Articles / Ellensburg, Washington

Ellensburg has maintained its historic downtown district, built up at a time when the city was in competition to become the state capital. Its annual rodeo, the largest in Washington, has run since 1923 and the city remains strongly connected with cattle ranching.

Blessed with sunlight 300 days out of the year, Ellensburg is well suited to solar power, though hydroelectric production is its main source. In 2006, the city built a community-supported solar garden that supplies 102,000 kilowatt hours annually (for a full description of the solar site, see "Cities of the Future: Ellensburg, Washington").