Fountain Heights in Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Sixteenth Street Baptist Church

Photographed by TRCP Alliance, March 12, 2013

1. Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Marker

Inscription.
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church has been designated a National Historic Landmark. This property possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States. In 1963 it was the staging ground for the Birmingham Campaign Civil Rights Youth Marches and the place where a bomb killed four young girls, "Martyred Heroines of a Holy Crusade for Freedom and Human Dignity."

2006
National Park Service - United States Department of the Interior

Erected 2006 by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the National Historic Landmarks series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1963.

Location. 33° 30.999′ N, 86° 48.895′ W. Marker is in Birmingham, Alabama, in Jefferson County. It is in Fountain Heights. It can be reached from the intersection of 6th Avenue North and 16th Street North. Marker located to the right of the center door. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1530 6th Avenue North, Birmingham AL 35203, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker:

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Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and Parsonage (a few steps from this marker); Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth (within shouting distance of this marker); Jim Crow on the Books (within shouting distance of this marker); Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (within shouting distance of this marker); Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (within shouting distance of this marker); Don't Tread on Me (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (within shouting distance of this marker); St. Paul United Methodist Church (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Birmingham.

Also see . . . 16th Street Baptist Church website. (Submitted on March 13, 2013, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama.)

Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Marker by Center Door Entrance image. Click for full size.

Photographed by TRCP Alliance, March 12, 2013

2. Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Marker by Center Door Entrance

Sixteenth Street Baptist Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed by TRCP Alliance, March 12, 2013

3. Sixteenth Street Baptist Church

Interior View of the Church Sanctuary image. Click for full size.

Photographed by TRCP Alliance, February 10, 2013

4. Interior View of the Church Sanctuary

Photographed by TRCP Alliance, February 10, 2013

5. Interior View of the Church Sanctuary

Location of where the bomb was placed that killed the four young girls. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by TRCP Alliance, March 12, 2013

6. Location of where the bomb was placed that killed the four young girls.

Memorial Marker to the Four Girls Killed in the Bomb Blast. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by TRCP Alliance, March 12, 2013

7. Memorial Marker to the Four Girls Killed in the Bomb Blast.

Sunday September 15, 1963
10:22 A.M.
Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley.
...ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Genesis 50: 20

Historical photo of the aftermath of the bomb blast. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by TRCP Alliance, March 12, 2013

8. Historical photo of the aftermath of the bomb blast.

Modern photo of the same location. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by TRCP Alliance, March 12, 2013

9. Modern photo of the same location.

Carole Robertson / Addie Mae Collins image. Click for full size.

Photographed by TRCP Alliance, March 12, 2013

10. Carole Robertson / Addie Mae Collins

Denise McNair / Cynthia Wesley image. Click for full size.

Photographed by TRCP Alliance, March 12, 2013

11. Denise McNair / Cynthia Wesley

Killed September 15, 1963 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bill Pfingsten, April 5, 2014

12. Killed September 15, 1963

Addie May Collins
Born April 18, 1949

Carol Denise McNair
Born November 17, 1951

Carole Roasmond Robertson
Born April 24, 1949

Cynthia Diane Wesley
Born April 39, 1949

Memorial to the four girls killed in explosion. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Beverly Pfingsten, April 5, 2014

13. Memorial to the four girls killed in explosion.

Sculpture of the Four Girls image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Beverly Pfingsten, April 5, 2014

14. Sculpture of the Four Girls

Located in Kelly Ingram Park across the street from the church.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 16, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 12, 2013, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,847 times since then and 42 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 12, 2013, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. submitted on March 13, 2013, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama. 12, 13. submitted on April 15, 2014, by Bill Pfingsten of Bel Air, Maryland. 14. submitted on April 16, 2014, by Bill Pfingsten of Bel Air, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.