About District 7
Washington state’s 7th Congressional District is entirely in King County and is dominated by the City of Seattle, but also includes Vashon Island, and parts of Shoreline, Tukwila, SeaTac and Burien.
Map of Washington State Congressional Districts
When most visitors come to Washington’s 7th District, they are struck by its natural beauty. The defining characteristic is its water, surrounded on the east by Lake Washington, bisected in the center by the Montlake Cut, Lake Union and the Lake Washington Ship Canal, and on the west by Puget Sound. This abundance of water makes water sports very popular, with more boats and watercraft per capita than any other U.S. City.
Enhancing its beauty are large urban parks including Discovery Park on the western side of the district, Magnuson Park and Seward Park on the eastern side, and Woodland Park Zoo in the center. In addition, the district’s beauty is accented by the rural nature of Vashon Island, a short ferry ride from West Seattle. A short drive leads to skiing, snowboarding, rafting, hiking, and some of the most scenic natural areas in the world, including Mt. Rainier National Park, Mt. St. Helens Volcanic Monument, North Cascades National Park, and Olympic National Park and Rainforest.
The 7th District is very diverse, a place where you can pick up a serving of lutefisk, witness a pow wow or attend a Japanese tea ceremony. Equidistant from Tokyo and London, it is truly a cultural melting pot, particularly shaped by the Pacific Rim and its large Asian American Pacific Islander population. While the Chinatown/International District historically includes Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Southeast Asians, Pacific Islanders and others, the API population extends throughout the region. Similarly, the African American populations’ historical roots are in the Central District and Rainier Valley, while today, the entire 7th District is a diverse mecca of people, ages, languages and lifestyles.
Part of the 7th District’s charm includes its flourishing arts and cultural scene, with nationally respected opera, ballet, art galleries, museums, festivals and theater. In fact, Seattle boasts more theatres than any other comparably sized US city, and the number of total performances ranks second only to New York. Seattle is one of only six American cities with resident major symphony, opera and ballet companies.
Three major universities have made the area its home, including the University of Washington, with more than 36,000 students, Seattle University, with nearly 6,000- students and Seattle Pacific University, with 3,500 students. In addition, a number of community colleges boast more than 25,000 students, and the Art Institute of Seattle and Cornish College of the Arts help enhance the local cultural scene.
Architecturally, the 7th District’s symbol is the 607-foot Space Needle, built in 1962 for the Seattle World’s fair. Today, new projects including the Frank Gehry designed Experience Music Project, the Marion Oliver McCaw Hall (ballet and opera performances), Benaroya Hall (symphony) and Seattle’s new Central Library, designed by Dutch designer Rem Koolhaas has truly put the region on the map in the architecture world.
Seattle’s waterfront location on Puget Sound has led to a robust maritime heritage, starting with the Klondike Gold Rush that established Seattle as a major Pacific Port in the 1890s. Today, Washington’s ports handle 5% of all US exports and receive a 6% share of all US imports. Fisherman’s Terminal is a working commercial fishing port, while the Port of Seattle is the closest mainland US port to the far east. Other large industries based in the 7th District include Boeing Commercial Aircraft Division, Washington Mutual (banking), Safeco (insurance), Nordstrom (Clothing), Amazon.com (online retailer), Alaska Air Group (airline) and Starbucks (coffee company).
The area also has a vibrant professional sporting community, including the 2004 world champion Seattle Storm (WNBA), the Seattle SuperSonics (NBA), Seahawks (NFL), Mariners (MLB). In addition, local colleges including the University of Washington, Seattle University and Seattle Pacific University all field competitive teams in a multitude of sports.
District Links
City of Burien
City of SeaTac
City of Seattle
City of Shoreline
City of Tukwila
King County
Take a virtual tour of Seattle
Washington State Tourism
Washington State History
Senate Links
Senator Maria Cantwell
Senator Patty Murray
Revision date: August 27, 2007
