City celebration of the 65th anniversary of the A.G. Gaston Motel set for July 1
Mayor Randall L. Woodfin will join Sen. Doug Jones and others on Monday, July 1 at 9 a.m. in the courtyard of the A.G. Gaston Motel to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the landmark’s opening.
Gaston, Birmingham’s first African-American millionaire, opened the motel in 1954 to offer first-class lodging, entertainment and dining options for African-Americans traveling through a segregated South. At the time, African Americans found few motels or hotels that would cater to them simply because of the color of their skin.
Celebrities such as Aretha Franklin, Duke Ellington and Harry Belefonte stayed at the motel, which also became a place for civil rights leaders the Rev. Martin Luther King, the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and others to develop strategies during Birmingham’s civil rights movement of 1963. The facility eventually closed in 1986. But its history lives on. Today, the National Park Service and the City of Birmingham are partnering to restore the motel to its original look. Crews have been assessing the roof, windows, doors, frames, brick exterior, etc. to determine what is needed to restore the building to its historical significance of 1963. A. G. Gaston Construction Co. will perform the historic restoration.
The project is expected to be complete by December 2021. It will serve as a visitors’ center as well as a place for meetings and more.
On July 1, Mayor Woodfin, Sen. Jones, elected officials, Gaston relatives and others will reflect on the motel’s place in history and participate in the unveiling of an honorary street designation in memory of Gaston. When the motel opened with 32 air-conditioned rooms, it opened with celebration. A look back to the past and look to the future will take center stage on July 1 when supporters gather for the anniversary. Several events are planned following the celebration ceremony in the courtyard.
“The A.G. Gaston Motel represents Mr. Gaston’s entrepreneurial excellence and where history happened,’’ said Mayor Woodfin. “Many people visiting the motel, put their lives on the line for civil and human rights so that we all could experience a better America.’’
The motel’s Room 30 became known as the “War Room,’’ which is where King and others met to strategize and plan “Project C,’’ the 1963 campaign of protests and marches. These actions changed the world and the course of the nation in granting civil and human rights to all citizens, said Denise Gilmore, senior director of the City of Birmingham’s Office of Social Justice and Racial Equality.
“The A. G. Gaston Motel serves to preserve and confront a period in United States history where racial terror was accepted by state instrumentalities and institutions. It helps us examine how the legacy of racial segregation permeates through society today,’’ said Gilmore. “Now that the motel is getting new life, we envision the motel to be a place of reflection, restoration and renewal.’’
Through the years, the motel has been featured in books and documentaries. Earlier this year, the Smithsonian Channel aired “The Green Book: Guide to Freedom,’’ which looked at how African Americans used the “The Green Book’’ to help them know which restaurants, gas stations, motels, etc. were safe for them to visit while traveling across a segregated America from the 1930s to the 1960s. In 2014, Birmingham author Marie A. Sutton wrote about the motel in her book, “The A.G. Gaston Motel in Birmingham: A Civil Rights Landmark.”
“When the motel was closed and seemingly forgotten and abandoned, it felt like such a loss. But now that the motel has been revisited and renovations are planned, the legacy gets to live on,’’ said Sutton. “A.G. Gaston was a wonderful man with a wide-reaching impact that had a ripple effect for the African-American community. And now that this motel is back at the forefront, people are speaking his name and they are speaking the name of his motel.’’
“This motel was a backdrop to so many people’s stories. It was a monument where people had their first prom, first date or Sunday dinner,’’ Sutton said. “My parents had their wedding reception there. This motel was important to my parents, it’s important to Birmingham and it will be important to my children. This is Birmingham history, and I’m excited to see its renewal.’’
The City of Birmingham is collecting people’s stories and photos of the A.G. Gaston Motel. To share, please submit memories, photos and/or phone numbers to gastonstories@birminghamal.gov.
For more information about the restoration project and what’s planned for July 1, please visit www.birminghamal.gov/gaston.
