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With turn-of-the-century origins, Issaquah retains a quaint quality to its downtown. A number of historic homes were moved to Gilman Boulevard some years ago to become a unique shopping district. Located at the foothills of the Cascades, Issaquah is flanked by the mid-sized "Issaquah Alps". This area is laced with parks, hiking trails, small lakes, and sites of historic coal mining communities. Once, I admitted difficulty between identifying Squak Mountain, Cougar Mountain, and Tiger Mountain. Then someone said, "Wouldn't you squawk if you were in between a tiger and a cougar?" Since then, no problem!
At the south end of Lake Sammamish, Issaquah is crossed by many streams and takes a share of its identity from the salmon hatchery in the middle of town. The most ohfishal and fun event is the Salmon Days Fair every October. It's timed to honor and view the salmon which are returning upstream to spawn at the hatchery. The opening event is SalmonChanted Evening. Many local businesses join up to spawnsor this event! There are displays at the hatchery, huge salmon turning red with hooked noses to watch at many footbridges over the streams, an extensive arts and crafts fair, and lots of fun for grownups and kids alike! Issaquah is justifiably proud of its professional Village Theatre, historic railroad museum, Cougar Mountain Zoological Park, several wineries, and the natural beauty surrounding it. There has been tremendous population growth in the last ten years due to new construction, especially on the plateau east of Lake Sammamish. We have seen numbers of new schools, and a great surge of new commercial infrastructure to serve the needs of the rapidly expanding populace. Issaquah residents are ideally situated to work on the Eastside, or commute to Seattle on the I-90 corridor. The hilly terrain affords many properties stunning views of Lake Sammamish and even Mt. Baker far to the north; others with acreage enjoy wildlife wandering through. There are a number of newer condominium projects, and a wide range of values in single family homes, from modest to executive estates. |
