Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho | |
|---|---|
 Coeur d'Alene | |
 Location in Kootenai County and the state of Idaho | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Idaho |
| County | Kootenai |
| Founded | 1878 |
| Incorporated | 1887 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Sandi Bloem (D) |
| Area | |
| • City | 13.9 sq mi (35.2 km2) |
| • Land | 13.1 sq mi (34.0 km2) |
| • Water | 0.46 sq mi (1.2 km2) |
| Elevation | 2,188 ft (667 m) |
| Population (2006) | |
| • City | 41,328 |
| • Density | 2,628.9/sq mi (1,058.6/km2) |
| • Metro | 131,507 |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (Pacific) |
| Area code | 208 |
| FIPS code | 16-16750 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0379485 |
| Website | www.coeurdaleneidaho.org |
Coeur d'Alene (Template:PronEng) is the county seat and largest city of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States.Template:GR It is the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census the population of Coeur d'Alene was 34,514 (2006 estimate: 41,328)[1]. The city is located about 30 miles east of Spokane, Washington, which combined with Coeur d'Alene and northern Idaho has population of 590,617.[2]. Coeur d'Alene is also the largest city in the northern Idaho Panhandle.
The city of Coeur d'Alene has grown significantly in recent years due in part to a substantial increase in tourism, encouraged by several resorts in the area. Barbara Walters called the city "a little slice of Heaven" and included it in her list of most fascinating places to visit. Also, Good Morning America recently broadcast the city's Christmas Lighting Ceremony because its display is among the largest in the country. Coeur d'Alene is also located near two major ski resorts in Silver Mountain Resort to the east in Kellogg and Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort to the north in Sandpoint. Coeur d'Alene is located at the northern end of Lake Coeur d'Alene, a 25-mile long lake. Locally, Coeur d'Alene is known as the "Lake City," or simply called by its initials: "CDA".
Geography
Coeur d'Alene is located at 47°41′34″N 116°46′48″W / 47.69278°N 116.78000°WInvalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (47.692845, -116.779910).Template:GR
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.2 km². 34.0 km² of it is land and 1.2 km² of it (3.46%) is water.
Coeur d'Alene sits on the western edge of the Coeur d'Alene National Forest. The city is surrounded by forest, which contains several lakes and campgrounds.
The elevation of the city is 2,180 feet (664 m) above sea level.
Climate
There is an average annual rainfall of 26 inches (660 mm) and an average annual snowfall of 49 inches (127 cm). The frost-free season runs about 120 days from mid-May to mid-September. The mean summer temperature is 82.1 degrees Fahrenheit (27.8 °C), and the mean winter temperature is 31.5 degrees Fahrenheit (–0.3 °C).[3]
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 34,514 people, 13,985 households, and 8,852 families residing in the city. However, the 2006 estimate is that Coeur d'Alene is home to nearly 50,000 residents. The population density was 1,014.9/km². There were 14,929 housing units at an average density of 439.0/km². Coeur d'Alene's racial makeup was 95.80% White, 0.22% African American, 0.77% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.63% from other races, and 1.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.70% of the population.
There were 13,985 households out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 11.7% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,001, and the median income for a family was $39,491. Males had a median income of $31,915 versus $21,092 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,454. About 9.3% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.
History
French Canadian fur traders allegedly named the local Indian tribe the Coeur d'Alene out of respect for their tough trading practices. Translated from French Coeur d'Alene literally means "heart of the awl" which might mean "sharp-hearted" or "shrewd." Another possibility is that it is a corruption of Coeur de Leon, or Lion Heart. Others interpret "Heart of the Awl" to translate to "Eye of the Needle", perhaps referring to the narrow passage through which the lake empties into the Spokane River on its way to the Columbia. The area was extensively explored by David Thompson of the Northwest Company starting in 1807. The Oregon boundary dispute (or Oregon question) arose as a result of competing British and American claims to the Pacific Northwest of North America in the first half of the 19th century. The Oregon Treaty ended disputed joint occupation of the area when Britain ceded all rights to land south of the 49th Parallel in 1846.
When General William Tecumseh Sherman ordered a fort constructed on the lake in the 1870s he gave it the name Fort Coeur d'Alene; hence the name of the city that grew around it. The name of the fort was later changed to Fort Sherman to honor the general.[citation needed]
The Coeur d'Alene district has had a history of miners' disputes. Harry Orchard, who owned a share of the Hercules Mine in the nearby mountains before it began producing, and who later confessed to dynamiting a $250,000 mill near Wardner during a contentious 1899 miners' dispute, would also confess to a secret, brutal and little understood role in the Colorado Labor Wars before returning to Idaho to assassinate former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg.[citation needed]
In the 1890s, the mining in Coeur d'Alene was plagued with strikes. There were two different occasions were the governor called in federal troops.[citation needed]
Transportation
Coeur d'Alene is accessed from Interstate 90 at Exits 11 though 15. The greater Coeur d'Alene area is almost entirely dependent upon private automobiles for transportation. Combined with the city's rapid growth since 1990, relative congestion now occurs on a significant portion of the area highways, notably U.S. 95 between Northwest Blvd. and Hayden, and on several under-developed arterial streets such as Atlas, Ramsey, and Government Way.
Free public bus service is available to area residents. Called Citylink Transit all buses are wheel chair accessible, and can transport up to four bicycles. The buses operating in the urbanized area of Kootenai County leave the Riverstone Transfer Station every eighty minutes, seven days a week, including holidays. Transportation inquiries regarding Citylink Transit may be directed to 1-877-941-7433. The bus system comprises five separate routes.
