Ben Moore Hotel/Malden Brothers Barber Shop

The Ben Moore Hotel was built in 1951 and opened its doors to African Americans in 1952. It would become the site of historic meetings between representatives of the black and white populations of Montgomery during the dawn of the Civil Rights era.

The four-story Ben Moore Hotel offered lodging, a safe place for meetings, and a vibrant social life free from the bigotry and hostilities of the racism of the 1950s and '60s.

An evocative barbershop remains in its basement, full of Civil Rights-era news clippings, pictures, and portraits, including one of its most famous customers, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Dexter Avenue Church Parsonage, where he lived for many years, is just yards away.

Today, except for the barbershop, the hotel is vacant.