U.S. Department of the Interior
Office of the Secretary

Paul Bledsoe 202-208-6416


For Release: July 5, 1996

With Eyes of the World on Atlanta, Visitors Will See Exhibits "Worthy of Towering Figure" in American History Dexter Scott King, Rep. John Lewis, Mayor Campbell to Speak Just in time for the Olympic Games, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt will officially open the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site Visitors' Center next Tuesday, July 9, ensuring that visitors from around the world see a tribute to Dr. King worthy of his heroic legacy.

"Martin Luther King Jr. is one of America's greatest heroes, a man whose vision must remain alive forever," Babbitt said. "The King family and the National Park Service are working in partnership, creating an experience for visitors in keeping with Dr. King's great legacy."

Joining Secretary Babbitt for the dedication ceremony will be Dexter Scott King, son of Dr. King and President and CEO of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc. Also speaking will be Congressman John Lewis, himself a hero of the civil rights movement, and Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell.

The new 21,000 square-foot facility includes numerous exhibits, a theater, a multi-purpose room for special programs and ample restrooms. A large parking lot, a promenade, and a landscaped plaza with a small amphitheater complete the seven-acre visitor facility complex located across Auburn Avenue from Dr. King's tomb.

The new visitors' facility will become the first stop for tourists before they visit the King birth home, his tomb and the King Center, Ebenezer Baptist Church, and other sites in the Sweet Auburn preservation district. More than 100,000 visitors a day are expected at the facility, which will extend its operating hours from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.for the Olympics.

Efforts to build the complex began more than five years ago and involved complicated negotiations with numerous landowners, including the city of Atlanta. Secretary Babbitt travelled to Atlanta in 1993 to urge Congressional funding for the project, which subsequently came about with the assistance of Congress Lewis and many others. Earlier concerns of the King family, which plans to build an interactive museum in the area, have been resolved.

"The civil rights struggle represents one of the most important chapters in American history. These historic sites, along with the King Center, will give all the world an unique understanding of Dr. King, civil rights greatest leader," Babbitt said. "Our government has an obligation to protect and preserve our most important history. No history is more important than this."

The dedication program will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 9, at the visitors' facility at 450 Auburn Avenue and include an invocation by Ebenezer Church Reverend Joseph L. Roberts and Park Superintendent Troy Lissimore.

The entire event is open to the public and press.

--DOI--