Responsibility and Authority to Restore and Preserve

before and after photos of rehabilitation on historic structures and houses
Rehabilitation work on Ebenezer Baptist Church (Heritage Sanctuary), Fire Station No.6, and homes on the same block as the Birth Home of Martin Luther King, Jr. Copyrighted image(s).  Contact Intellectual Properties Management for authorized use at licensing@i-p-m.com.

Designed by Donald Bermudez

The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 gave the National Park Service the responsibility and authority to restore and preserve buildings and landscapes that serve as witnesses to our national narrative. In 1980, soon after Martin Luther King, Jr. NHP was established, work started on rehabilitating the houses and structures within the park’s historic district. These structures included:

•Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church is where Dr. King spiritually grew up, preached, and delivered many of his thought-provoking sermons and speeches. In 2002, the National Park Service closed Ebenezer Baptist Church to begin Phase 1 – Restoration of the Church, in which all major utility systems (heat and air, electrical, fire protection, and fire alarm) were either replaced or installed. In 2007, the National Park Service implemented Phase 2, to restore the Heritage Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall exactly back to their 1960’s appearances, when Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. served as co-pastor with his father, Daddy King. In 2002 and in 2009, the iconic neon sign on the front of Ebenezer Baptist Church was also restored. The park re-opened the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church on April 15, 2011

.●Historic Fire Station No. 6 was built in 1894 and operated within the Sweet Auburn community for nearly 100 years. During Dr. King’s childhood, this fire station was segregated, with white fireman serving a predominantly African American community. This was one of Atlanta’s first fire stations to racially integrate its staff in the 1960s. From 1994-1996 the fire station was rehabilitated from a working fire station to a museum space.

●African American builder, Alexander Hamilton, constructed 491 Auburn Avenue in 1911. It is a two-story apartment building with two units on each floor and a front porch for each unit. The interior of each unit has three rooms, two bedrooms, one kitchen and a bath. The exterior of the building is frame with wooden windows. It was the first apartment building constructed on the Birth-Home Block. In 2010, the National Park Service began rehabilitation and stabilization on the exterior of the building.

●550 Auburn Ave was originally constructed circa 1890 as a residence for M.L. Jenkins, owner of the triangle and developer of the adjacent brick commercial building. After 1900, this two-story, paired-gable building became apartments. During this period of significance, the apartments were primary occupied by single African American women workers and widows. In 1995the extant wood building was rehabilitated, the top one-third of the wall around the site was rebuilt, and steps leading up to the building were widened and formed from concrete.

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Last updated: October 8, 2020

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Atlanta, GA 30312

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404 331-5190 x5046

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