Best Web Design in Renton, WA (2026)

Web Design for Renton, Washington

Renton sits at the southeast tip of Lake Washington, a former coal-and-brick town that reinvented itself as the place where nearly every Boeing 737 in the sky is bolted together. It is also the final resting place of hometown guitar legend Jimi Hendrix, whose granite memorial draws more than 14,000 fans a year. Today it blends heavy manufacturing with tech and gaming, headquartered by Wizards of the Coast and the Seattle Seahawks.

AppWT works with Renton, WA businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Renton

Also known as. Jet Capital of the World. Brick Capital of the World. Town of Payrolls. Birthplace of Modern Commercial Aviation.

History. European settlers arrived as early as 1853; Erasmus M. Smithers founded the town in 1875, naming it for Captain William Renton, a lumber and shipping merchant who invested in the local coal trade. The area was originally a cultural center for the Duwamish people before settlement. Incorporated as a city on September 6, 1901, when coal mining, clay/brick production, and timber processing were the dominant industries. In 1916 the Lake Washington Ship Canal lowered the lake's surface, ending the flooding threat from the Cedar and Black Rivers. Population exploded during World War II when Boeing built the Renton plant to produce the B-29 Superfortress, growing the city from 4,488 residents in 1940 to 16,039 by 1950. In 1994 the first IKEA in the Pacific Northwest opened in a former Boeing building.

Local economy. Boeing's Renton Factory is the final-assembly point for the 737 family and the city's largest employer (roughly 12,900 workers as of 2023). Healthcare is a major sector, anchored by Valley Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, and Providence. PACCAR builds Kenworth trucks in Renton; the plant made 1,500 Sherman tanks during WWII and was once the only railcar maker on the West Coast. Wizards of the Coast (maker of Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons) is headquartered in Renton with about 1,000 employees. Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin maintains a significant presence in the city. The Renton School District is one of the largest local employers.

Culture and community. Rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix, a Seattle native, is buried at Greenwood Memorial Park in Renton, where a domed granite memorial draws over 14,000 visitors annually. The Seattle Seahawks are headquartered and train in Renton at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center (opened 2008) on the shore of Lake Washington. NBA players Jamal Crawford, Zach LaVine, and Brandon Roy hail from Renton, as does Alice in Chains drummer Sean Kinney. Former U.S. Secretary of the Interior and REI CEO Sally Jewell is a Renton figure. Renton River Days is the city's signature summer community festival. The city's growing diversity is reflected in its food scene, with a large Asian population (26% by 2020).

What makes Renton distinct. The Renton Public Library is one of very few libraries in the U.S. built to straddle a flowing river (the Cedar River runs directly beneath it). As of 2001, roughly 40% of all commercial aircraft in the air had been assembled in Renton. BNSF Railway runs street-running track down Houser Way downtown, and completed Boeing 737 fuselages are shipped in by rail. The 1986 U.S. Supreme Court case Renton v. Playtime Theatres upheld the city's zoning limits on adult theaters, making the small city part of First Amendment case law. Jimi Hendrix's remains were secretly relocated to a new family grave on November 26, 2002, the day before what would have been his 60th birthday.

Renton Landmarks and Local Life

• Boeing Renton Factory - where the 737 is assembled
• Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park - a 57-acre park on Lake Washington with a swimming beach, 900-foot pier, and boat launch
• Renton Public Library - famously built directly over the Cedar River, spanning about 80 feet across the water
• Greenwood Memorial Park and the Jimi Hendrix memorial
• The Landing - a 68-acre lakefront retail development
• Southport - a hotel and office complex on Lake Washington