Lakewood is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 63,612 at the 2020 census. It is the second-largest city in the county, behind Tacoma, and is a suburban bedroom community. Lakewood is adjacent to the McChord AFB portion of Joint Base Lewis–McChord, a major military installation for the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force.
History
Lakewood was officially incorporated as a city on February 28, 1996, on the same day as Edgewood. It immediately became the second largest city in Pierce County and among the largest in the state. Three previous attempts to incorporate as a city had been rejected by voters in 1971, 1990, and 1994 before it was approved by a 20-point margin on March 14, 1995, within a smaller area. Historical names include Tacoma/Lakewood Center and Lakes District (this name was used by the U.S. Census in the 1970 and 1980 Census). Lakewood is home to the Clover Park School District, the Lakewood Water District, Fort Steilacoom Park and Western State Hospital, a regional state psychiatric hospital. Thornewood Castle was built in the vicinity of Tacoma in the area that is now Lakewood.
A small community near Arlington in Snohomish County with the name Lakewood had used the name for their post office since 1909, which led to confusion between the two areas. The United States Postal Service suggested that the new city be renamed due to frequent mixups in mail delivery that required the two post offices to forward deliveries with a one-day delay. The Snohomish County post office was renamed to North Lakewood in 1998 by the Postal Service due to the other community's unincorporated status.
In 1997, the Seafirst Bank robbery happened in Lakewood.
On November 29, 2009, four Lakewood Police Department officers were shot and killed at a coffee shop in Parkland by ex-convict Maurice Clemmons. All four officers had served with the department since its inception in 2004 and died at the scene; two baristas and several customers in the shop were not injured. Clemmons was shot and killed by a Seattle police officer two days later. The shooting is believed to be the most deadly attack on law enforcement in the state of Washington, and among the deadliest attacks on law enforcement in the United States.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water.
There are several lakes within the city limits. The largest is American Lake, at with an average depth of , followed by Lake Steilacoom, Gravelly Lake, Lake Louise, and Waughop Lake. A number of small creeks flow through Lakewood, some of which drain into nearby Puget Sound. The largest of these, Chambers Creek, flows from Lake Steilacoom to Chambers Bay between nearby University Place and Steilacoom.