FREEDOM HALL

Open All Year
Open From 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Location - 449 Auburn Avenue, NE

Brief History

Freedom Hall is The King Center’s primary exhibition facility.  It contains a Grand Foyer, large theater/conference auditorium, giftshop/resource center and various works of art-domestic and international.  The Grand Foyer is decorated with art from Africa and Georgia.  The wood that lines the staircase is from the sapeli tree which grows in Nigeria. On the north wall hangs “Freedom and Justice”, a relief from the Republic of Zambia, given by His Excellency, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, President of Zambia.

THE ETERNAL FLAME

Outdoors - Open All Year

The Eternal Flame symbolizes the continuing effort to realize Dr. King’s ideals for the “Beloved Community” which requires lasting personal commitment that cannot weaken when faced with obstacles.

DR. KING’S CRYPT & GRAVESITE

Outdoors-Open All Year

In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was carried upon a farm wagon drawn by mules to Southview Cemetary.  In 1970, Dr. King’s remains were taken from Southview Cemetary and moved to its current site of entombment.  Dr. King’s  crypt is constructed of Georgia marble which acknowledges his southern roots.

DR. KING'S BIRTH HOME

Open All Year from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Location - 501 Auburn Avenue, NE

Special Programs - The Birth Home of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., may be visited only with a park ranger led tour. The tours are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Register for the tour at the National Park Service Visitor Center in person upon arrival to the park. The tour is strictly limited to 15 people per tour to keep the experience more personal. They fill up fast on weekends and holidays.

Brief History

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born January 15, 1929 at 501 Auburn Avenue, the home of his maternal grandparents.  For the next twelve years he lived here with his grandparents, parents, siblings, other family members and boarders.

The home is located in the residential section of "Sweet Auburn", the center of black Atlanta.

In 1967, Mrs. King approached then Mayor Ivan Allen to help save Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birth home from an urban renewal/removal project and in 1974 the Birth Home was purchased by the King Center for restoration.

EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH

Open All Year
Open From 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. - Sunday 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

 Location - 407 Auburn Avenue, NE

Closures - The church is closed on Sunday mornings. The church may be closed to the public for funerals at the request of the congregation. The church will also be closed prior to special events open to the public to allow any setup time for the event.

Special Programs - First Saturday Concert Series

Brief History

In this sacred place were sown the seeds of greatness from which Martin Luther King, Jr. blossomed.  In 1893, Dr. King’s maternal grandfather, Rev. A.D. Williams, became Ebenezer’s second pastor.  He was founder of the Atlanta Chapter of the NAACP and its second president.  Rev. Williams helped petition this city for a Black secondary school and as a result Booker T. Washington High School was built.

Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr. became Ebenezer’s third pastor in 1933 and so served until he retired in 1975.  Martin Luther King, Jr. served as co-pastor in 1947 until he attended Crozer Theological Seminary in September 1948.  In 1960, until his assassination, Martin Luther King, Jr. again co-pastored Ebenezer Baptist Church.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

VISITOR CENTER

Open All Year 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Phone - 404-331-5198 ext. 3017

Location - 450 Auburn Avenue, NE

Special Programs - A New Time, A New Voice shown in the theater on the hour. A 30 minute video about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his involvement in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s. Courage To Lead shown in the theater on the half hour. A 15 minute video that talks about the children involved in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s and how the children of today view the movement.

Exhibits - Courage To Lead is the main exhibit in the visitor center. While visiting six circular pods read Dr, King's own words describing different periods of the first seventy years of the 20th century. Take time to listen and watch the five minute videos in each pod highlighting the period. Children Of Courage is about children in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s for the children of today. It gives examples of the children that marched and how the youth of today can live positive lives.

King Center
Gift Shop & Resource Center

Proceeds from your purchases support the mission of The King Center in educating the world about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s philosophy and methods of nonviolence in order to create the Beloved Community.

When you're in Atlanta, visit our two conveniently located Gift Shop & Resource Centers!