Redmond’s modern identity cannot be separated from the technology boom. A pivotal moment came when Microsoft moved its headquarters from Bellevue to Redmond, opening its campus in February 1986. What began as a relatively small set of buildings quickly expanded over time, helping transform Redmond from a suburban city with deep logging-and-farming roots into a global symbol of the software economy. The move also changed the daily geography of the Eastside: commuting patterns intensified, transportation and land-use debates sharpened, and growth accelerated in housing, retail, and public services. This matters because corporate geography becomes civic geography. A single institutional decision can shape infrastructure priorities, tax bases, workforce demographics, and even how a city is perceived internationally. It also raises historical questions that go beyond technology: How do cities manage rapid growth? Who benefits from new jobs and investment, and who gets priced out? What happens to older landscapes and community memory when a region becomes globally branded? Telling the Microsoft–Redmond story as local history keeps the focus on cause-and-effect—not just corporate success.

Timeline
 Jan 1985: Decision to relocate from Bellevue to Redmond (planning begins)
(Wikipedia)
 Feb 26, 1986: Microsoft moves onto the Redmond campus (Source)
 1990s: Campus expansions accelerate; Eastside employment grows (Source)
 2000s: Transportation and interchange projects respond to congestion
(region-wide impacts) (Wikipedia)
 2010s–present: Continued redevelopment and growth of the campus and
surrounding city

References
 Microsoft News, “Microsoft moves to Redmond” (Source)
 MOHAI Collections (Microsoft campus photo/history context) (Mohai)
 (Context) City of Redmond, “Redmond’s History” (Redmond)
 (Method) Robert Fishman, Bourgeois Utopias