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59-732: The Narrows is spanned by the twin Tacoma Narrows Bridges ( State Route 16 ). An earlier bridge collapsed shortly after it opened. In 1841 Charles Wilkes , during the United States Exploring Expedition , named the strait simply Narrows . Its name was formally set as The Narrows by Henry Kellett during the British Admiralty chart reorganization of 1847. 47°17′N 122°32′W  /  47.28°N 122.54°W  / 47.28; -122.54 This Pierce County, Washington state location article

118-859: A branch campus in Steilacoom. University of Washington Tacoma is a branch campus of University of Washington . The Evergreen State College also has a campus in Tacoma. Libraries include the Pierce County Library System , the Tacoma Library System, and the Puyallup Public Library. The Pierce County Library is the fourth largest library system in the state. There are currently 20 branches, including: The Pierce County Library System currently employs 394 people, and serves 579,970 citizens throughout 1,773 square miles. Established in 1944,

177-464: A day. It carried both westbound and eastbound traffic until the eastbound bridge opened on July 15, 2007. During the Hanukkah Eve windstorm of 2006 , the bridge was closed for the first time in its operating existence due to heavy winds but reopened approximately 6 hours later. In 1998, voters in several Washington counties approved an advisory measure to create a second Narrows span. Construction of

236-470: A family was $ 68,462. Males had a median income of $ 50,084 versus $ 38,696 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 27,446. About 8.1% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the poverty line , including 15.0% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over. The area was originally home to the present-day Nisqually, Puyallup, Squaxin, Steilacoom, and Muckleshoot tribes. The majority of Puyallup villages were situated in proximity to

295-448: A household was $ 82,574, but the per capita income was $ 39,036. 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line . As of the 2010 census , there were 795,225 people, 299,918 households, and 202,174 families residing in the county. The population density was 476.3 people per square mile (183.9 people/km ). There were 325,375 housing units at an average density of 194.9 units per square mile (75.3 units/km ). The racial makeup of

354-697: A legal combatant of the Indian War Leschi should not have been held accountable under law for the death of an enemy soldier," thereby exonerating him of any wrongdoing. Pierce County has adopted and is governed by a Charter. This is allowed by section 4 of Article XI of the Washington State Constitution. The Pierce County Executive , currently Bruce Dammeier (R), heads the county's executive branch. The Assessor-Treasurer Mike Lonergan, auditor Julie Anderson, Prosecuting Attorney Mary Robnett, and Sheriff Ed Troyer . The Pierce County Council

413-588: A result, most copies in circulation also show the bridge oscillating approximately 50% faster than real time, due to an assumption during conversion that the film was shot at 24 frames per second rather than the actual 16 fps. In 1998, The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". This footage

472-590: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Tacoma Narrows Bridge The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a pair of twin suspension bridges that span the Tacoma Narrows strait of Puget Sound in Pierce County , Washington . The bridges connect the city of Tacoma with the Kitsap Peninsula and carry State Route 16 (known as Primary State Highway 14 until 1964) over the strait. Historically,

531-500: Is commonly shown to engineering , architecture , and physics students as a means to teach about engineering disaster . The dismantling of the towers and side spans — having survived the collapse of the main span, but being damaged beyond repair — began shortly after the collapse and continued into May 1943. The United States' participation in World War II , as well as engineering and finance issues, delayed plans to replace

590-675: Is elected to serve a four-year term. Beneath the Washington Supreme Court and the Washington Court of Appeals , judicial power rests first in the Pierce County Superior Court, which is divided into 23 departments - each headed by an elected judge, as well as a clerk of the superior court and nine superior court commissioners. Below that is the Pierce County District Court - with eight elected judges,

649-548: Is estimated at $ 29,709,541. The Port of Tacoma is the sixth busiest container port in North America and one of the 25 busiest in the world, playing an important part in the local economy. This deep-water port covers 2,400 acres (9.7 km ) and offers a combination of facilities and services including 34 deepwater berths, two million square feet (190,000 m ) of warehouse and office space, and 131 acres (530,000 m ) of industrial yard. An economic impact study showed that more

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708-464: Is held every September in Puyallup. The Pierce County Sheriff's Department was founded in 1853, shortly after incorporation of the county. Pierce County was noted for gangs, drugs, and criminal activity starting in the mid to late 1980s. Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood had gangs that were selling crack cocaine and gang violence. Increased police patrols and community watch programs led to reduced crime in

