The A.G. Gaston Motel is an important landmark in the civil rights movement and was designated by President Barack Obama as the center of the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument. Located ...

The National Park Service and the city are teaming up to restore the AG Gaston Motel built by Black entrepreneur AG Gaston. It served as a secure space for civil rights leaders to strategize in 1963.

A first for Birmingham, this trail will connect the Red Rock Trail System, the Smithfield Community, and the Civil Rights National Monument Site to the downtown core.

The motel is crumbling, shattered and in disrepair, but, finally, it’s slated for renovations as part of the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument.