Tag Archives: central district

Ms. Helen’s Soul Bistro joins Midtown Square development for spring 2023 opening

Posted on by

(Image: Ms. Helen’s Soul Bistro)

In 1970, Helen Coleman opened a diner in the Central District, at E Union and 23rd. While the most recent brick and mortar location, Ms. Helen’s Soul Food, was destroyed by the Nisqually earthquake in 2001, Coleman’s legacy continues.

Ms. Helen’s Soul Bistro will open at the Midtown Square development amid a mix of local businesses and food and drink venues in the spring of 2023 — directly across the street from the original Helen’s Diner location.

“Our location faces the original spot where mom opened her restaurant, and all arrows pointed to this being a have to do kind of thing,” said Jesdarnel Henton, daughter of Helen Coleman.

Patrick Foley of Lake Union Partners, the commercial real estate company that developed the corner, connected with Henton several years back about a new location at another mixed-use project but Henton sat on the idea while looking into other options around the city.

“Finally, mom came to me and said, ‘Look, if we’re going to do this again I would rather have it in the Central area. If we’re not going to be in the Central area, we’re not going to do it’,” said Henton. Continue reading →

Central District Saturday: Arté Noir grand opening, Wa Na Nari’s Walk the Block

Posted on by

Vivian Phillips of Arte Noir (Image: @artenoir)

Saturday will be a day of celebrating and supporting art and community in the Central District with an important and fun fundraiser for one Central Area arts center and a grand opening for another.

The annual Walk the Block event is a benefit for Wa Na Nari that turns the area around the 24th Ave house-turned-cultural space into a festival featuring the work of local, national, and international Black and Indigenous artists that transforms “yards, porches, parks, gardens, & small businesses” into venues for visual art, performance, community stories, dance parties, and art installations.

Walk the Block
Wa Na Nari — 911 24th Ave
Saturday, September 17th 2 PM to 6 PM
We recommend you register in advance for Walk the Block, so you can skip the wait at registration! Just show up,* get your racing bib and map, and hit the streets! Also, food & drink tickets are only available with advance registration. We will not be selling food & drink tickets on the day of the event.

Artists participating in this year’s Walk the Block include: Blumeadows, Alison Bremner, Jasmine Iona Brown, Bryce Detroit, Esther Ervin, Marita Dingus, Rachael F. ,Fysah, Gary Hammon & Carter Yasutake, JusMoni, Lehuauakea, Darrell McKinney, Meron Menghistab, Yeggy Michael, Larry Mizell Jr., Movimiento Afrolatino Seattle, NW Tap Connection, Tracy Rector, Perri Rhoden, Rashaun Rucker, Kenya Shakoor, Moses Sun, Gabrielle Tesfaye, Zachary James Watkins, Tiffany Wilson, Ezra Wube, Yirim Seck, films curated by Berette Macaulay, dance curated by Nia-Amina Minor and more.

Continue reading →

William Grose Center for Cultural Innovation and Enterprise, Africatown’s center for ‘economic empowerment and community-driven development,’ opens in the Central District

Posted on by

(Image: Africatown Community Land Trust)

Named for a Black pioneer credited with shaping today’s Central District, the William Grose Center for Cultural Innovation and Enterprise will begin its work this week as a center for “economic empowerment and community-driven development” providing training, networking, and connections to help launch new businesses and careers in the Central Area, the Africatown Community Land Trust announced.

“Historic Districts are OK, but we don’t want to be museum pieces and plaques in the neighborhood where we once were vibrant,” trust president and CEO K. Wyking Garrett said in the announcement. “This will be a living memorial.”

Built out of the former Fire Station 6 at 23rd and Yesler, Africatown now holds a 99-year lease on the fire station property after its transfer in late 2020 following years of hope and promises including pledges from Mayor Jenny Durkan that summer as Black Lives Matter movement demonstrations grew in Seattle. Continue reading →

Seattle celebrates 50 years of Black excellence in the Central District at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute

Posted on by

(Image: City of Seattle)

(Image: City of Seattle)

By Elizabeth Turnbull

To honor the historic landmark and the people who have shaped it over the decades, city officials and community members will gather in the Central District Saturday to celebrate 50 years of the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute.

“This will be a gathering of folk central to the evolution of Yesler to Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute and the generational wealth and the continuance of Black Brilliance that hasn’t stopped since 1971,” Royal Alley-Barnes, the acting director of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, said in a statement to CHS. “It will be a day of generational joy.”


