This high-tech town has deep roots in agriculture

By DEBERA CARLTON HARRELL
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

OK, let's get it straight right from the start. Redmond was here before Microsoft.

Redmond locals -- native and newcomers -- know there is no getting around the global perception that international software giant Microsoft put Redmond on the map.

Even Mayor Rosemarie Ives is constantly asked at national conferences, "Have you met Bill?"

"Not yet," she replies with customary local tact.

But there has always been, and always will be, more to Redmond than its businesses, no matter how famous.

Redmond is the fastest growing city on the Eastside, receiving the lion's share of a regional economic boom. But along with Kirkland, it is also the Eastside's oldest community, with roots stretching back to turn-of-the-century logging and farming days.

Long before Chairman Bill, the town had -- and still has -- cows, chickens, horses, pastures, Marymoor Park, a regional river trail, and a jaw-dropping view of the Cascades.

Recent development, which has uncovered secret underground "booze tunnels" dating back to liquor-smuggling days, has fostered both a burgeoning arts community and a deepening interest in historic preservation. Redmond may be home to techies, but it is also a recreational mecca known as the Bicycle Capital of the Northwest.

Continued:

• Feelings strong for rural identity
• Thriving suburb still feels like a small town