Details Given On MLK Avenue Cultural District In Mobile

Mobile County officials recently held a public meeting featuring consultants who provided a “sneak peek” of a “civil rights and cultural heritage” district around Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Avenue in Mobile, AL.com reported. The unveiling of the conceptual master plan follows the announcement of the City of Mobile’s “Complete Streets” project earlier this month. The team of consultants, led by Phil Walker, principal at The Walker Collaborative in Nashville, introduced potential ideas for the district including the creation of an interpretive center or museum that would highlight the story of MLK Avenue and its residents. It would serve as a gateway to the district, along with other landmarks like the Isom Clemon Civil Rights Memorial Park and Historic Avenue Cultural Center. Development of the district will center around the main areas of the gateway area; Bishop State Community College, where an outside group consisting of the college, the Mobile Housing Authority and Fuse Project have proposed a roughly 20-acre mixed-use development; and the area around the campus of the former Central High School, a school for African-American students that closed in the 1970s. Each area features historic landmarks within walking distance, such as the International Longshoremen’s Association Hall in the gateway area and White’s Barber College near Central High. The plan includes modernizing these landmarks, with housing and businesses to follow. The county is to begin implementing the plan by the end of the year by continuing to spend its $3.5-million allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds for the district.