23rd & Union has for many years functioned as the heart of Seattle’s Central District neighborhood. Once serving as a prominent hub of black culture in the PNW, nestled within one of the U.S.’s whitest major cities. Renowned for its rich musical history and deep rooted businesses, the CD was far more than an average neighborhood; it provided a sense of belonging, a sense of ownership that played a crucial role in the early stages of the neighborhood’s pan-African movement.
The ever-existing black presence within 23rd & Union has slowly become the focal point of the black community’s ongoing struggle against gentrification and erasure. The intersection has withstood extreme changes throughout the years, rapid urbanization and displacement to name. Yet, the community at its core remains persistent, a symbol of resilience and a shared value of preservation.
Efforts to preserve the rich culture of the neighborhood consist of numerous community-led organizations such as Wa Na Wari, which utilizes a unique approach at combatting the prevalent displacement in the neighborhood through art and historic preservation.
The Africatown Community Land Trust has assisted in constructing spaces for affordable housing as well as black businesses such as Earl’s Cuts and Styles, or soul-food restaurant Communion.
Several other city-led initiatives such as the Central Area Commercial Revitalization Plan have assisted in conserving key components of hubs in the CD such as 23rd & Union. Design guidelines have been put in place regarding recent developments in the area; ensuring that artwork/design on such buildings are reflective of the community’s rich culture and heritage.
Redlining in the Central District dates back over roughly 130 years. The Black presence in the neighborhood, though historical and renowned, is deeply rooted in discrimination. Black residents of Seattle had very little choice but to inhabit the CD due to restrictive covenants and redlining.
For a significant portion of Seattle’s early history, it remained a tightly segregated city. Such restrictive covenants prevented non-whites from residing in North, West, and particular areas of South Seattle; the consequent “ghetto” existed East of the Industrial District, and North from South Jackson Street. These boundaries left only the Central District and Chinatown International District as neighborhoods available to African and Asian Americans.
Resistance groups combatting housing discrimination soon emerged from the Central District such as Urban League, numerous religious groups, and left-leaning white groups; they advocated for open-housing while simultaneously investing in the neighborhood in effort to grow the Central District into more than a ghetto.
In spite of the oppressive policies that brought Black residents to the CD, the CD became a blessing for the Black community in Seattle. But then, in 1970, the Black population of the CD peaked at 73%, and it has only declined since.
By 1990, only 47% of CD residents were Black. The increased number of white residents in the CD can be attributed to the growth of corporations in Downtown Seattle. The CD’s location relative to Downtown made it a desirable home for the new workforce that had entered Seattle. As workers continued to flock to the CD, the cost of living began to rise exponentially, leaving Black home-owners struggling to keep up with the market. From 2000 to 2013, the home-ownership rate for Black-families across the city shrunk by half. Black families were forced into selling their houses and finding a more affordable place to live. As Seattle grew, the CD’s thriving community began to fade into history. According to a 2018 census, Black residents currently make up only 12% of the Central District, while white residents make up 67%. Many residents commute Downtown for work, spending the majority of their time and money outside of the CD.
Over time, the local businesses that used to populate 23rd & Union have been pushed out of their homes. In their place, larger businesses have moved in. The northwest corner is currently home to the East Union building, a mixed-use building with PCC on the ground floor. Across the road, the southwest corner is a 92-unit mixed-use building, with Tacos Chukis on the ground floor. The southeast corner used to be the MidTown Center, which was home to half a dozen Black-owned businesses. However, due to the rising property taxes, the former owner was forced to sell, leading to the development of the MidTown Square. The MidTown Square is made up of mixed-use buildings and an open courtyard in the middle, containing over 420 units, including 130 designated affordable housing units. While the affordable housing units help to offset the displacement of Black residents, the continued expansion of housing in the CD has only furthered the competitive housing market and gentrification of the neighborhood.
The only corner without residential buildings is the northeast corner, where Uncle Ike’s Pot Shop stands. Owned by Ian Eisenberg, Uncle Ike’s has been a controversial building in the community. Constructed after Med Mix burned down in 2013, the pot shop’s proximity to the local church sparked controversy. Eisenberg owns other property in the CD, and he has continued to rent and develop his land throughout the neighborhood, leading his presence on the historic corner to become a symbol of gentrification to the community.
“The community at large didn’t really know what was being built,” Robert Stephens Jr., a Garfield alumni and long time resident of the CD, said. With older businesses slowly disappearing, newer ones appeared with little time for the community to respond. Stephens attributed this to the lack of a proper system that informed local residents about new businesses and buildings. Despite that, adaptation efforts still occurred in the CD, with projects such as the Midtown Square apartment complex on the 23rd & Union intersection that contained low income units to allow older residents to remain in the area even while the cost of living increased. The efforts to retain the original residents of the CD have not been very successful, as most newly constructed residential buildings don’t provide low income units, meaning many people had to move out of the CD and find places that are less costly to live in. While the increasing cost of living in the CD has driven most of its residents out, the remaining have been working to adapt to the gentrification that is still happening around them. This involves learning “how to accept the new neighbors, [and acknowledging] that they’re here and they’re not going nowhere,” Stephen said.
While communities in the CD struggled to adapt to the rapid gentrification of their neighborhoods, efforts have been made to preserve key cultural components of the CD. Murals outside the Midtown Square are an attempt to remember the CD’s rich and cherished heritage, painted by artists who all have connections to the CD. One of the murals, featuring a variety of prominent figures from both the CD and Seattle, is a 120-foot-long painting that acts as a timeline of the CD’s history. “I was just looking at all the murals and what have you, sitting up there [and] grinning … because those are the people that have made-up this community and stood by this community,” Stephen said. Another key component of the CD’s culture was performing arts, and places like the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute aim to preserve its history and pass it on to the younger generation, acting as a hub for African American performing arts. Similar to the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, the Pratt Fine Arts Center provides community members with access to art classes and resources to foster a sense of community and remembrance for the CD’s rich history in art.
With the struggles that the CD has faced with gentrification and the looming threat of their history fading away, the many efforts at preserving its culture have turned out to be successful. Looking into the future, Stephen believes that, with the continued influx of new businesses, the CD will have greater “mixed cultural elements.” In spite of that, he is hopeful that previous black families, and other black owned businesses will be able to return home to the CD.
