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| The location of the city in Pierce County. |
University Place received its name in the 1800s when the University of Puget Sound, a private liberal-arts college in North Tacoma, purchased land along the primary north-south route of Grandview Drive. The school sought to build a private Methodist college, but ended up selling the land back to the city for $11,000 (U.S. Dollars). University Place remained an unincorporated part of Pierce County until the City of University Place was formed on August 31, 1995.
Today, University Place is largely suburban in character and functions as a mixed business and residential area with waterfront on the Puget Sound. The town is home to Curtis Senior and Junior High School, Narrows View Intermediate School, Drum Intermediate School, University Place Primary School, Sunset Primary School, Evergreen Primary School, Chambers Primary School, and the Charles Wright Academy.
Chambers Bay golf course recently opened to favorable reviews. A Scottish links-style course, Chambers Bay hosted the 2010 U.S. Amateur and will host the 2015 U.S. Open.
University Place is located at 47°13'10"N 122°32'30"W. According to the USCB (United States Census Bureau), the city has a total area of 8.5 square miles, of which 8.4 square miles is land and 0.1 square miles is water. In 2009, the recorded population was estimated at 30,685 and had a density of 3,569 people per square mile. Its time zone is PST* (Pacific Standard Time), which means that if it is 12:00 in Greenwich, then in is 4:00 in University Place.
*PST = GMT-08:00