LHPAI 50TH ANNIVERSARY BLOCK PARTY
September 10, 2022 | 1 – 5PM
Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute
104 17th Ave S
langstonseattle.org/event/anniversary/

Saturday’s event will include music and performances by artists and LHPAI alumni as well as remarks from Central District community members and Mayor Bruce Harrell, and it will also focus on honoring the legacy of those who have contributed in the past and present. Continue reading →

Suspect in Madrona fire spree charged with five counts of arson

Posted on by

Prosecutors say the string of arsons that damaged multiple Madrona homes in the suspect’s 90-minute spree of chaos earlier this month began the day before with a fire set at the West Seattle home where the man’s ex-partner was staying.

Tukwila man Bert Dailing has been charged with five counts of first degree arson for the August 8th fire attacks that caused no serious injuries but left a smoky trail of damage across the neighborhood including significant damage to houses.

Police say Dailing told them after his arrest that the fire spree was drug fueled, saying he had smoked methamphetamines and set out to light fires but did not intend to hurt anyone. Continue reading →

Seattle Girls’ School has new home — with room for the community — in the Central District

Posted on by

(Image: Seattle Girls’ School)

Private education continues to be a growth industry in Central Seattle. A new campus for Seattle Girls’ School has opened in the Central District, replacing the former campus that was located at 2706 S Jackson.

Seattle Girls’ School is an all-girls and gender nonconforming middle school that educates youth in grades 5 through 8. It will enroll around 130 kids this fall when the school year resumes.

A desire to better control its future and its environment has brought the school to a new home on 24th Ave S next to Jimi Hendrix Park.

Brenda Leaks, head of Seattle Girls’ School, said the former campus was a rented space and that they did not own the land it sat on.

“Our prior space was very traditional — a hallway with classrooms on either side,” said Leaks, who said how when students were asked to collaborate on projects, “they would literally be sitting in the hallways on the floor, in the stairwells.”

The 2001-founded school mounted a $9.5 million “Rise Up” capital campaign to raise funds for the purchase and move. It took years of fundraising to hit the goal.

Continue reading →

Suspect arrested after chaotic 90-minute string of arson fires targeting Madrona houses

Posted on by

A string of fire attacks across the Madrona neighborhood area ended with police taking a suspect into custody at the scene of a fourth arson blaze after more than 90 minutes of mayhem stretching between 37th and 31st Ave Monday night.

There were no major injuries reported but some of the damage to homes involved in the melee reportedly suffered significant damage. SPD says five homes were damaged in the string.

Reports of the man walking shirtless with visible burn marks and carrying objects including a propane tank and possible lighter fluid spread after the initial fire reported around 7:30 PM at a $3 million home in the 600 block of 37th Ave. Continue reading →

Suspect arrested at gunpoint in 23rd and Union knife attack

Posted on by

A man suffered stab wounds to his head and the assailant was quickly arrested at gunpoint in a knife attack Sunday night in front of the 23rd and Union PCC.

Police and Seattle Fire were called to the area of 23rd and Union just after 9 PM to the reported stabbing. According to emergency radio updates, the victim was found with a knife wound to the back of the head and taken to the hospital in stable condition.

Police located the reported attacker in a nearby alley and took him into custody in a nearby alley shortly after the attack. According to radio updates, the suspect was identified by witnesses who saw him fleeing the attack.

 

$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE

Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month -- or choose your level of support 🖤 

 
 

Police investigate 23rd and Jackson shooting

Posted on by

(Image: SDOT)

Seattle Police were collecting evidence and there was a report of one person suffering a minor shrapnel injury in a round of gunfire Thursday at 23rd and Jackson.

Gunfire and a possible shooting victim were first reported around 5:15 PM. Arriving officers found evidence from the gunfire at the intersection and on the northwest side of Jackson but no victim. According to East Precinct radio updates, a woman who suffered minor injuries had reportedly left the scene in the vehicle following the gunfire and police were attempting to locate her. Continue reading →

Police investigating after 27th/Spring shooting, crash along E Madison — UPDATE

Posted on by

Police say one person was shot in the leg in an exchange of gunfire Thursday afternoon near 27th and Spring.

911 callers reported the 27th Ave gunfire around 3:30 PM followed by reports of a person with a gunshot wound in a crash along E Madison. Witness reports said people from the collision and the reported victim were seen fleeing in a vehicle from the crash scene, according to East Precinct radio updates.

UPDATE: Quite an update from SPD who reports the victim later attempted to escape the hospital “in the nude to avoid being arrested for a felony warrant.”

Continue reading →