This walk is estimated to be about a 75-minute undertaking but there's so much to see and do in the CD that it very well could take you much longer. Whether you zip through it or take your time, you'll have plenty of opportunity to get acquainted with the deep history in this thriving part of town.
Begin at the anchor point for the Black Panther Community Headquarters found at 34th and E Union Street. Established in 1968, this was an important part of life in the Central District. Community was centralized here, as the Panthers offered free services such as breakfast for children, medical clinics and rides to prisons so families could visit loved ones, among other services.
Just a half block south of the Black Panther Community Headquarters is the site of The Facts newspaper. Established in 1961, this paper continues online to this day. It is widely read in the Seattle and Tacoma area, covering local news and culture.
Turn north on 34th and cross Union. Just past the intersection, to your right (towards Lake Washington) is the site of Black Arts/West, Seattle's first Black theatre. Now closed, unfortunately the theatre established itself as a core part of the community, getting young people interested in theatre, dance, and art gallery and operating as an anti-poverty agency intended to help people understand the value of the arts in their lives.
Walk west on E Union (crossing 34th Street). About halfway down the block on the left is Madrona Market. This was Joe’s Food Center from the 1950s to the 1990s, a core part of the community that provided specialty grocery like lard, seasonings and treats no other groceries in Seattle carried. The owners, Lloyd and May Lee were generous to the neighborhood, offering credit if people couldn't pay up front.
It's time for a longer walk. Continue west on E Union for 10 blocks to just before the intersection of 23rd and E Union. This is the former site of Liberty Bank and Snack Bar. The bank was the first Black-owned bank west of the Mississippi and was opened in 1968 response to the redlining that was alienating communities of color in Seattle. The Snack Bar was operated by a Filipino-American family. The site of both is now a retail and residential space managed by Community Housing and known as the Liberty Bank Building, retaining some of the history of the space by providing subsidized housing to residents of the CD.
Two blocks south on 24th is the site of Wa Na Wari, a community art project located in a fifth generation Black-owned home. Four artists founded Wa Na Wari in 2019 seeking to reclaim Black cultural space and highlight the importance of Black land ownership in gentrifying neighborhoods.
Head towards 23rd and back north. This next site is the Africatown Midtown Center, a community and cultural center created in order to cultivate community land ownership and incubate business. This whole area of 23rd and Union offers lively First Friday nights and is home to several art galleries and Black-owned businesses that are thriving now.
Continue west on Union for 6 blocks to 18th Avenue, then turn right (north) and continue for a block to E Pike. Walk past a dog park and downhill a couple blocks to Temple De Hirsch Sinai. Jewish people faced discrimination in the early days of Seattle and this temple provided a gathering place where the community could advocate for their rights to housing, among other things.
Take in the temple's unusual structure, then head towards Madison (just a block north) and turn left. You're walking diagonally southwest for just a block to the former site of Seattle's first Black-operated radio station at the intersection of Madison, Pike and 14th Avenue. Now a residential building, this site housed Seattle soul station KYAC beginning in 1965. It was started by a White man, but Don Dudley eventually took over the station and became the first African American to own a radio station in Seattle.
Turn uphill and walk up and over Madison Avenue to your next stop. To stick with the redlining border, you'll turn right onto 18th, left onto Pine, and then right onto 20th to get back to Madison. This will take you around the Mount Zion Baptist Church, home to Washington's largest African American congregation. The church has a deep history of advocacy; it was a key player pushing for housing rights in the early 60s under the leadership of Reverend Samuel Berry McKinney (for whom 19th Avenue also has a historic name).
Continue down Madison to the Central Area Chamber of Commerce, across from the Safeway. The location was founded by De Charlene Williams to promote business growth and culture in the Central District. She ran it until her death in 2018.
Walk down 22nd past the Safeway, then cross down to 23rd and walk through a parking lot to see the Meredith Mathews YMCA, your next stop on this walk. Initially catering primarily to WWI servicemen, the new YMCA building was designed by Black architect Leon Bridges and built in 1965. The building was named for the director between 1957 and 1965. Across the street from the Y is Homer Harris Park, a sweet little greenspace with great views of the Cascade Mountains. Harris was an athlete and physician in the early days of Seattle, opening a dermatology practice in 1955 and receiving an award in 1989 from the Black Heritage Society for his work.
Your last stop is the James and Janie Washington Cultural Center, a modest home on 26th avenue between E Howell and E Denny that was the home of James and Janie Washington, who bequeathed their home to the city as a gathering place for arts and culture. Find events to attend here.
Walk back to where you started by heading south on 26th Avenue to E Union, then turning left and continuing to 34th Avenue.
Trailhead
