial tourist map, to find close by places, offering hotels and tourist information. You can zoom in and zoom out our touristical map as well as switch between satelite and map view of Bellevue.
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