Everett

Situated at the mouth of the Snohomish River on Possession Sound, the Everett waterfront is home to Naval Station Everett and the Port of Everett (est. 1918). The Port of Everett includes both a deep-water commercial seaport and a marina with over 2,000 slips, which it claims to be the largest on the west coast of the United States. Ambitious redevelopment began in 2006 to convert the north end of the waterfront into a community of maritime businesses, retail shops and condominiums, beginning with the Port of Everett’s Port Gardner Wharf. In 2006, the seaport received 119 ships and 59 barges, totaling some 192,000 short tons of cargo.

The waterfront is also home to the Everett Yacht Club, which was founded in 1907, although it existed in some form as early as 1895. During summer months, the marina is home to the Everett Farmer’s Market (Sundays) and the Waterfront Concert Series (Thursday nights), part of a citywide free concert series which, in 2006, attracted over 26,000 visitors. Each September, Tenth Street Park on the waterfront is home to the annual Everett Coho Derby, while each August the marina promenade is gowned in local art during the Fresh Paint Festival of Artists.

Parks and Gardens

Everett is home to 40 parks. The biggest parks are Walter E. Hall Park at 137 acres, Forest Park at 111 acres, Langus Riverfront Park at 96 acres, Kasch Park at 60 acres, Howarth Park at 28 acres, and Thornton A. Sullivan Park at 27 acres. Walter E. Hall Park, near the Boeing plant, sports a golf course and a skate park; Forest Park, a swimming pool, hockey, horseshoes, miles of trails and an animal farm; Langus Park, a boat launch; Kasch Park, four softball fields; Howarth Park, a sandy beach on Puget Sound; and Thornton A. Sullivan Park hosts a sandy swimming beach on Silver Lake as well as public docks for fishing.

Forest Park is the oldest public park in Everett. As its name suggests, the park is heavily wooded. It is home to miles of trails, a playground, and a popular public swimming pool.

Jetty Island

Jetty Island is a man-made island and park located in the Puget Sound, just off the Everett, Washington waterfront. The island is two miles long and half a mile wide, approximately 1,800 acres. The island has no plumbing, electricity or structures. During the summer months, a ferry becomes operational, allowing transportation to and from the island. A floating restroom also becomes operational off the island’s shore. Jetty Island’s unique features provide excellent habitat for birds and juvenile salmon. The island is home to more than 45 bird species including osprey, shorebirds, hawks, eagles, cormorants and ducks. Visitors may see seals surfacing or lounging near the water’s edge, or even witness gray whales swimming past during spring migration.

Nishiyama Garden

Nishiyama Garden is a traditional Japanese garden located at the Nippon Business Institute at Everett Community College. It features Sukiya-style wooden gates, gravel paths, stones, trees, a small stream and a portion of the famous Kintai Bridge from Iwakuni, Japan, one of Everett’s sister cities.

Evergreen Arboretum and Gardens

Evergreen Arboretum and Gardens 2.4 acres is an arboretum and park located at the south end of Legion Park, at the intersection of Alverson and Marine View Drive. Gardens include sculpture and vistas of Puget Sound, as well as:

Conifer garden – includes Chamaecyparis lawsoniana, Chamaecyparis nootkatensis, Pfitzeriana Aurea, Picea glauca, and Strobus ‘Nana’.
Dahlia garden – a variety of dahlias.
Japanese Maple grove – 17 varieties of maples, with ferns and hydrangeas.
Perennial border – includes artichoke (Cynara scolymus), Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra), giant hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis), dwarf waterlily (Nymphaea), and New Zealand flax (Phormium cookianum).
Small Urban Tree Walk
White border – flowers and foliage in white, silver, and blue.
Woodland garden – grotto with Knadhill and Exbury azaleas, lace-cap hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla), and Pieris japonica.

Neighborhoods

The city of Everett maintains an Office of Neighborhoods which facilitate communication between the city and the 19 established neighborhood associations. Each of the officially recognized neighborhood associations operate independently to better their established geographic areas within the city. The neighborhoods are:

Bayside – comprising much of the central business district, the waterfront, and the surrounding residential areas.
Boulevard Bluffs – primarily residential area of the city bordering Mukilteo.
Cascade View – residential area in South Everett, north of Everett Mall
Delta – primarily residential area north of downtown Everett
Evergreen – primarily residential area in South Everett.
Glacier View – older residential area south of downtown.
Harborview-Seahurst-Glenhaven – older residential areas south of downtown.
Holly – a mix of residential, commercial, and industrial areas on the southern edge of the city.
Lowell – formerly an independent town, Lowell is a primarily residential area southeast of downtown.
Northwest – older residential areas northwest of downtown.
Pinehurst-Beverly Park – mix of residential and commercial developments in South Everett.
Port Gardner – residential neighborhoods south of downtown.
Riverside – areas just northeast of downtown.
Silver Lake – residential and commercial areas surrounding Silver Lake in the extreme southeastern part of the city.
South Forest Park – residential neighborhood near downtown.
Twin Creeks – the area surrounding Everett Mall, a mix of residential and commercial areas.
Valley View-Sylvan Crest-Larimer Ridge – residential areas in southeast Everett.
View Ridge-Madison – residential areas west and southwest of Forest Park.
Westmont – primarily multi-family housing in the southwestern part of the city.

Economy

Everett’s early economy was tied to the lumber trade. The city’s 2006 labor workforce comprised more than 80,000, predominantly employed in technology, aerospace, and service-based industries.

Airplane manufacturer Boeing has a significant presence in Everett, including a large manufacturing plant that is the world’s largest building by volume. Toymaker Funko is also headquartered in Everett.