Editing Renton, Washington (section)

==History==
Long a cultural center for the [[Duwamish people|Duwamish]], [[Europe]]an settlers arrived in the area of present-day Renton as early as 1853. First among them were Henry Tobin and his wife Diana. The town of Renton was accessed via the [[Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad]], the first railroad to be built to [[Seattle]], and was in the vicinity of several [[coal mines]] that attracted entrepreneurs like [[Erasmus M. Smithers]], who is credited with the founding and establishment of the town in 1875.<ref name="HistoryLink">{{cite news |last=Stein |first=Alan J. |date=January 14, 1999 |title=Renton – Thumbnail History |url=http://www.historylink.org/File/688 |work=[[HistoryLink]] |access-date=May 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180515112538/http://www.historylink.org/File/688 |archive-date=May 15, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Smithers named Renton in honor of Captain William Renton, a local lumber and shipping merchant who invested heavily in the coal trade.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rochester |first=Junius |date=December 2, 1998 |title=Renton, Captain William (1818–1891) |url=http://www.historylink.org/File/1053 |work=HistoryLink |access-date=May 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180515112559/http://www.historylink.org/File/1053 |archive-date=May 15, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Smithers discovered coal there and brought in Charles D. Shattuck as the coal mine operator.

Renton was incorporated as a city on September 6, 1901,<ref name="HistoryLink"/> when coal mining and timber processing were the most important economic industries in the area. The town was prone to flooding from the [[Cedar River (Washington)|Cedar River]] and [[Black River (Duwamish River)|Black River]]. In 1916 the completion of the Lake Washington Ship Canal lowered the surface of Lake Washington by several feet which consequently eliminated drainage of Lake Washington through the Black River (in favor of the Ship Canal). The Cedar River was then diverted to drain into Lake Washington instead of into the Black River. As a result, the Black River largely disappeared, leaving only a few remnants.<ref name="Waterway">{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=David B. |last2=Ott |first2=Jennifer |title=Waterway: The Story of Seattle's Locks and Ship Canal |date=2017 |publisher=HistoryLink.org |location=Seattle |isbn=978-1-933245-43-0 |pages=121–123 |edition=First }}</ref> The culmination of these actions reduced the threat of annual flooding.<ref>{{cite web| title=Black River disappears in July 1916| url=http://www.historylink.org/File/686| access-date=February 9, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210120953/http://www.historylink.org/File/686| archive-date=February 10, 2018| url-status=live}}</ref>

The population sharply increased during [[World War II]] when [[Boeing]] built their [[Boeing Renton Factory|Renton Factory]] to produce the [[B-29 Superfortress]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Boeing in Renton |url=http://www.boeing.com/company/about-bca/renton-production-facility.page |website=Boeing |access-date=July 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401031832/http://www.boeing.com/company/about-bca/renton-production-facility.page |archive-date=April 1, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Renton grew from a population of 4,488 in 1940 to 16,039 in 1950.

The game company [[Wizards of the Coast]] also is headquartered in Renton. Providence Health System has centralized its administrative offices in Renton, along with [[Group Health Cooperative]].

Owing to its location at the confluence of three major [[freeway]]s ([[Interstate 5 (Washington)|I-5]], [[Interstate 405 (Washington)|I-405]], and [[Washington State Route 167|SR 167]]), Renton's economic development team has lured a number of specialty retailers that draw consumers from around the region, including [[IKEA]].<ref>{{cite web|title=IKEA to build a new, 2 story store at current location in Renton|url=http://rentonwa.gov/news/default.aspx?id=39103|website=rentonwa.gov|publisher=City of Renton|access-date=October 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016185751/http://rentonwa.gov/news/default.aspx?id=39103|archive-date=October 16, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some retail establishments were unwanted though, and the city successfully defended zoning restrictions on pornographic theaters before the U.S. Supreme Court in ''[[Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc.]]''<ref name="Playtime">{{cite web |last1=Boba |first1=Eleanor |title=U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of City of Renton in Playtime Theatres case on February 25, 1986. |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/20667 |website=HistoryLink.com |access-date=July 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723180924/https://www.historylink.org/File/20667 |archive-date=July 23, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Renton Public Library]] was built directly over the Cedar River and opened in 1966. It stretches {{convert|80|ft|m}} across the river, next to Liberty Park, and was the main branch of the city's independent library system until its 2010 annexation into the King County Library system.

