My Visit to the King Center

Martin Luther King Jr. - Taken from a banner at the King Center.

(All photos courtesy of Chet Wallace)

Seven years ago, when I lived in the Atlanta area, I decided to one day visit the King Center near downtown Atlanta. Never had I visited before. I went to the King Center on two separate days, May 28, 2016, and a week later on June 6, 2016. On the first visit, I tried to sign up to visit his birthplace, but it was very limited because only a certain amount of people could visit the birthplace at one time, no more than ten in one visit, and there were only a certain number of tours per day. The reason for this was because of the cramped space that a tour could fit in while visiting. Since I couldn’t book a tour because they were all full that particular day, I decided to make a second visit and found the same thing, that the tours were booked. But I did get a lot of interesting photos of those two visits.

I visited the museum and the old Ebenezer Baptist Church where King briefly preached and also, which I discovered, his mother was tragically murdered in the church by a crazed gunman as she was playing the organ for a Sunday service one morning in 1974. I didn’t notice but someone told me that bullet holes could still be found in one of the pews.

For this Martin Luther King holiday, I decided to post all the photos that I took those seven years ago. It was an enlightening experience to visit the center! Enjoy the photos!

Banners at the King Center.

Inside the old Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Stained glass windows in the old Ebenezer Baptist Church.

The back of the old Ebenezer Baptist Church.

The gravesite of Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King.

Sign in front of the old Ebenezer Baptist Church on Auburn Avenue.

The eternal flame that faces the gravesite.

Another view of the gravesite.

The new Ebenezer Baptist Church across Auburn Avenue from the old church.

Another view of the new Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Standing in front of the new Ebenezer Baptist Church looking across Auburn Avenue at the old church.

Me standing in the museum.

King's funeral caisson which carried his body from Ebenezer Baptist Church to Morehouse College during his funeral in Atlanta.

Main entrance to the King Center.

Statue of Gandhi located at the entrance to the King Center.

Birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Another photo of King's birthplace.

King's birthplace.

Shotgun houses located across Auburn Avenue from King's birthplace.

King's birthplace. The house to the right of the photo is a gift shop for the King Center.

Thanks for learning!