Arlington WA is located in northern Snohomish County, Washington, US. A part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The city lies on the Stillaguamish River in the western foothills of the Cascade Range, adjacent to the city of Marysville. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Everett, the county seat, and 40 miles (64 km) north of Seattle, the region’s largest city. As of the 2010 U.S. census, Arlington has a population of 17,926.
Arts
Public art has been mandated for public construction projects in Arlington since a 2007 ordinance setting 1 percent of the budget for new artworks. The Arlington Arts Council, established in 2004, has acquired 30 sculptures and murals that form the city’s Sculpture Walk in downtown Arlington and along the Centennial Trail.[92][93] The Arlington High School campus has a performing arts venue, the Byrnes Performing Arts Center, which opened in 2007.
Parks and recreation
Arlington has 17 city-maintained parks with over 257 acres (104 ha) of public open space within its city limits and urban growth boundary. Park facilities include nature preserves, neighborhood parks, sports fields, playgrounds, boat launches, and gardens. The Arlington School District also has 59.3 acres (24.0 ha) of sports fields and playgrounds that are open to public use during non-school hours.
Arlington’s largest park is the County Charm Park and Conservation Area, located east of downtown Arlington along the South Fork Stillaguamish River. The 150-acre (61 ha) park was purchased from the Graafstra family in 2010, and is planned to be developed into sports fields, hiking trails, camping areas, and a swimming beach, in addition to a 40-acre (16 ha) riparian habitat. Across the South Fork is Twin Rivers Park, Arlington’s second-largest park, a 50-acre (20 ha) park with sports fields that is owned by Snohomish County but maintained by the city of Arlington. The city’s third-largest park, Bill Quake Memorial Park, consists of soccer and baseball fields on 13 acres (5.3 ha) near Arlington Municipal Airport.
The county government also owns the Portage Creek Wildlife Area, a 157-acre (64 ha) wildlife reserve located outside of city limits near downtown Arlington. The reserve was originally a dairy farm that was restored into wetland habitat in the 1990s and 2000s.
Arlington is at the intersection of two major county trails used by cyclists, pedestrians, and horseback riders: the Centennial Trail, which runs 29 miles (47 km) from Bryant to Snohomish; and the Whitehorse Trail, which will run 27 miles (43 km) east from Arlington to Darrington. Both trails use right of way acquired by Snohomish County after they were abandoned by the Burlington Northern Railroad in the late 20th century. The city of Arlington also maintains a 6-mile (9.7 km) unpaved walking trail around the Arlington Municipal Airport.
Festivals and events
The Arlington Municipal Airport hosts the annual “Arlington Fly-In” air show during the weekend after Independence Day. The Fly-In has operated annually since 1969 and is the third-largest event of its kind in the United States, with over 50,000 visitors and 1,600 planes participating.
The Downtown Arlington Business Association hosts several annual events in downtown Arlington, including a car show in June, a street fair on Olympic Avenue in July, and a Viking festival in October. The Stillaguamish Tribe hosts an annual powwow and festival of the river at River Meadows County Park on the South Fork of the Stillaguamish River.
Media
A two-story building with a painted marquee and vertical sign reading “Olympic Theatre”.
The Olympic Theatre in downtown Arlington, which operated as the city’s lone movie theater from 1939 to 2014.
Arlington has one weekly newspaper, The Arlington Times, which has been published in the Arlington area since 1890. It has been under common ownership with the Marysville Globe since 1964, and both were acquired by Sound Publishing in 2007. The Herald in Everett serves the entire county, including Arlington, and prints daily editions. Arlington is also part of the Seattle–Tacoma media market, and is served by Seattle-based media outlets including The Seattle Times; broadcast television stations KOMO-TV, KING-TV, KIRO-TV, and KCPQ-TV; and various radio stations.
Arlington has been part of the Sno-Isle Libraries system, which operates public libraries in Island and Snohomish counties, since its inception in 1962. A 5,055-square-foot (469.6 m2) library was built near downtown Arlington in 1981 and holds over 54,000 items, but has been in need of replacement or renovation since the 2000s.Sno-Isle identified the Arlington Library as a top priority for renovation and expansion in 2016, while also emphasizing the need for a new library to serve Smokey Point. A pilot library for Smokey Point opened in January 2018, using a leased retail space. Arlington had a single-screen, 381-seat movie theater, the Olympic Theatre in downtown Arlington, that operated from 1939 to 2014.