Downtown Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

The Lorraine Motel

The Lorraine Hotel Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Billy Clemmons, July 6, 2023

1. The Lorraine Hotel Marker

Inscription.

Originally the Windsor Hotel (c. 1925) and later one of only a few hotels for blacks, it hosted such entertainers as Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Count Basie, B.B. King, and Nat King Cole. Walter and Loree Bailey bought it in 1942, renaming it the Lorraine. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated outside Room 306 on April 4, 1968, making it a symbol for the civil rights movement. In 1982, a local nonprofit group saved the site from foreclosure for use as America’s first civil rights museum.

Erected by Tennessee Historical Commission. (Marker Number 4E 95.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Landmarks • Notable Buildings. In addition, it is included in the Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Tennessee Historical Commission series lists. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1869.

Location. 35° 8.07′ N, 90° 3.468′ W. Marker is in Memphis, Tennessee, in Shelby County. It is in Downtown Memphis. Marker is at the intersection of Mulberry Street and Hulling Avenue, on the left when traveling south on Mulberry Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 450 Mulberry St, Memphis TN 38103, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance

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of this marker. Here, on April 4, 1968 … / … Today, a Place of Remembrance (a few steps from this marker); Welcome To The National Civil Rights Museum (within shouting distance of this marker); The Blues Foundation (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); WLOK Radio Station (about 600 feet away); 1866 Memphis Massacre (about 700 feet away); Modern Movie~Making In Memphis (about 700 feet away); Arcade Restaurant (about 700 feet away); Site of First Memphis Telephone (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Memphis.

More about this marker. The Lorraine Motel is now the National Civil Rights Museum.

Plaque in Front of Motel image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Dee Evans, July 2000

2. Plaque in Front of Motel

Martin Luther King, Jr., Jan. 5, 1929 – Apr. 4, 1968, founding President, Southern Christian Leadership Conference. “They said one to another, Behold, here cometh the dreamer ... Let us slay him ...” Genesis 37 19-20. —Ralph David Abernathy, President.

Lorraine Motel Sign image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Dee Evans, July 2000

3. Lorraine Motel Sign

Room 306 (On Upper Level) at the Lorraine Motel image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Dee Evans, July 2000

4. Room 306 (On Upper Level) at the Lorraine Motel

Children are reading the plaque shown in Photo 2.

The Lorraine Motel Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mary Ellen Coghlan, December 29, 2002

5. The Lorraine Motel Marker

View is toward the northeast.

Older Photograph of the Lorraine Motel Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Dee Evans, July 2000

6. Older Photograph of the Lorraine Motel Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on July 10, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 30, 2007, by Dee Evans of Chicago, Illinois. This page has been viewed 4,760 times since then and 140 times this year. Last updated on May 3, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. Photos: 1. submitted on July 9, 2023, by Billy Clemmons of Florence, Alabama. 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 30, 2007, by Dee Evans of Chicago, Illinois. 5. submitted on July 25, 2008, by Mary Ellen Coghlan of Warwick, New York. 6. submitted on October 30, 2007, by Dee Evans of Chicago, Illinois. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

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