767-545: Is located in Pierce County. Rainier is locally called Tahoma or Takhoma, both native names for the mountain. Pierce County also contains the Clearwater Wilderness area. As of the 2020 census , there were 921,130 people, and 339,840 households, and 230,520 families in the county. The population density was 552.2 people per square mile (213.2 people/km ). There were 359,489 housing units. The racial makeup of

826-661: Is the elected legislative body for Pierce County and consists of seven members elected by district. The council is vested with all law-making power granted by its charter and by the State of Washington, sets county policy through the adoption of ordinances and resolutions, approves the annual budget and directs the use of county funds. The seven members of the County Council are elected from each of seven contiguous and equally populated districts, with each councilmember representing approximately 114,000 county residents. Each county councilmember

885-560: The 59th-most populous in the United States. The county seat and largest city is Tacoma . Formed out of Thurston County on December 22, 1852, by the legislature of Oregon Territory , it was named for U.S. President Franklin Pierce . Pierce County is in the Seattle metropolitan area (formally the Seattle -Tacoma- Bellevue , WA, metropolitan statistical area ). Pierce County is home to

944-831: The Cascade Christian Schools group, Life Christian School and Academy, Bellarmine, Annie Wright Schools and Charles Wright Academy. Chief Leschi Schools , affiliated with the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), is in the county. The largest institutions of higher education are University of Puget Sound in Tacoma and Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland. Both are religiously affiliated private universities. Tacoma Community College in Tacoma and Pierce College in Steilacoom are public community colleges . Bates Technical College and Clover Park Technical College are public technical colleges . Central Washington University has

1003-647: The Treaty of Medicine Creek was enacted between the United States and the local tribes occupying the lands of the Salish Sea . The tribes listed on the Treaty of Medicine Creek are Nisqually, Puyallup, Steilacoom, Squawskin (Squaxin Island), S'Homamish, Stehchass, T'Peeksin, Squi-aitl, and Sa-heh-wamish. The treaty was signed on December 26, 1854, by Isaac I. Stevens , governor and superintendent of Indian Affairs of Washington territory at

1062-528: The volcano Mount Rainier , the tallest mountain in the Cascade Range . Its most recent recorded eruption was between 1820 and 1854. There is no imminent risk of eruption, but geologists expect that the volcano will erupt again. If this should happen, parts of Pierce County and the Puyallup Valley would be at risk from lahars , lava , or pyroclastic flows . The Mount Rainier Volcano Lahar Warning System

1121-594: The 28,000 jobs in Pierce County are related to the Port activities. Pierce County is home to Pierce County Airport and Tacoma Narrows Airport , both are general aviation airports. Pierce County's official transportation provider is Pierce Transit . It provides buses , paratransit, and rideshare vehicles. The regional Sound Transit runs the Tacoma Link light rail line through downtown Tacoma , and provides several regional express buses. Sound Transit also runs Sounder,

1180-816: The Kitsap Peninsula and Tacoma. The eastbound bridge has an overall length of 5,400 feet (1,646 m), and a main span of 2,799 feet (853 m), making it the fifth largest suspension bridge in the United States. In comparison, the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco has a total length of 7,782 feet (2,372 m) m or 1.7 miles. WSDOT collects a toll before entering the eastbound span. Tolls currently are $ 4.50 for " Good to Go " account holders with in-vehicle transponders , $ 5.50 for cash/ credit card customers, and $ 6.50 for those who choose Pay-By-Mail. The existing span had been free of tolls since 1965. The new bridge

1239-811: The Tacoma Municipal Court - with three elected judges, and the Pierce County Juvenile Court. Tacoma houses the Pierce County Courthouse . The people of Pierce County voted on November 5, 1918, to create a Port District. The Port of Tacoma is Pierce County's only Port District. It is governed Port of Tacoma Commission - five Port Commissioners, who are elected at-large countywide and serve four-year terms. The Port of Tacoma owns six container terminals , one grain terminal and an auto import terminal; all of which are leased out to foreign and domestic corporations to operate. In addition,

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1298-496: The United States and the 43rd-longest in the world. Tolls were charged on the bridge for the entire four-month service life of the original span, as well as the first 15 years of the 1950 bridge. In 1965, the bridge's construction bonds plus interest were paid off, and the state ceased toll collection on the bridge. Over 40 years later, tolls were reinstated as part of the financing of the twin span, and are at present collected only from vehicles traveling eastbound. The desire for

1357-460: The United States' involvement in World War II , postponed plans to replace the bridge for several years; the new bridge was opened on October 14, 1950. By 1990, population growth and development on the Kitsap Peninsula had caused traffic on the bridge to exceed its design capacity; as a result, in 1998 Washington voters approved a measure to support building a parallel bridge. After a series of protests and court battles, construction began in 2002 and

