Gaston, A.G., Building | |
 A.G. Gaston Motel in 2010. Photo byCarol M. Highsmith. | |
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| Location | 1527 Fifth Ave. N,Birmingham, Alabama |
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| Coordinates | 33°30′54″N86°48′51″W / 33.51500°N 86.81417°W /33.51500; -86.81417 (Gaston, A.G., Building) |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1959 (1959) |
| Built by | Bank Building and Equipment Corp. |
| Architect | Langston, Perry C. |
| Architectural style | International Style |
| NRHP reference No. | 00001028[1] |
| Added to NRHP | September 11, 2000 |
TheA.G. Gaston Motel is a historic building and formermotel inBirmingham, Alabama.[2][3] In 1963 during theCivil Rights movement, theSouthern Christian Leadership Conference used a room in the hotel as their headquarters, which was later bombed by terrorists.
Built in 1954 by local businessmanA. G. Gaston.[2] It served as premium accommodation for African American travelers and was listed inThe Negro Motorist Green Book, a travel guide.[2]
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference used room 30 as its headquarters for leaders such asMartin Luther King Jr.,Ralph Abernathy,Fred Shuttlesworth, and others, to plan portions of the 1963Birmingham campaign of thecivil rights movement.[4] On May 10, 1963, the motel was bombed by white supremacist terrorists.[5] After discrimination in public accommodation was outlawed, the motel's business declined in the 1970s. It was used assenior housing from 1982 to 1996.[5]
Since 2017 it is owned in part by theBirmingham Civil Rights National Monument, theNational Park Service, and the City of Birmingham.[4][6] It has been designated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of America's National Treasures. In summer of 2023, the site is set to open to the public for history tours.[2]
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