Urban Route A Serves State Line, Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene.
Urban Route B Serves Post Falls, Hayden and West Coeur d'Alene.
Urban Route C Serves Downtown Coeur d'Alene, Fernan and Hayden.
Rural Route'' Serves the towns of Worley, Plummer, Tensed and DeSmet.
Link Route''' Connects the two transfer stations at Riverstone and Worley.
The closest major airport serving Coeur d'Alene and North Idaho is the Spokane International Airport which is served by nine airlines and is located 40 miles to the west in Spokane, WA. Coeur d'Alene also has Pappy Boyington Field Airport (KCOE) which is a general aviation airport located in Hayden, north of the city near Highway 95.
Trivia
Events & Attractions
- Coeur d'Alene is the home of Ironman Coeur d'Alene, which started in 2003. This Ironman Triathlon is held each year on the fourth Sunday in June and starts at the Coeur d'Alene resort as triathletes start their day with a 2.4 mile swim in Lake Coeur d'Alene, followed by a 112 mile bike, finishing with a 26.2 mile run.[4]
- Annually in June, CdA hosts "Car d' Alene," where all the hot cars and women, both new and old, come out to display themselves for admiration and bragging rights. [5]
- The local college art program had a campaign called "Moose on the Loose," where local artists and college art students painted and decorated a dozen or so life size moose statues with various colors and accessories. After their beautification, they were auctioned off to local businesses as a fundraiser. Their locations range from downtown near Sherman Ave. to Government Way on the CdA/ Hayden boundary. The moose have become both a town landmark and a popular scavenger hunt item.[6]
- Coeur d'Alene has become a destination for golf enthusiasts. The Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course is considered one of the best in the United States. Its 14th hole features the world's only movable floating green.[7]
- Coeur d'Alene is a shortlisted town, for when APEC next meet in the U.S.A
- The North Idaho Centennial Trail passes through Coeur d'Alene.
In Popular Culture
- In the book Walk Two Moons, Coeur d'Alene is a stop on the main character Salamanca Tree Hiddle's trip.
- Coeur d'Alene is one of the spots that Antagonist Morrison, used as a hide out and place to get some ammunition. This was in Tom Clancy's 4th book in the Net Force Series, Breaking Point (ISBN 0-425-17693-2). They hide out in an Aryan Nations compound (now destroyed) in Hayden (mentioned as Coeur d'Alene)
- Coeur d'Alene was mentioned in Sam Bourne's novel: The Righteous Men as a spot that the main character quickly drove past. It is stated that Coeur d' Alene is the home of the Aryan Nations. However, the Aryan Nations' home was in nearby Hayden Lake, not Coeur d'Alene specifically. The compound is no longer in Hayden Lake due to a heated lawsuit and the bankruptcy of the Aryan Nations.
- Coeur d'Alene is the fictional home of Lisa Kimmel Fisher (character played by actress Lily Taylor) from the HBO series Six Feet Under.
- Coeur d'Alene is mentioned in the lyrics "Everything is frozen north of Wichita, I'm standing in this truck stop in Coeur d'Alene" in the Gary Jules song "Wichita."
- Coeur d'Alene is mentioned in the song Wings by Josh Ritter.
- Iris DeMent's song, "Easy's Gettin' Harder Every Day", from her 1994 album, My Life, features a protagonist who laments that she will "never make it to Coeur d'Alene".
- Listed as one of the places to visit in Patricia Schultz's book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.[8]
- The main character of Neil LaBute's play Wrecks is originally from Coeur d'Alene.[9]
Notable People from Coeur d'Alene
- Coeur d'Alene is the home of four of the five members of the punk rock band Scatterbox: Tom and Ryan White, Mark Cogburn, and Scott Rozell, all of which currently reside.
- Coeur d'Alene is the birthplace of Milwaukee Bucks point guard Luke Ridnour.[10]
- World War II flying ace Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington was born in Coeur d'Alene on December 4, 1912 and was a member of the AVG (Flying Tigers) and later the commander of the famous Black Sheep Squadron. [11]
- Coeur d'Alene is the place where Pete and Jordan got their start, they can now be seen on MTV. [citation needed]
- Actor and political activist Jim Halloran was born in Coeur d'Alene. [12]
Sister cities
Coeur d'Alene is twinned with
-
Cranbrook, British Columbia (Canada)
References
- ^ Table 4: Annual Estimates of the Population for Incorporated Places in Idaho, Listed Alphabetically: April 26, 2000 to July 1, 2006 (SUB-EST2006-04-16) Accessed 16 July 2007
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007 (CBSA-EST2007-01)" (CSV). 2007 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. 2007-03-27. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Coeur d'Alene Weather
- ^ http://www.ironmancda.com/
- ^ http://www.coeurdalene.org/calendardetail.asp?event_id=2824&view=&date=6/13/2008
- ^ http://www.cdaid.org/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=122
- ^ http://www.cdaresort.com/resort/
- ^ http://www.43places.com/places/view/640846/lake-coeur-dalene-idaho
- ^ LaBute, Neil. Wrecks and Other Plays. New York: Faber and Faber, 2007. 9.
- ^ http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3717
- ^ http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/ghboying.htm
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1533718/
External links
- Official website of the city of Coeur d'Alene
- Coeur d'Alene Press
- National Weather Service - NWS Spokane Office
Municipalities and communities of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| CDPs | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Indian reservation | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
