Bellevue

City in eastern Nebraska, 13 km/8 mi south of Omaha, on the Missouri River; population (1990) 31,000. The city grew rapidly from the 1960s to the 1980s because of Offutt Air Force Base, headquarters of the Strategic Air Command (SAC). Major military reductions in the 1990s forced a shift to light industries.

Bellevue is the oldest municipality in Nebraska. It was established as a fur trading post about 1823, became the site of an 1840s American Indian mission, and served as the territorial seat.

Bellevue

Municipal hospital complex in New York City, between First Avenue and the East River, lower Midtown Manhattan. Bellevue has been a pioneer in many areas, including ambulance service, scientific laboratories, and the training of nurses, and is now affiliated with New York University.

The successor to institutions dating to the 1730s, it is regarded as the oldest general hospital in North America. Despite its many achievements, it is often popularly associated with stories of incarceration in its psychiatric wards.

Bellevue

Town in southwestern Pennsylvania, on the Ohio River; population (1990) 9,100. Founded in 1802, it is a residential suburb southwest of Pittsburgh.

Bellevue

City in west-central Washington, 10 km/6 mi east of Seattle, on the eastern shore of Lake Washington; population (1990) 86,900. It has become an important centre for high-tech products such as control systems and electrical and electronic components.

Settled in the 1880s, it has gradually changed from a bedroom community for Seattle to an urban centre in its own right. Bellevue's development was stimulated by the opening of two floating bridges, the Lacey V Murrow (1939) and the Evergreen Point (1963), both crossing Lake Washington from Seattle. Evergreen Point, at 2.3 km/1.4 mi, is the longest such bridge in the world.

Confectionery and prefabricated houses are manufactured here, too, while printing, binding, and engraving also contribute to the economy. Bellevue Community College (1966) is here.