thumb|[[Duwamish River, Tukwila (2007)]]
Tukwila ( ) is a suburban city in King County, Washington, United States, located immediately to the south of Seattle. The population was 21,798 at the 2020 census.
A large commercial center draws workers and consumers to the city daily; industry thrives with the confluence of rivers, freeways, railroads, and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport.
History
The earliest people in Tukwila were the Duwamish, who made their homes along the Black and Duwamish rivers. The name "Tukwila" is the Chinook Jargon word for "nut" or "hazelnut", referring to the hazelnut trees that grew in the area. The Duwamish lived in cedar longhouses, hunted and fished, picked wild berries, and used the river for trade with neighboring peoples.
In 1853, the first white settler was Joseph Foster, a Canadian pioneer who had traveled to the Pacific Northwest from Wisconsin. Foster would become known as the "Father of Tukwila" and represented King County in the Washington Territorial Assembly for 22 years. Today, the site of Foster's home on the banks of the Duwamish River is part of Fort Dent Park, which also served as a military base during the Indian Wars of the 1850s. Foster's name is memorialized in the Foster neighborhood of Tukwila, where Foster High School is located.
In the early years, the small village grew into an agricultural center and remained a trading point in the upper Duwamish River Valley. Population began to grow and industry followed, largely farm-oriented commerce. Early electric trains traveled along Interurban Avenue in Tukwila, connecting to Renton and a line to Tacoma. The Interurban Railroad operated a commuter line from 1902 to 1928, making it possible to travel from Seattle to Tacoma in less than an hour. A post office was established in 1904 at Riverton, uphill from the interurban line and directly west of Foster. Centered around Marginal Way and South 130th Street, it is Tukwila's most historically intact neighborhood. The original Tukwila was also settled in 1904, further south along the interurban line where a station was established. The first macadam paved road in Washington state was in Tukwila and bears the name of this new method of street paving. One of the earliest paved military roads in the state passes through the city.
With the main goal of establishing better fire protection and water service, better access to schools and safer roads, Tukwila was incorporated as a fourth-class city on June 14, 1908, with a population of around 450. The original city limits consisted of a single square mile centered around the local interurban depot; Riverton and Foster would be annexed later. The city's first mayor was Joel Shomaker, a newspaperman who gave Tukwila its name soon after his arrival in 1904. Among the city's first council members was Del Adelphia, a famous magician.
Geography
Tukwila is located in western King County, south of Seattle and between the cities of SeaTac to the west and Renton to the east. It lies along the Green River and Interstate 5, which bisect the city from south to north.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Neighborhoods
Tukwila is divided into several neighborhoods by the city government for planning purposes. The 2015 Comprehensive Land Use Plan identifies them as:
- Allentown
- Cascade View
- Duwamish
- Foster
- Foster Point
- McMicken
- Riverton
- Ryan Hill
- Southcenter (Urban Center)
- Thorndyke
- Tukwila Hill