The Central Area (also called the Central District or the CD) is one of the oldest residential neighborhoods in Seattle. Known historically as Seattle’s Black neighborhood, other ethnic groups also called the Central Area home in the early 20th century. Urban development in the area first accelerated in the 1890s, as Seattle’s population rapidly grew. The first settlers were mostly European American, including a significant Jewish community. Japanese people began moving into the Central Area in the early 20th century as they spread out from Chinatown - International District, and they stayed until being forcibly removed during World War II. Black people also began arriving in the Central Area in the last years of the 19th century and by 1900, the largest concentration of Black homeowners in Seattle was along East Madison Street. Seattle’s overall Black community grew quickly after WWII and became mostly concentrated in the Central Area. This was because racially restrictive housing covenants and discriminatory lending practices (“redlining”) stopped Black people from buying or renting in other neighborhoods. Seattle’s open housing law in 1968 made housing covenants and redlining illegal, but they often persisted in secret and their effects continued for decades. Starting in the 1990s, the Central Area began experiencing gentrification as wealthier white people arrived. Some longtime Black residents were unable to afford to stay in the Central Area and left, mostly moving south to Rainier Valley and Renton. Community groups in the Central Area responded by trying to secure affordable housing in the area. In 2022, the Central Area remains home to many institutions of Seattle’s Black community and is the center of that community.
This image shows a street in the Central Area. It was taken during the visit of a federal commission studying welfare programs. The commission members visited the Holly Park, High Point, and Yesler Terrace housing projects.
Caption information source: “History of the Central Area,” by Thomas Veith, City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, retrieved from https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/Neighborhoods/HistoricPreservation/HistoricResourcesSurvey/context-central-area.pdf Caption information source: “Redlining (1937- )” by Brent Gaspaire, BlackPast, retrieved from https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/redlining-1937/ Caption information source: “City Lacking Real Ghetto, Expert Says,” by Don Carter, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 9, 1969, page 3.
