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Attraction >Landmark
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Description and Basic Information ::
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 Managed by the National Park Service, the King historic site is one of Atlanta's top visitor destinations, drawing an average of 500,000 visitors a year. Located just east of downtown Atlanta, the park is anchored by three sites directly associated with Dr. King: the home where he was born, Ebenezer Baptist Church where he preached, and the site where he is buried. The park contains many of the homes and institutions that were a part of Dr. King's early and adult years. The park also has a Preservation District that includes the surrounding Sweet Auburn community where many of the residents of Dr. King's neighborhood made their living. All attractions are free.
The Park Service Visitor Center is the best place to begin your visit. Park Rangers will answer questions and orient you to the neighborhood. The visitor center has films and exhibits on Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement and a bookstore. Dedicated just before the opening of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, the visitor center complex also includes free parking, a promenade and the Memorial Peace Plaza containing an amphitheater and landscaped gardens.
Some of the other buildings and attractions at the MLK site include: The Birth Home at 501 Auburn Ave. is where Dr. King was born Jan. 15,1929, and where he lived until the age of 12. The house has been restored and furnished to look as it did when Dr. King was a young boy. Guided tours of the Birth Home are available several times daily. Ask a Park Ranger how to sign up for a tour.
Historic Residences along the Birth Home Block are significant in their own right, and exhibit panels on the sidewalk tell the history of each home. Most of the homes are occupied. They are not open to the public.
Ebenezer Church is where Dr. King was co-pastor with his father in the 1960s. The church was the site of many Civil Rights strategy meetings as well as Dr. King's funeral in 1968. In 1974, Dr. King's mother was killed by a gunman as she played the church organ for Sunday services.
The King Center and Tomb arc located across Auburn Avenue from the Park Service visitor center. Dr. King's body was moved to this site from a local cemetery in the early 1970s and the memorial tomb was dedicated in 1977. The King Center is operated by the family.
Fire Station No. 6, located at the comer of Auburn and Boulevard, is the oldest remaining firehouse from Atlanta's early years. Today it's a fire station museum telling the story of integration of the city's fire department. The station has been refurbished to look as it did when Dr. King grew up in the neighborhood and includes a 1927 fire engine.
The Park is open From 9am to 5pm every day but Christmas Day, Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. (Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the park is open from 9am to 6pm.) |
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