Chester Dorsey plays with his parrot Jett at his auto-detailing shop on Madison Street. Dorsey's business serves well-heeled customers of all backgrounds.

Ann Raynor and Ken Zeman, front, enjoy a seafood lunch at the Catfish Corner, which has a racially diverse clientele.

Mr. T (Tyrone Bolds) sits in the doorway of his barbershop at 23rd and Jackson. The burgeoning area's new businesses mean more customers.

Dominique Hebert, left, and Michael Mosley, both age 7, play a game of "Simon says" at the back of the new Starbucks coffee shop.

A large mural on Martin Luther King Jr. Way pays tribute to the slain civil rights leader.

Project manager Joseph Curl works at the site of a new retail development at 23rd Avenue South and South Jackson Street.

Charles McDade, 54, smiles in front of his home in the neighborhood where he is considered a community activist. Workers from the Central Area Better Homes program painted McDade's house this summer as a thank you for his efforts in the area.

Dottie Wainwright is an energetic participant in a line-dancing program at the Central Area Senior Center.

Emily Miller practices with the Garfield High School symphonic orchestra, recognized at the school for excellence.

A hallway at Garfield provides one student with a quiet place to study.

Don Skogseth has worked at Welch Hardware for 15 years. The store has been a fixture in the Central Area for 50 years.

The Rev. Dr. Robert Jeffrey says the New Hope Baptist congregation has shown its resolve in rebuilding the church after a 1994 fire.

Violinist Laura Dunn-Mark rehearses with the Garfield High School symphonic orchestra.

A whimsical art installation called "Family Trees" reflects the importance of family in the Central Area.

Aino Katos and teacher Louis Wilcox join in singing during a guitar class at the Central Area Senior Center.

An academic wheel-of-fortune draws a child's attention at the Central Area Youth Association, where an after-school study program attracts neighborhood kids.