Category Archives: Signs

-Alabama, Black History, Cemeteries, National Register of Historic Places, Signs

The Selma to Montgomery March Highway Sites

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In March 1965, there were three attempts to march from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama, to secure voting rights for Black Americans. The final successful attempt began on Sunday, March 21, 1965, with 3,000 people walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge to start the march and ending at the steps of the Alabama Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, on Thursday, March 25.

The first campsite was located approximately 7.8 miles away from Selma on the land of David Hall. One of the homes still stands today. From this campsite, many people returned to Selma because the highway was narrowing and Lowndes County had imposed limits on the marchers’ movement through the county. You can read a fuller history of Campsite One here.

The march from the first campsite to Rosie Steele’s farm was just over fifteen miles. Ms. Steele was a farmer and general store owner. Unfortunately, her home and store were lost in a fire in 1967. (I searched and could not find whether this was an accidental fire or arson. If anyone knows, please message me.)

For a fuller description on the Rosie Steele farm, please read the National Park Service’s information on the site.

The next campsite was just over 12.5 miles away. The marchers were drenched after spending the day in the rain. When they arrived at the final campsite, the grounds were incredibly muddy. Robert Gardner put down hay and tried to improve the conditions of the campsite. For a fuller story on Campsite 3, please read the National Park Service’s information.

The final campsite was in Montgomery, Alabama, at the City of St. Jude, a Black Catholic church.

Viola Liuzzo

Along the route is a memorial to Viola Liuzzo, a white woman who was murdered by members of the Ku Klux Klan. She and Anthony Moton, a 19-year-old Black man, were shuttling marchers back to Selma from Montgomery. They stopped in Lowndes County to get gas, where they were met with threats. Once back on the road, four Klansmen pursued them, attempted to run them off the road, and fired into their car, killing Liuzzo. Thankfully, Moton was not injured. Covered in Liuzzo’s blood, he remained motionless, causing the Klansmen to assume he was dead as well. After they left, Moton was able to flag down help.

The murderers were captured within 24 hours and were found guilty of their crimes.

-Georgia, -South Carolina, Signs, Theaters

The Auto Drive-In Movie Theater-Greenwood, South Carolina

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The Auto Drive-In Movie Theater began as a one-screen movie theater in 1945. While it has not been in constant use, the current owners purchased the theater and reopened it in 2009. Since then, they’ve been able to add more screens and make other renovations.

You can read the full history of the theater on their website.

A July 17, 1959 article in The Index-Journal about fighting South Carolina’s old blue laws, which prevented most businesses from being open on Sundays
-Georgia, Historic Photos, Hotels and Motels, Signs

Del-Mar Motel-Valdosta, Georgia

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The Del-Mar Motel opened on September 30, 1956, and was owned by Mr. and Mrs. David Steigman.

-Georgia, Black History, Famous People, National Register of Historic Places, Signs

The Newly Renovated Prince Hall Grand Masonic Lodge in Atlanta, Georgia

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Located in Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn Historic District, the Prince Hall Masonic Temple is a major site within the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park and one of the city’s most significant historic buildings. Built in 1937 with a 1941 addition, the Renaissance Revival–style building was funded by John Wesley Dobbs and designed by Charles Hopson and Ross Howard as a meeting place for the Prince Hall Masons and the Order of the Eastern Star.

The windowless office of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1957, the building became the headquarters of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), founded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. following the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Dr. King’s office and the SCLC operated on the first floor, with staff including Ella Baker, Andrew Young, and Dorothy Cotton. After Dr. King’s assassination, Rev. Ralph David Abernathy continued SCLC leadership here. The second floor housed WERD, the nation’s first Black-owned radio station.

Old stickers left in an old office space on the 1st Floor

Fully restored by Lord Aeck Sargent, the building continues to serve the SCLC. It has been renovated into approximately 16,000 square feet of multi-use space, with the National Park Service sharing educational exhibits on the first floor. Local businesses will occupy the upper levels while the Masons will continue to use the space on the 3rd Floor.

Images from the 2nd Floor where WERD broadcast
The Masons meeting room
Lodge meeting schedule found under old paint
Order of the Eastern Star meeting space
-South Carolina, Signs

Spartanburg’s Sugar -n- Spice Drive-In

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On the corner of S. Pine and E. Henry Streets in Spartanburg, South Carolina, there sits the Sugar-n-Spice Drive-In restaurant. Opened in 1961 by Pete Copses and John Stathakis, the restaurant became a local favorite known for its souvlaki.

The restaurant began with drive-in and counter service. In the 1970s, a renovation added a sit-down restaurant and removed the drive-in option.

The restaurant is still very popular. Over the years, as I have grown to appreciate mid-century architecture, it took me many tries on visits to my hometownto catch the parking lot empty with good light.

I took this photo almost 20 years ago. I still love old school neon.
-Alabama, Black History, Signs

A Restored Greyhound Bus Station in Birmingham, Alabama

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In downtown Birmingham, a recently restored Greyhound Bus Station serves as a reminder of Greyhound’s heyday. Built in 1952 by William Strudwick Arrasmith, noted for his designs of Greyhound Bus Stations, the Streamline Moderne building was one of the many bus stations that the Freedom Riders passed through to force bus desegregation.

The station was a key location for the civil rights movement. On May 14, 1961, two buses left Atlanta, Georgia, bound for New Orleans. White supremacists attacked the civil rights activists and slashed one bus’s tires. The driver was able to leave, but the mob stopped the bus and threw a firebomb into it. When the second bus arrived in Birmingham, they were greeted by Ku Klux Klansmen who had been tipped off by Police Commissioner Bull Conner, who told them they had fifteen minutes where they could freely attack the Freedom Riders.

After Greyhound moved operations in 2017, the building sat vacant until it was recently restored. The restoration uncovered many hidden mid-century details that can be seen today, like the bus marquee and the iconic silver greyhound.