Fodor's Expert Review The King Center

Sweet Auburn, the Old Fourth Ward, and East Atlanta

The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic District occupies several blocks on Auburn Avenue, east of Peachtree Street in the black business and residential community of Sweet Auburn. Martin Luther King Jr. was born here in 1929; after his assassination in 1968, his widow, Coretta Scott King, established this center, which exhibits such personal items as King's Nobel Peace Prize, Bible, and tape recorder, along with memorabilia and photos chronicling the civil rights movement. In the courtyard in front of Freedom Hall, on a circular brick pad in the middle of the rectangular Meditation Pool, is Dr. King's white-marble tomb; the inscription reads, "Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty I'm free at last." Nearby, an eternal flame burns. A chapel of all faiths sits at one end of the reflecting pool. Mrs. King, who passed away in 2006, is also entombed at the center.

Quick Facts

449 Auburn Ave. NE
Atlanta, Georgia  30312, USA

404-526–8900

www.thekingcenter.org

Sight Details:
Rate Includes: Free, Daily 9–5

What’s Nearby