Tag Archives: central district

Light rail arrives in the Central District at Judkins Park Station

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Starting Saturday, there will be light rail service in the Central District.

Riding the train across the Seattle area including Capitol Hill Station will also take on a whole new dimension.

The milestone marks what will be a full transformation of the network into a two-line system — the original 1 Line serving the city and its north-south neighbors, and now the added 2 Line connecting Seattle to Bellevue and Redmond. It will also start service on the world’s first light rail on a floating bridge.

Saturday, Sound Transit will finally debut cross-lake trains on its new line connecting Seattle to the Eastside via Judkins Park Station. The roughly $3.8 billion “East Link Extension” arrives years late, delayed by construction screw-ups and logistical complications. Buried somewhere in those billions are the millions it cost to complete the stop at Judkins Park, hoped to soon be a launch point for 3,000 riders a day — and a destination for more. Continue reading →

87-year-old woman dies in Central District house fire

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(Image: Seattle Fire)

An 87-year-old woman died in a house fire on 20th Ave in the Central District Thursday night.

Seattle Fire was called to the 700-block 20th Ave home around 5:40 PM to reports of flames and black smoke.

“During the primary search, crews found and rescued an 87-year-old female from inside the burning home,” SFD says in its brief on the fatal blaze. “Crews attempted lifesaving measures on the patient, but unfortunately, she was declared deceased at the scene.” Continue reading →

Next to close: Central District’s Walgreens at 23rd and Jackson

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(Image: Google Maps)

There will be another hole to fill at 23rd and Jackson. The neighborhood’s Walgreens is slated to close in May.

“Our Jackson Street store will close on May 19, 2026. Customers can continue to fill prescriptions at this location until the closing date,” a spokesperson for the Illinois-based pharmacy chain tells CHS.

Walgreens is directing customers to its 4412 Rainier Ave S store for their prescription needs after May 19th. Customers from the Jackson store will “remain eligible for free prescription delivery for 90 days,” the spokesperson said.

CHS has asked why Walgreens isn’t directing customers to its Broadway or 15th Ave E pharmacies which are both about a mile closer than the Rainier location. Continue reading →

The mystery of the missing Central District post office mural has been solved — Now the work is to put it back where people can see it

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The art was tracked down — to a USPS employee’s office

By Brenna Gauchat

For Central District residents who bought stamps or dropped off care packages at the post office on 23rd and Union, Terry Furchgott’s six panels depicting scenes of people sending and receiving mail was a welcoming and familiar sight.

Before this United States Postal Service location was demolished in 2019 to make room for the construction of the Midtown: Public Square mixed-use development, the paintings hung behind the post office’s main counter for more than two decades and were widely considered a warm reflection of the community.

In 2021, CHS reported on the ongoing search to find these paintings after customers quickly noticed the mural’s absence in the new E Union post office when it re-opened on a nearby block.

Seven years after the original post office closed, Furchgott’s work has finally been found and USPS is working with Central District community members to find a new home for the beloved art pieces. Continue reading →

The case for expanding Seattle’s Real Time Crime Center and more cameras on Capitol Hill (plus the one already above 12th Ave)

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A security camera above 12th Ave

As privacy advocates and those concerned about misuse of the technology by law enforcement and federal authorities continue their press, Mayor Katie Wilson is also facing a public campaign from the Seattle Police Department and City Hall advocates for the surveillance for the expansion of the city’s Real Time Crime Center cameras to Capitol Hill and the Central District.

So far, the new mayor seems willing to let the approved deployment play out. SPD says its stats justify the need.

According to a data analysis released by the Seattle Police Department last month, police are “three times more likely” to make an arrest in a case when working with the analysts who staff the Real Time Crime Center with access to a network of police and traffic cameras across the city, and access to important databases and resources that can be used to identify suspects and vehicles — and sometimes track them across Seattle.

SPD says it analyzed 220,000 911 responses over a nine-month period between the launch of the Crime Center and the end of February. “This finding — from SPD’s Performance Analytics & Research group –underscores the department’s commitment to transparency, continuous improvement, and evidence-based policing,” SPD said. Continue reading →

Fund powered by Million Dollar Zombie Flips developer grants $30K for Wa Na Wari house overhaul in the Central District

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(Image: Heaton Dainard Community Fund)

Wa Na Wari, the Central District nonprofit dedicated to Black cultural preservation and community programming, has received a $30,000 grant to home restoration at its historic 24th Ave headquarters.

