A. G. Gaston Motel

Birmingham businessman A. G. Gaston founded his motel on 5th Avenue North, in what is now the Birmingham Civil Rights District, in 1954. During the civil rights movement, it served as a base of operations for leaders of the Birmingham Campaign of 1963. Shown here at center are Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy among a group of participants in the motel's parking lot. In 2017, the Gaston Motel was included as part of the new Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument established by Pres. Barack Obama.

Courtesy of the Birmingham Public Library

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