Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Tennessee Memphis National Civil Rights Museum

National Civil Rights Museum

The hotel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot is now a museum dedicated to his work.

Memphis, Tennessee

Added By
Nick Jackson
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
The National Civil Rights Museum   H. Michael Miley / CC BY-SA 2.0
  Allison / Atlas Obscura User
  Allison / Atlas Obscura User
  Allison / Atlas Obscura User
  cblakewest / Atlas Obscura User
  stevenrosen / Atlas Obscura User
  Michael Reinhardt / Atlas Obscura User
The site of his assassination.   unimoggers / Atlas Obscura User
  paigeelizabeth3660 / Atlas Obscura User
  tylercole / Atlas Obscura User
Shooter’s position.   cblakewest / Atlas Obscura User
March 2020   paulruta / Atlas Obscura User
March 2020   paulruta / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
Lorraine hotel, MLK cars June 2015   abandonedexplorerscom / Atlas Obscura User
  tylercole / Atlas Obscura User
Lorraine hotel sign June 2015   abandonedexplorerscom / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The National Civil Rights Museum doesn't look like a museum at all. It's located in perhaps one of the strangest places that a museum can be located in—an old motel, an old motel that retains the off-white and teal colors that would have blended in back in the 1960s, but stand out today. But the museum has good reason to be located here. This is a historic building, the building where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

At 450 Mulberry Street in Memphis, Tennessee, the Lorraine Motel is just a part of the four-plus acre complex that makes up the National Civil Rights Museum. The museum's property stretches all the way to a small hill across the street where James Earl Ray first confessed to shooting King from a second-floor bathroom window. It stretches all the way to Canipe's Amusement Store down on Main Street where the alleged murder weapon was first found, discarded with Ray's fingerprints still on it.

But the Lorraine Motel's history goes back even further than 1968. First built in 1925 on this site, the Windsor Hotel had 16 rooms. Later renamed the Marquette Hotel, the building was eventually purchased in 1945 by Walter Bailey who renamed it once again after his wife Loree and the song "Sweet Lorraine." During segregation, this motel served high-end black clientele and was visited by Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and many others throughout its long history.

After King was assassinated, Bailey left his room—Room 306—unoccupied and continued to rent out rooms in the motel. When his wife died, only five days after King was shot, Bailey converted the rooms into long-term, single-occupancy sites. The last guest was evicted on March 2, 1988, by the sheriff's department and the motel underwent a nearly $9 million overhaul. Three years later, the National Civil Rights Museum officially opened to the public. Today, nearly a quarter million people visit every year.

The last evicted resident, Jacqueline Smith, had to be forcibly removed from her apartment, where she had barricaded herself in. Smith lived in that room for more than 15 years, moving in in 1973 and serving as a housekeeper for the Lorraine during the entire time. She has held candlelight vigils outside of the Lorraine with some frequency for the more than 20 years since her eviction.

Related Tags

Museums And Collections Museums Hotels Memento Mori

Community Contributors

Added By

nbj914

Edited By

icatsstaci, BrentE, Allison, tylercole...

  • icatsstaci
  • BrentE
  • Allison
  • tylercole
  • Meg
  • abandonedexplorerscom
  • cblakewest
  • Collector of Experiences
  • stevenrosen
  • paigeelizabeth3660
  • paulruta
  • unimoggers
  • Michael Reinhardt
  • DRookery

Published

January 17, 2011

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • The New York Times: "Eviction Empties Motel Where Dr. King Died" (March 1988): http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEEDD1739F930A35750C0A96E948260
  • Wikipedia: National Civil Rights Museum: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Civil_Rights_Museum
  • https://www.lavieconsult.com/driver-history-clean-in-nyc/
National Civil Rights Museum
National Civil Rights Museum
450 Mulberry Street
Memphis, Tennessee, 38103
United States
35.134694, -90.057697
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Earnestine & Hazel's

Memphis, Tennessee

miles away

Silky O'Sullivan's

Memphis, Tennessee

miles away

Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art

Memphis, Tennessee

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Memphis

Memphis

Tennessee

Places 20
Stories 3

Nearby Places

Earnestine & Hazel's

Memphis, Tennessee

miles away

Silky O'Sullivan's

Memphis, Tennessee

miles away

Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art

Memphis, Tennessee

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Memphis

Memphis

Tennessee

Places 20
Stories 3

Related Stories and Lists

7 Places Dedicated to the Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

List

By Jonathan Carey

An American Civil Rights Tour

List

By Jonathan Carey

Related Places

  • The American Museum of Western Art—The Anschutz Collection.

    Denver, Colorado

    American Museum of Western Art

    The huge collection of paintings of the American West is one of Denver's best-kept secrets.

  • Moorish architectural details

    Tampa, Florida

    Henry B. Plant Museum

    Step back into the glory days of Florida's nascent tourism industry at this Gilded Age palace.

  • Pretty Boy’s notorious mug shot and his death mask.

    East Liverpool, Ohio

    Sturgis House Mortuary Museum

    This tiny museum kept in a B&B laundry room holds the death mask of notorious bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd.

  • Null Stern Hotel Museum

    Teufen, Switzerland

    Null Stern Hotel Museum

    Created by a pair of artists, this former hotel was designed to provide a minimum of everything including comfort.

  • Mittens made from human hair.

    Frederikshavn, Denmark

    Hair Jewelry Exhibit at the Bangsbo Museum

    The largest collection of hair jewelry in Europe reminds you how creepy 19th-century love was.

  • Armenian clothes

    Watertown, Massachusetts

    Armenian Museum of America

    Large Massachusetts museum dedicated to Armenian history and culture.

  • Bicycles in the Deke Slayton Space & Bicycle Museum. (Kiersten Gray/Atlas Obscura)

    Sparta, Wisconsin

    Deke Slayton Memorial Space & Bicycle Museum

    Small-town museum dedicated to outer space ... and bicycles.

  • The bright yellow front of Yusupov Palace.

    Saint Petersburg, Russia

    Rasputin Museum at Yusupov Palace

    Palace where the nearly un-killable Rasputin was murdered.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.