Mellon Foundation to help fund restoration of historic A.G. Gaston Motel in Birmingham
A $1.1 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will aid in the restoration of the A.G. Gaston Motel in Birmingham. (Michael Sznajderman / Alabama NewsCenter)
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will help fund restoration of the A.G. Gaston Motel – a pivotal site in the historic civil rights struggle that dismantled segregation in Birmingham.
The $1.1 million grant to the city from the foundation’s “Humanities in Place” program will support the restoration of the interior coffee shop and dining room in the 1968 wing of the motel.
“We are very proud of the work that continues at the A.G. Gaston Motel,” said Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin. “I am thankful to the Mellon Foundation for this catalytic investment to continue revitalization of the Civil Rights District.”
A.G. Gaston Motel being restored as part of Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
One of the key sites within the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, the Gaston Motel is where national and local leaders of the civil rights movement, including the Revs. Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy and Fred Shuttlesworth, plotted strategy during the 1963 Birmingham campaign. That year, the motel was bombed in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate King.
Built by Black millionaire A.G. Gaston to provide fine lodging and food for Black visitors to the city during the days of segregation, the motel hosted a stellar lineup of Black leaders, entertainers and sports figures, including Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Aretha Franklin, Nat King Cole and Jackie Robinson. The motel has been closed for decades and had become an eyesore before efforts were revived to restore the landmark.
Plans call for the restored coffee shop and dining room to offer food and libations once again for visitors and locals, as well as space for meetings and events.
“This restoration will allow this site to once again be a community gathering place for social justice engagement and change,” said Denise E. Gilmore, senior director of the city’s Division of Social Justice and Racial Equity.
Alabama NewsCenter is presenting a continuing series marking the 150th birthday of the city of Birmingham.
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The restoration of the motel is a collaborative partnership of the National Park Service, the city of Birmingham and the city’s Historical Preservation Authority. The authority, which was created by the city to oversee the restoration, will receive the grant. The city has committed $10 million to the motel’s restoration.
The Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument was created in 2017 by President Barack Obama in one of his final acts in office. A multiphase restoration began in 2019 on the original 1954 wing of the motel, which includes Room 30 – known as the “War Room” – where the civil rights strategy sessions took place. A second phase of the motel’s restoration is now underway on the exterior of the 1968 wing and the motel courtyard. Restoration is slated to be completed by early next summer, ahead of The World Games 2022 that is expected to bring tens of thousands of visitors to the city.
The grant for the Gaston Motel restoration is among $15 million awarded by the Mellon Foundation as part of its new Humanities in Place program, which supports important historic, cultural and community sites, museums and other institutions that serve as “spaces of learning, expression and exchange.” Among the 19 recipients is Tuskegee University, which will share a $750,000 grant over three years with the University of Pennsylvania to support a joint educational partnership centered on Black heritage.
Learn more about all the grantees here.
