Prince Hall Masonic Lodge

The Prince Hall Masonic Lodge is most famous for housing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference for four decades. Built in 1940 by John Wesley Dobbs, the lodge retains its original character due to its uninterrupted use and maintenance by Masonic leadership until 2018, but it has fallen into disrepair and is at risk of being lost. The Atlanta History Center has identified the building as one of the two most historically significant, unprotected buildings in metro Atlanta.

Trust for Public Land has partnered with the leadership of the Prince Hall Masonic Lodge to restore and conserve the lodge and ultimately incorporate it into the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park. This work is more urgent than ever before, the building stands on the brink of deteriorating beyond repair.

In 2018, then Representative Reverend John Lewis led Congress to expand the MLK National Historic Park boundaries to include the lodge. Once the building is restored, the National Park Service will provide guided tours of the site as part of the visitor experience. The addition of a restored Lodge and SCLC’s office to the MLK National Historic Park’s existing destinations will create a more immersive and comprehensive historical experience.

In addition to the significance tied to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and SCLC, the lodge was a frequent meeting location for important African American organizations including the Atlanta Civic-Political League, a voting-rights organization, and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, a labor organization. But the lodge also was the home of a Madam C.J. Walker Beauty Shoppe, whose owner became America’s first self-made, female millionaire. And in 1948, WERD, the nation’s first Black-owned and directed radio station, began broadcasting there and offered a rare public venue for black jazz and blues performers during the Jim Crow era but also played a key role in helping Dr. King and SCLC deliver their message.

Through our Black History and Culture Initiative, TPL has partnered with NPS and others, to restore sites like the lodge to tell the vivid and honest history of America’s failures and triumphs in the struggle for civil rights. But of the 95,000 sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places, only 3 percent focus on the experiences of Black Americans. More work needs to be done and TPL will continue leading those efforts hand-in-hand with communities across the country.