ATLANTA — The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is continuing in Atlanta as the restoration of the building where he had an office during the civil rights movement is complete.
When Ed Bowen recently walked into the newly renovated yellow brick building along Auburn Avenue in northeast Atlanta, he was stunned.
“I was just as proud as I could be! I’m glad we had a good team, and I had good partners,” Bowen said.
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Built nearly 90 years ago, a full restoration project has been completed at the Prince Hall Masonic Lodge, which was home to the Free Masons.
“I remember coming here when I was 5 or 6 years old with my siblings to visit with dad,” Martin Luther King III said.
Martin Luther King Jr. had an office in the building, which the National Park Service will now work to replicate.
“They have the pictures and conference room table in their research. So they know how to lay it out,” Ed Bowen said.
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The $14 million project is now officially part of the Martin Luther King Junior National Park, which attracts more than a million visitors every year.
“It’s going to be a beautiful space and gives people another place to visit, not just The King Center and Ebenezer Church. Walk a block and see the fabric of the Civil Rights Movement,” Bowen said.
The restored Prince Hall Masonic Lodge will open to the public in April.
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