White Center

White Center is an unincorporated area of King County, just south of West Seattle and north of Burien. The area embraces its nickname of 'Rat City', making it a part of its punk-rock mixed-ethnicity identity.

Understand

The Rozella building in White Center

A common bumper sticker in the area simply states 'White Center, not really white, not really centered'.

The main business area is located along Delridge Way SW and Roxbury St. It's just south of West Seattle and to the west up the hill from South Park.

Get in

State Route 509 (SR-509) runs along the east edge of the area, from Seattle to Burien and Des Moines. Take the exit towards Myers Way/White Center.

Get around

Although White Center covers a broad area, the central business area is very walkable once you find parking.

• King County Metro, ☏ +1 206-553-3000. Operates bus, streetcar, and monorail routes in King County. Communities within the county served by this operator's routes include Auburn, Bellevue, Bothell, Burien, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kent, Kirkland, Mercer Island, North Bend, Redmond, Renton, SeaTac, Seattle, Shoreline, Tukwila, Vashon Island, White Center, and Woodinville. (updated Jun 2023)

Southgate Roller Rink

Do

• 1 Southgate Roller Rink, 9646 17th Ave SW (between Roxbury St & 98th St), ☏ +1 206 707-6949. Tu,Th 1PM-3:30PM and 8:30PM-11PM, F 6PM-8PM, Sa 1PM-4:30PM and 7:30PM-12:30AM. Old school roller skating rink and the proud birthplace of the Rat City Rollergirls. $6-7. 

Buy

White Center has a nice mix of ethnic restaurants and shops, and is great place to find unusual ingredients and tasty treats from different regions.

• 1 Hung Long Asian Market, 9988 15th Ave SW, ☏ +1 206 403-1626. 8AM-9PM daily. Great Asian market with a crazy variety of foods. 

Eat

• 1 Proletariat Pizza, 9622-A 16th Ave SW, ☏ +1 206 432-9765. M-Th 11AM-9PM, F 11AM-10PM, Sa 4PM-10PM, Su 4PM-9PM. Popular slightly hipster but family friendly pizza joint with a creative and delicious menu. 
• 2 Salvadorean Bakery and Restaurant, 1719 SW Roxbury St (between 17th Ave & 18th Ave), ☏ +1 206 762-4064. M-Sa 7AM-9PM, Su 7AM-8PM. People come from all over the region for tasty Salvadorean meals and pastries. 
• 3 Taco Time, 10055 16th Ave SW, ☏ +1 206 763-1782. 10AM-10PM daily. Taco Time is a large and popular regional chain for Tex-Mex fast food. This Taco Time happens to be the very first one started by Frank Tonkin, Sr. in 1962. 

White Center and surrounding neighborhoods have the greatest concentration of Mexican cuisine in the Seattle area.

Sleep

There are no hotels in White Center, but SeaTac Airport and downtown Seattle are nearby.

Go next

• The Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal is nearby, with access to Vashon Island and the Kitsap Peninsula.
• The Georgetown neighborhood is just down the hill to the east along Roxbury St.

Routes through White Center

END ← Seattle ←

N  S

→ Burien → Tacoma