The donation marks the inaugural project of the Heaton Dainard Community Fund, a newly launched Seattle nonprofit created by local real estate entrepreneurs James Dainard, and Will Heaton.

HDCF was established to preserve generational homeownership and prevent displacement across Seattle. Recognizing that longtime homeowners are often forced to sell when maintenance becomes overwhelming, the fund steps in to cover essential repairs that would otherwise be financially out of reach.

To sustain the fund, Heaton Dainard Real Estate says it is committing to donating 5% of profits from every residential project, including properties featured on Dainard’s A&E reality series, Million Dollar Zombie Flips. Continue reading →

Seattle Parks says failing beams mean ‘8-week’ closure of Medgar Evers Pool will stretch into summer

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(Image: City of Seattle)

The Central District and Capitol Hill area’s only public swimming facility was supposed to reopen earlier this year after a planned eight-week, $1.4 million overhaul but the city’s parks department says additional work needed at Medgar Evers Pool will keep it closed until summer.

Seattle Parks and Recreation announced the extended closure saying that “failing” beams were found in the roof structure of the 56-year-old public pool. That additional work will be a big deal.There’s no budget detailed for the repair. Continue reading →

‘Hope is a discipline’ — Mayor Wilson sets cautious tone in first State of the City address

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Mayor Katie Wilson delivered her first State of the City address Tuesday with a response to recent deadly gun violence in the city, pledges to accelerate the creation of shelter, new promises to do more to aid small businesses, and the launch of her efforts to address affordability in Seattle.

“Hope is a discipline,” Wilson said Tuesday, evoking the words of writer and organizer Mariame Kaba. “It’s something you have to practice. You have to actually put in the energy and time. You have to be clear-eyed, hold fast to a vision, and still make the decision every day to keep moving forward.” Continue reading →

Wilson chooses Central District’s Langston for first ‘State of the City’ address

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Wilson with her “generous consolation prize” for the mayor of Los Angeles after a Seahawk playoff victory on their way to becoming Super Bowl champions (Image: City of Seattle)

Mayor Katie Wilson has chosen a core Central District location for her first “State of the City” address this week.

Wilson will make her speech Tuesday inside the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute at 17th and Yesler in the CD.

Who:

Seattle Mayor Katie B. Wilson

What:

Delivers her first State of the City Address. Local artists will perform prior to the speech.

When:

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

  • 11:00 am: Doors open
  • 11:30 am: Local artists perform
  • 11:50 am: Mayor Katie B. Wilson delivers her address

Where:

Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute
104 17th Ave South

“Seattle Mayor Katie B. Wilson is set to deliver her first State of the City address next Tuesday, laying out her approach to governance and her agenda for the year ahead,” her office announced. “The address will cover a range of issues, including affordability, homelessness, public safety, the Seahawks, and what she’s doing to make Seattle a great place to live, work, and raise a family.” Continue reading →

Temple Pastries continues a sacred devotion to pastry — and now pizza — in the Central District

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The annual James Beard Awards have grown into a process with rounds of nominations and finalists that rival the Oscars or Major League Baseball’s MVP announcements for added layers of pomp. In many years, the lists of Seattle honorees have also been full of the kinds of places you have already heard a lot about or part of the city’s growing contingent of restaurant groups. This year’s list Beard semifinalists for the Pacific Northwest is a little different with a few stories left to tell. We’re lucky to have a couple of those nearby across Capitol Hill and the Central District. CHS had a recent conversation with Ramie as they celebrated their first year on 14th Ave last summer. Over the next weeks, CHS will be talking with the honorees at Cafe Suliman, Temple Pastries, and Surrell to add to their stories.

When Christina Wood discovered pastry-making in her twenties, she found salvation.

“I found pastries, and I was like, Wow, this just clicked for me. This is exactly what I needed to kind of steer me in a direction,” Wood said. “It kind of just became my new religion.”

That spiritual devotion is evident in her S Jackson bakery’s name.

“This is where I go to perform all my daily rituals. It’s what gives my life meaning,” she says. “I have such a reverence for the craft that it just kind of fell into place.”

What sets Temple Pastries apart is Wood’s obsession with lamination, the meticulous folding of butter into dough. Continue reading →