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is a city in King County, Washington, United States, just south of Seattle. The population was 31,881 in the 2000 census.
European settlement in the Burien area dates to 1870, when Mike Kelly walked up a hill from the Seattle, South Seattle area. When he emerged from the trees he said, "This is truly a sunny dale." Still today, the Burien area is called Sunnydale. He claimed a plot of land and built a house and a farm.
Ten years later, Gottlieb Von Boorian, a German immigrant, arrived in Sunnydale. At this point, the community was only trails and small houses. There were no roads or non-residential buildings. Von Boorian built a cabin on the southeast corner of Lake Burien and also was said to have formed the community into a town bearing his name.
A real estate office was built and soon more people began pouring in to Burien.
In the early 1900s, people of Seattle came by the Mosquito Fleet to Three Tree Point, just west of town to sunbathe and swim.
In 1915, the Burien railroad was completed. It ran on what is today Ambaum Boulevard from Burien to White Center to Seattle. A small passenger train ran the tracks and was affectionately named by the residents, The Toonerville Trolley. However in the summer, squished caterpillars made the track slippery, and in the winter, the tracks iced over. Soon the Toonerville Trolley was more of a nuisance than anything and it was removed.