Cultural Landscape Report: Birth Home Block, Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site

Lawliss, Lucy

The cultural landscape report (CLR) addresses the overall streetscape, as well as all the yards within the Birth-Home Block of the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site. The years 1929 and 1941 frame the period of significance that the park interprets at the Birth Home and along the Birth-Home Block. The research documents the evolution of the site and compares it to an inventory of existing conditions in order to identify changes that have occurred since 1941. The intent of the report is to provide recommendations for appropriate landscape management in order to protect extant historic landscape features and, by selective restoration and rehabilitation, enhance the visitors understanding of the period setting. To the extent that historic documentation allows, the report proposes preservation treatments, including rehabilitation and/or restoration, of key features that have changed or been lost over time. Where restoration of the historic landscape feature is not possible, the report can be used to provide interpretive information on features missing from the historic landscape. The recommendations in the report are intended to be used for guiding immediate treatment, as well as guiding a long-term management strategy for the preservation and interpretation of the historic landscape. The CLR is based on primary and secondary sources that deal with the physical history and development of this northeast Atlanta area. Topics include the pattern and use of the residential environment, as well as racial and socioeconomic influences on the development of the neighborhood. Historical, archival, and oral history sources were used to obtain this information. A special emphasis was put on locating visual resource collections with relevant materials such as photographs, maps, and other graphic images related to Birth-Home Block. This was done with the hope of verifying landscape features described in the oral and written histories. Period photographs of the Birth-Home Block have not been located for this report. The only visual record of African-American neighborhoods of this period found to date is the Atlanta Housing Authority photograph collection at the Atlanta Historical Society. This study is the product of a joint effort by the National Park Service, Southeast Regional Office, Office of Cultural Resources and the Georgia State University, Heritage Preservation Program. The objective of the cooperative agreement is to research and document the urban residential landscape associated with the Birth Home of Martin Luther King, Jr. The Birth Home Block is part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, which was established in 1980 to commemorate the life and accomplishments of this prominent leader of the American Civil Rights Movement.

Cultural Landscape Report: Birth Home Block, Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site

Series