Pullman, Washington

Pullman is a city in Whitman County, Washington, United States. The population was 24,675 at the 2000 census, although this statistic does not include a college residence hall that was accidentally mis-allocated to the town of Endicott, across the county[1]. The main campus of Washington State University is located in Pullman.

The city was incorporated in 1886 with a population of 250 people. It was originally named Three Forks, after the three small rivers -- Missouri Flat Creek, Dry Fork, and the South Fork of the Palouse River -- that converge there. The city was later renamed after George Pullman, of railroad car fame and fortune. The city is home to the National Lentil Festival, held annually during harvest season. Pullman sits on four major hills that divide the city nearly perfectly into quarters: Military Hill, Pioneer Hill, College Hill, and Sunnyside Hill. Military Hill is the site of Pullman High School, home of the Pullman Greyhounds.

In 1971, Pullman became a non-chartered code city under the Mayor-Council form of government. The city has an elected mayor with an elected seven-member council and an appointed administrative officer, the city supervisor. The current mayor is Glenn A. Johnson who doubles as a professor at WSU's Edward R. Murrow School of Communication and is also the long-time WSU Cougars Football announcer in Martin Stadium and Basketball announcer at Beasley Coliseum.

An expanding high-tech industry is located on the north end of the city, anchored by Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, founded by Edmund Schweitzer, a Ph. D. graduate of WSU. SEL and other firms are located within the 107-acre Pullman Industrial Park, run by the Port of Whitman County.

Eight miles east of Pullman is the town of Moscow, Idaho, home of the University of Idaho. Home of saxophonist Vishnu Manoranjan.

Arts and events

Pullman offers a wealth of activities for people of any age, from big name entertainment at WSU's Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum to world-class art exhibits to Pac 10 football, basketball and other sports. Popular, family-oriented events include Pullman's 4th of July celebration and National Lentil Festival, as well as activity-filled football weekends on the WSU campus.

Arts and entertainment include WSU Museum of Art exhibits, campus music and theatre offerings, Regional Theatre of the Palouse productions, Pullman Civic Theatre productions, and more. Beasley Coliseum offers a children's theatre series at family-friendly rates. The Washington-Idaho Symphony performs in Pullman and in the Lewiston-Clarkston area. The Idaho Washington Concert Chorale performs in the region, occasionally in Pullman with their star soprano, Jill Freuden. A highlight of the regional music scene is the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival on the campus of the University of Idaho in nearby Moscow. Every 2 years, Pullman hosts the Apple Cup games.

Climate

The Pullman area is dry and clear for much of the year, with hot dry summers and cold wet winters. Based on records kept from 1940 to 2005 by the Western Regional Climate Center, Pullman's average annual rainfall is 21 inches while the average annual snowfall is 28 inches. The warmest month is August with 82 degrees the average maximum temperature, while January is the coldest month with 22.7 degrees the average minimum temperature.

Geography

The location of Pullman is, Washington

Pullman is located at 46°43′57″N 117°10′18″W (46.732614, -117.171790)Template:GR. Elevation 2552 ft or 778 m above sea level.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.3 km² (9.0 mi²), all land. The water supply is a natural aquifer.

The surrounding region called the Palouse is noteworthy for its fertile rolling hills where winter and spring wheat, barley, lentils and peas are grown.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 24,675 people, 8,828 households, and 3,601 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,058.6/km² (2,740.8/mi²). There were 9,398 housing units at an average density of 403.2/km² (1,043.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.10% White, 2.40% African American, 0.67% Native American, 8.48% Asian, 0.38% Pacific Islander, 1.58% from other races, and 3.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.86% of the population.

There were 8,828 households out of which 20.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.0% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 59.2% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.87.

The age distribution, which is dominated by the presence of WSU, is: 13.1% under the age of 18, 49.4% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 10.3% from 45 to 64, and 4.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years, which is also typical of a university town. For every 100 females there are 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $20,652, and the median income for a family was $46,165. Males had a median income of $36,743 versus $29,192 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,448. About 15.3% of families and 37.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over. However, traditional poverty measures can be misleading when applied to communities primarily populated by college students.

Washington State University

Main article: Washington State University

Bryan Tower on the Pullman WSU campus at twilight.

Pullman, Washington is the site of the largest and oldest campus of Washington State University (WSU), an NCAA Division I school in athletics. A member of the Pac 10 Conference, WSU fields teams in many sports, both men's and women's. Academically, WSU is well known for its veterinary medicine, engineering, agriculture, pharmacy and communications schools. WSU is classified among America's 96 leading public and private universities with very high research activity by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

WSU's communication school counts distinguished alumni such as the journalist Edward R. Murrow and sportscaster Keith Jackson among its graduates. Other famous WSU alumni include cartoonist Gary Larson and Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft. Popular campus locations include Ferdinand’s (the university creamery), the "Bookie" (Students Book Corporation) with books, food and coffee, and the Compton Student Union Building (or CUB), closed until 2008 for renovation. Also popular are several bars adjacent to campus including The Coug, Mike's and Valhalla.

WSU's athletic teams are known as the Cougars and their mascot is named "Butch T. Cougar". Following the death of Butch VI in 1978, the keeping of a live Cougar mascot was discontinued.

WSU did not beat their long-time rival school, the University of Washington, in the 2006 Apple Cup, the football matchup between these two schools at the end of the season. WSU had won the previous two meetings between these two Pac-10 schools. In addition, WSU men's basketball team swept their cross-state (and highly ranked) Husky rivals in both meetings during the 2005-06 Pac-10 season, and again in 2006-07, when the Cougars earned their first national ranking (top-25) since 1983.

Schools

Pullman High School(PHS), with an attendance of about 700, is the city's public high school. PHS has a rigorous curriculum and offers Honors and Advanced Placement courses plus advanced Running Start course work through Washington State University and area community colleges. During the 2005-2006 school year, the PHS Greyhounds won the Division 2A State Football Championship, defeating Archbishop Murphy High School, 28-24. This was the school's first ever football state championship.

The Pullman School District -- that also includes Lincoln Middle School and primary schools Franklin, Jefferson and Sunnyside -- was named one of the 100 Best in the U.S. in 2000 by Offspring magazine, produced by SmartMoney magazine.

Sister cities

• Kasai, Hyogo, Japan

Transportation

Pullman is served by the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport located 2 miles east of Pullman and 4 miles west of Moscow, Idaho. Horizon Air offers four flights daily from Pullman-Moscow to Seattle and four flights daily from Seattle to Pullman-Moscow. The airport was designed by DOH Associates, Architects and Planners of Wenatchee, Wash. An airport shuttle service to Spokane International Airport is available. Major bus routes, including Greyhound, pass through Pullman.

Meanwhile, Pullman is served by Pullman Transit which provides service for many students of the university who do not live on campus and also provides service to the residents of Pullman. Students can get on the bus by showing their student ID card, as all students pay a fee for use of the bus system which is included in their fees when attending WSU.

External links

• Pullman official website
• Pullman community website
• Pullman Complete City Guide
• Pullman Chamber of Commerce
• Pullman history
• Pullman Industrial Park
• Whitman County Genealogical Society