A house full of stories. The Central District has gone through a lot of changes in recent years, including soaring housing costs, business closings, and big demographic shifts. The displacement of so many longtime residents has left Seattle’s historically black neighborhood less than 20 percent African American.

But one thing that’s remained are the stories. And they have a new home in Wa Na Wari, an art gallery and community gathering space whose name translates to “our home” in the West African language of Kalabari.

Lifelong CD resident Inye Wokoma is operating the space out of a house on 24th Avenue that his family has owned for four generations. Inside, Inye and his collaborators have curated a collection of paintings, illustrations, poetry, sculpture, music, drawings, stories, and films that speak to the experiences of African Americans in the CD and beyond.

One of Wa Na Wari’s permanent exhibits is Shelf Life, an oral history project that we told you about last summer. At Wa Na Wari, visitors can pick up a rotary telephone and listen to the memories and stories of CD residents.

Wokoma, who lives next door, told The Seattle Times that he views the space as a comforting constant for residents of a neighborhood where nothing can be taken for granted.

“It’s like scuba gear, a life-sustaining apparatus, a thing that can keep you alive,” he says.

Find out more about Wa Na Wari, which is free and open to the public, on its website.

In other news…

Mayor Jenny Durkan is blaming this week’s random downtown stabbing on the systemic failures of a “severely underfunded” mental health system. The mother of suspect Christopher Morisette says her son has been stuck in a revolving door of repeated arrests and temporary treatment for at least a decade. “We have to do better,” Durkan said. (KOMO, The Seattle Times)

Some 200,000 robots now work in Amazon fulfillment centers — a number that’s only expected to grow in the coming years. The tech giant announced this week that it will spend $700 million on retraining 100,000 of its employees in skills like software engineering and machine learning. (GeekWire)

Megan Rapinoe, the gift that just keeps on giving. “We have pink hair and purple hair. We have tattoos and dreadlocks,” the slightly tipsy Reign FC star said in her speech during the World Cup victory parade. “We’ve got white girls and black girls and everything in between. We’ve got straight girls and gay girls … HEYYY!” 👏👏 (KUOW)

That T-Rex race at Emerald Downs that we told you about earlier this week is making its rounds on the internet, and we’ve learned one important new update: The track will host a Corgi race on Aug. 4. Mark your calendars. (NPR)

A 4.6 magnitude earthquake hit the Seattle region early this morning, and we’re feeling just a smidge of FOMO over sleeping right through it. Were you shaken from your slumber? Hit reply to let us know. (CBS News)

⌨️ Tonight, we Hack This Freeze! The Evergrey is joining forces with local coding bootcamp, Flatiron School, to bring together coders, community members, and leaders for a hack-a-thon to crack connection in Seattle. (Downtown)

🍸  Crafting Libations is right around the corner in a couple weeks. This month, we are exploring Fernet, a delicious spirit in the Amaro family. Come join Jared and crew to get your cocktail fix this month. (South Lake Union)

Want to unlock big discounts at Evergrey events? Support The Evergrey with a membership.

On a stormy night in the autumn of 1906, the Peter Iredale entered the Graveyard of the Pacific for her final hours. After a month-long voyage, angry western winds steered her off course and onto the beach. After safely liberating the crew, Captain H. Lawrence saluted his grounded vessel, “may God bless you and may your bones bleach in these sands.”

And bleach in the sands she has. For over 100 years, the Peter Iredale shipwreck has remained lodged on Astoria’s beach. Visitors continue to appreciate her, adoring and photographing the beautiful reminder of years past. Check out the full details of how to get there over on our website.

To help get you to the Oregon Coast (or wherever you’re headed this summer), our partner ReachNow is giving you a $15 credit!  Not a member? Use promo code EVERGREYNOW when signing up to waive your one-time fee. Already a member? Enter the code in the promo section of your app for $15 off your next trip!  Download the app here.

PRODUCED BY OUR CREATIVE STUDIO WITH REACHNOW

It was one small step for man, and one giant figurative leap for the Seattle woman who gave birth at the exact moment of the moon landing on July 20, 1969. Fifty years later, The Seattle Times caught up with Neil Armstrong Dial to learn what he thinks about the legacy of his namesake.

The weekend is almost ready for lift off. Have a good one, all. 🚀

— The Evergrey