1416-415: The United States. When built, the westbound bridge was the third longest suspension bridge span in the world . Like other modern suspension bridges, the westbound bridge was built with steel plates that feature sharp entry edges rather than the flat plate sides used in the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge (see the suspension bridge article for an example). The bridge was designed to handle 60,000 vehicles

1475-406: The age of 18 living with them, 49.0% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.6% were non-families, and 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.09. The median age was 35.9 years. The median income for a household in the county was $ 57,869 and the median income for

1534-454: The area that would eventually develop into Tacoma, while Nisqually settlements were primarily located in what is now southern Pierce County. The tribes had two main routes: a northern path traversing Naches Pass and a southern route following the Mashel River, which connected them to Eastern Washington tribes. Trade networks among the region's indigenous peoples were well-established long before

1593-598: The arrival of white settlers. In 1792 British Captain George Vancouver and his party of explorers came via ship to the shores of the region, and named a number of sites in what would become Pierce County, i.e. Mt. Rainier . In 1832 Fort Nisqually was sited by the British Hudson's Bay Company 's chief trader, Archibald McDonald . It was the first permanent European settlement on the Salish Sea. In cooperation with

1652-471: The beginning of the Puget Sound War in 1855 - initiate a search for Chief Leschi in order to arrest him. Chief Leschi was eventually captured and put on trial. The first jury couldn't come to a verdict, so Isaac Stevens had the trial done a second time. This time Leschi was found guilty. Chief Leschi was hanged on February 19, 1858. On December 10, 2004, a historical court convened in Pierce County ruled "as

1711-589: The bridge was recorded on Kodachrome 16 mm film by Barney Elliott and Harbine Monroe, owners of The Camera Shop in Tacoma , and shows Farquharson leaving the bridge after trying to rescue Tubby and making observations in the middle of the bridge. The film was subsequently sold to Paramount Studios , who then duplicated the footage for newsreels in black-and-white and distributed the film worldwide to movie theaters. Castle Films also received distribution rights for 8 mm home video . Elliott and Monroe's original films of

1770-485: The bridge. After the infamous fall of the original bridge, Professor Farquharson was commissioned again to test new designs for the bridge at the University of Washington , the home of these models. Tests ensured the new design would have a different outcome in high wind conditions than the first and construction began on April 12, 1948, following the completion of a financing and insurance plan. A major earthquake struck

1829-469: The collapse of the bridge. The only fatality was a Cocker Spaniel named Tubby, who perished after he was abandoned in a car on the bridge by his owner, Leonard Coatsworth. Professor Frederick Burt Farquharson, an engineer from the University of Washington who had been involved in the design of the bridge, tried to rescue Tubby but was bitten by the terrified dog when he attempted to remove him. The collapse of

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1888-406: The construction and collapse of the bridge were shot on 16 mm Kodachrome color film, but most copies in circulation are in black and white because newsreels of the day copied the film onto 35 mm black-and-white stock . There were also film speed discrepancies between Monroe and Elliot's footage, with Monroe filming his footage in 24 fps while Elliott had filmed his footage at 16 fps. As

1947-612: The construction of a bridge in this location dates back to 1889 with a Northern Pacific Railway proposal for a trestle bridge; however, it was only in the late 1920s that interest in this project was revived. In 1937, the Washington State legislature created the Washington State Toll Bridge Authority and appropriated $ 5,000 to study the request by Tacoma and Pierce County for a bridge over the Narrows. The bridge

2006-513: The construction site on April 13, 1949, but the only damage was to a cable that fell into the water and was recovered; a fire two months later on the west tower damaged equipment and tools but did not cause permanent damage. The 502-foot (153 m) towers were complete in July 1949 and the cables for the new bridge were finished on January 16, 1950. The current westbound bridge was designed and rebuilt with open trusses , stiffening struts and openings in

2065-431: The county was 73.1% White, 8.0% African American, 1.8% Native American, 7.4% Asian, 1.8% Pacific Islander, and 7.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 12.2% of the population. 23.2% of the population was under 18, and 6.1% of people were under 5. 14.4% of people were over 65. The gender ratio was 49.8% female and 50.2% male. The average household size was 2.65 people. The median income for

