Ruoholahti

Ruoholahti (Swedish: Gräsviken) is a "quarter" in Helsinki, part of the Länsisatama neighbourhood. The name means "Grass Bay" and is pronounced|ˈruoholɑhti. Ruoholahti is located in the southwestern part of the central city area of Helsinki, close to the Lauttasaari island, and it functions as the principal connection between the Helsinki city centre and the city of Espoo to the west. As of 2003 Ruoholahti is inhabited by approx. 3400 people. The "Länsisatama" port is also situated in Ruoholahti.

History

The Ruoholahti area was created in the 1910s by connecting several small islands with earth fill. Its purpose was to accommodate the above mentioned port. In the 1940s there also developed a small industrial district whose most notable buildings were the cable factory of Nokia (which later became a cultural centre when Nokia gave up cable manufacturing and moved on to telecommunications) and the headquarters of the Finnish government-owned alcohol enterprise Alko. In the 1960s the "Länsiväylä" highway was built through Ruoholahti to connect Helsinki to southern Espoo.

The area started changing significantly in 1991 when the construction of a new residential and office area began. The Helsinki Metro was extended to Ruoholahti in 1993. A short canal was built through the area to reinforce the image of a maritime district. Nokia returned to the area in 1999, when a new research centre was opened.

Future

In future years, the area is planned to continue expanding when the coal stockpiles adjacent to the "Salmisaari" coal plant are moved to underground storage, leaving more space for urban construction. Also the moving of the "Länsisatama" shipping container port to Vuosaari gives the opportunity to build more housing and office buildings.

External links

* [http://www.placeopedia.com/?11948 Location of Ruoholahti] on Placeopedia