The National Park Services has purchased the childhood home of civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The King Center for Nonviolent Social Change Inc. reportedly sold the house last month for $1.9 million, according to CBS46.
The Atlanta home is where Dr. King’s legacy began. King’s grandfather purchased the Auburn Avenue house for $3,500 in 1909. It was later passed down to King’s mother who gave birth to him there in 1929. King’s younger brother, A.D. King, and his family were the last Kings to live there. While no other family member has resided in the home, it remained in the family until last month.
The site has been open for tours since 1980 when Congress established it as a national historic site. Tours will continue under the new ownership. It will also remain a historic location maintained by the National Park Foundation.
Although it belonged to the King family for over a century, the National Park Service has been managing the building since 1984.
“My mother never saw us in the interpretive or preservation business,” King’s daughter, Bernice King, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “The National Park Service has been managing and up-keeping the birth home for years; we have just been the owner on record.”
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