2124-427: The county was 74.2% white, 6.8% black or African American, 6.0% Asian, 1.4% Native American, 1.3% Pacific islander, 3.5% from other races, and 6.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 9.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 20.5% were German , 13.1% were Irish , 10.7% were English , 6.3% were Norwegian , and 4.2% were American . Of the 299,918 households, 35.3% had children under

2183-421: The event is presented as an example of elementary forced resonance , with the wind providing an external periodic frequency that matched the natural structural frequency; the cause is still debated by engineers today. A contributing factor was its solid sides which did not allow wind to pass through the bridge's deck. Thus, its design allowed the bridge to catch the wind and sway, which ultimately took it down. It

2242-453: The funds allocated to emergency scenarios. On July 15, 2007, the eastbound section opened to a ceremonial 5K run across the newly constructed bridge. About 10,000 people participated in the event. After the run finished, a ceremonial ribbon cutting event took place on eastbound. WSDOT estimated 40,000 people would be in attendance for the opening, but 60,000 ultimately attended. A select few Washington State government officials partook in

2301-562: The interpretation of land use regulations as well as the promotion of local produce. The creation of the Pierce County Farm Advisory Commission will attempt to save the remaining 48,000 acres of Pierce County farmland. Despite the loss of farmland, Pierce County continues to produce about 50% of the United States' rhubarb . The following is a list of the public school districts in Pierce County, including those that overlap with other counties: Private schools include

2360-452: The library system serves all of unincorporated Pierce County, as well as annexed cities and towns of: Bonney Lake, Buckley, DuPont, Eatonville, Edgewood, Fife, Gig Harbor, Lakewood, Milton, Orting, South Prairie, Steilacoom, Sumner, University Place and Wilkeson. There are currently more than 1 million physical materials (books, videos, etc.) in the system, and more than 480,000 online or downloadable media items. Total 2016 general fund revenue

2419-533: The local arts community. ArtsFund, a regional United Arts Fund, has assisted the arts community in Pierce County. In 2012, LeMay-America's Car Museum opened its doors in Tacoma. Additionally, the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum , houses a large collection of original manuscripts and documents. The Pierce County Daffodil Festival and Parade is held annually in April. The Washington State Fair

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2478-620: The local indigenous people, a storehouse for blankets, seeds, and potatoes was built at the mouth of Sequalitchew Creek . In 1839 the Nisqually Methodist Episcopal Mission was established, bringing the first U.S. citizens to settle in the Puget Sound region, near the Sequalitchew Creek canyon. In 1841 the United States Exploring Expedition set up an observatory on the bluff near the creek to survey, map and chart

2537-479: The name "Tacoma Narrows Bridge" has applied to the original bridge , nicknamed "Galloping Gertie", which opened in July 1940 but collapsed possibly because of aeroelastic flutter four months later, as well as to the successor of that bridge , which opened in 1950 and still stands today as the westbound lanes of the present-day two-bridge complex. The original Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened on July 1, 1940. The original bridge received its nickname "Galloping Gertie" for

2596-499: The new bridge opened to carry eastbound traffic on July 16, 2007, while the 1950 bridge was reconfigured to carry westbound traffic. At the time of their construction, both the 1940 and 1950 bridges were the third-longest suspension bridges in the world in terms of main span length, behind the Golden Gate Bridge and George Washington Bridge . The 1950 and 2007 bridges are as of 2017 the fifth-longest suspension bridge spans in

2655-493: The new span, which carries eastbound traffic parallel to the current bridge, began on October 4, 2002, and was completed in July 2007. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) signed a design-and-construction agreement with Bechtel and Kiewit Pacific Co. , who then engaged in a joint venture to construct eastbound. It was estimated by WSDOT that the project would cost $ 849 million to complete, but ultimately finished under budget at $ 786 million due to not using

2714-517: The port owns and operates two breakbulk cargo terminals. Many charter amendments have been on the ballot in the last five years, but sequential numbering does not carry over from year-to-year. Pierce County is split between three U.S. congressional districts: The largest public employer in Pierce County is Joint Base Lewis–McChord , which contributes about 60,000 military and civilian jobs. The largest private employers are MultiCare Health System and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health , which operate

2773-503: The regional commuter railroad through Pierce County that stops in the following places: Sumner , Puyallup , Tacoma , South Tacoma, and Lakewood . Amtrak also travels through the county with a stop in Tacoma . Also, Intercity Transit provides transportation between Lakewood and Thurston County . On December 18, 2017, an Amtrak train derailed in the county, at an overpass over southbound Interstate 5, hitting several vehicles. Thirteen of 14 rail cars derailed, killing three on board