===21st-century redevelopment===
[[File:Renton Southpork Skyline.jpg|thumb|left|Renton skyline along Lake Washington, featuring the Southport development]]
The city government has encouraged redevelopment of industrial areas around Downtown Renton and near Southcenter since the 1980s. The first [[IKEA]] in the [[Pacific Northwest]] opened in Renton in 1994 at a former Boeing building;<ref>{{cite news |last=Soto Ouchi |first=Monica |date=October 17, 2006 |title=Culture key to assembling success at Ikea in Renton |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/culture-key-to-assembling-success-at-ikea-in-renton/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=November 3, 2023}}</ref> the original building was replaced by a new store on the same site in 2017.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tu |first=Janet I. |date=January 25, 2017 |title=Ikea's new store in Renton will open next month |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/retail/ikeas-new-store-in-renton-will-open-next-month/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=November 3, 2023}}</ref> The former [[Longacres (racetrack)|Longacres]] horse-racing track was redeveloped in the 1990s to support offices for Boeing and the [[Federal Reserve Bank]], which moved from its Seattle building.<ref>{{cite news|title=Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Opens Its New Seattle Branch Building in Renton|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2008/04/07/idUS210767+07-Apr-2008+BW20080407#QbEBaQtYMDhaG4Ys.97|work=Reuters|date=April 7, 2008|access-date=July 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124101152/http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/04/07/idUS210767+07-Apr-2008+BW20080407#QbEBaQtYMDhaG4Ys.97|archive-date=November 24, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Port Quendall, a land parcel in north Renton, is home to the Virginia Mason Athletic Center (VMAC), housing the [[Seattle Seahawks]] Headquarters and training facility that opened in August 2008; before then, the Seahawks trained in [[Kirkland, Washington|Kirkland]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.virginiamason.org/body.cfm?id=158&action=detail&ref=115|title=Virginia Mason Medical Center|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016185752/https://www.virginiamason.org/body.cfm?id=158&action=detail&ref=115|archive-date=October 16, 2015}}</ref>

In the mid-1990s, Renton undertook a major redevelopment effort to revitalize its downtown core, which had declined in commercial prominence since the opening of the [[Westfield Southcenter|Southcenter Mall]] in [[Tukwila, Washington|Tukwila]] in 1968. The many car dealerships that had previously occupied the center of downtown Renton were encouraged through economic incentives to relocate to a newly created auto sales zone close to the I-405/SR-167 interchange.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rentonwa.gov/city_hall/community_services/museum/city_history/1990_to_2000|title=City of Renton History: 1990 to 2000|website=City of Renton|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724000933/https://rentonwa.gov/city_hall/community_services/museum/city_history/1990_to_2000|archive-date=July 24, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=July 24, 2019}}</ref> In place of the old dealerships downtown, a new transit center and parking garage were built in partnership with [[King County Metro]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rentonwa.gov/city_hall/community_services/museum/city_history/2000_to_present|title=City of Renton History: 2000 to present|website=City of Renton|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724000932/https://rentonwa.gov/city_hall/community_services/museum/city_history/2000_to_present|archive-date=July 24, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=July 24, 2019}}</ref> The transit center is surrounded by several multi-family residential buildings and a small [[town square]] named Piazza Park, which hosts a weekly [[farmers' market]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Piazza Park |url=https://www.rentonwa.gov/city_hall/community_services/parks_and_trails/find_a_park_or_trail/piazza_park |website=City of Renton |access-date=July 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723233841/https://www.rentonwa.gov/city_hall/community_services/parks_and_trails/find_a_park_or_trail/piazza_park |archive-date=July 23, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Renton Transit Center.jpg|thumbnail|right|Renton Transit Center]]

Centered on former Boeing Co. property near the south shore of Lake Washington is a {{convert|68|acre|m2|adj=on}} residential and commercial development named The Landing.<ref>{{cite web|title=South Lake Washington|url=http://rentonwa.gov/business/default.aspx?id=2814|website=rentonwa.gov|publisher=City of Renton|access-date=September 8, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080310235038/http://rentonwa.gov/business/default.aspx?id=2814|archive-date=March 10, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> To the north of the Landing, a hotel and office development on the lakefront called Southport has been developed at the site of the former Shuffleton power plant, which was demolished in 2001. A 347-room hotel operated under the [[Hyatt|Hyatt Regency]] brand opened in June 2017.<ref name="djc">{{Cite web|url=https://www.djc.com/news/re/12111159.html|title=On the Block: Southport is a game-changer for Renton, with Class A offices and plans to expand|last=Miller|first=Brian|website=Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320200852/https://www.djc.com/news/re/12111159.html|archive-date=March 20, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=July 23, 2019}}</ref>

In 2017, [[Bosa Development]] announced plans to build five residential towers between 16 and 23 stories at Quendall Terminals, a [[Superfund]] site in Renton on the shore of Lake Washington. The proposal was never formally approved by the city government, which had permitted six-story buildings on the site, and was dropped in 2024.<ref>{{cite news |last=Stiles |first=Marc |date=March 21, 2024 |title=Source: Bosa won't pursue five-tower campus plan in Renton after all |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2024/03/21/source-says-bosa-wont-pursue-renton-tower-project.html |work=[[Puget Sound Business Journal]] |url-access=subscription |accessdate=March 22, 2024}}</ref>