2832-551: The ribbon cutting, such as Washington State Treasurer Michael Murphy, State Representative Pat Lantz, Chief of the Washington State Patrol John Batiste, and State Speaker of the House Frank Chopp . The bridge was dedicated in honor of State Representative Ruth Fisher and State Senator Robert "Bob" Oke, a South Kitsap resident, one of the main proponents of building the second span across Puget Sound between

2891-438: The roadway to let wind through. It opened on October 14, 1950, and is 5,979 feet (1822 m) long—40 feet (12 m) longer than the first bridge. The new bridge cost $ 18 million to construct. Local residents nicknamed the new bridge Sturdy Gertie, as the oscillations that plagued the previous design had been eliminated. This bridge and its new parallel eastbound bridge are currently the fifth-longest suspension bridges in

2950-495: The time. The native tribes were told the treaty would help them by paying them for some of the land. It ended up taking prime farmland and relocating the tribes onto rough reservations. Chief Leschi of the Nisqually tribe protested the treaty. He and his people marched to Olympia to have their voices heard but Isaac Stevens ordered them away. When the natives refused to leave, Isaac Stevens would eventually call martial law and - after

3009-729: The train, and injuring dozens more on board and on the highway. Pierce County is home to a diverse array of arts organizations, including the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts, Grand Cinema, Lakewood Playhouse, Museum of Glass, Northwest Sinfonietta, Speakeasy Arts Cooperative, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma Little Theater, Tacoma Concert Band, Tacoma Musical Playhouse, Tacoma Opera, Symphony Tacoma, Dance Theater Northwest, Washington State History Museum , and others. The city of Tacoma hosts an annual event called "Art at Work" month every November, promoting participation in and support for

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3068-434: The two largest hospitals in the county. Pierce County agriculture has been an instrumental part of the local economy for almost 150 years. However, in the last half-century, much of the county's farmland has been transformed into residential areas. Pierce County has taken aggressive steps to reverse this trend; the county recently created the Pierce County Farm Advisory Commission. This advisory board helps local farmers with

3127-419: The vertical movement of the deck observed by construction workers during windy conditions. While engineers and engineering professor F. B. Farquharson were hired to seek ways to stop the odd movements, months' experiments were unsuccessful. The bridge became known for its pitching deck, and collapsed into Puget Sound the morning of November 7, 1940, under high wind conditions. Engineering issues, as well as

3186-541: The waters of Puget Sound. In 1843 the Second Fort Nisqually was erected. Business became mainly agricultural, and the fort was relocated on a flat-plains area near the banks of Sequalitchew Creek for cattle. The Fort Nisqually property was turned over to American control in 1859. In 1846 the Oregon Treaty established the 49th Parallel as the boundary between British Canada and the United States, which left what

3245-499: Was designed by Leon Moisseiff and cost $ 6.4 million. The first Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened to traffic on July 1, 1940. Its main span collapsed into the Tacoma Narrows four months later on November 7, 1940, at 11:00 a.m. (Pacific time) possibly as a result of aeroelastic flutter caused by a 42 mph (68 km/h) wind. The bridge collapse had lasting effects on science and engineering. In many undergraduate physics texts,

3304-595: Was established in 1998 to assist in the evacuation of the Puyallup River valley in case of eruption. According to the United States Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 1,806 square miles (4,680 km ), of which 1,670 square miles (4,300 km ) is land and 137 square miles (350 km ) (7.6%) is water. The highest natural point in Washington, Mount Rainier , at 14,410 feet (4,390 m),

3363-447: Was the first facility to use the new Good To Go electronic toll collection system. Tolls on the bridge are expected to pay off the loans and deferred sales tax by 2033. Pierce County, Washington Pierce County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington . As of the 2020 census , the population was 921,130, up from 795,225 in 2010, making it the second-most populous county in Washington, behind King County , and

3422-411: Was the first suspension bridge to utilize these solid I-beams as a form of support for the road deck, as other bridges would incorporate trusses in their designs in order to catch the wind. Its failure also boosted research in the field of bridge aerodynamics and aeroelastic fields which have influenced the designs of all the world's great long-span bridges built since 1940. There were no human deaths in

3481-607: Was to become Pierce County on U.S. territory. In response to increasing tensions between Indians and settlers, the United States Army established Fort Steilacoom in 1849 at the site of the traditional home of the Steilacoom Tribe. In 1850, Captain Lafayette Balch sited his land claim next to the fort and founded Port Steilacoom. In 1854 the town of Steilacoom became Washington Territory's first incorporated town. In 1854

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