A.G. Gaston Motel Restoration Timeline
Birmingham, Ala. (March 27, 2019) ー Mayor Randall Woodfin’s Office today released a timeline for the restoration of the 32-room A.G. Gaston Motel, which originally opened on July 1, 1954. The restoration project will last from March 2019 to 2021.
Once the project has been completed, the goal is to have visitors experience the motel just like when the motel opened, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. held civil rights movement strategy meetings there and other historic moments from the 1950s and 1960s.
The motel will be restored to look exactly like it did in the 1950s. A.G. Gaston Construction is one of the partners working on the project.
Phase 1 Mock-up March 2019 – June 2019
Crews are assessing eight areas of the hotel to review the type of restorations that are needed for each area in order to preserve the motel’s historical character. For example, crews will remove a window, analyze it and determine how much work is needed to restore it or replace it.
These eight areas will include: the roof, the brick walls, the exterior planters, windows, doors, etc.
In late March, crews started to remove paint from the building’s wood exterior; patch existing stucco; repair the grout in brick walls, etc. The planters at the front of the building are currently taller than what was there when the motel opened in 1954. Crews have started to remove the brick planters, repair the foundation for the planters and rebuild the planters to their original height.
The motel has two sections: The original section built in 1954 and a section second built in 1968. Both areas will be restored.
The second-floor, covered pink walkway, which connects the 1954 structure to a part of the 1968 structure, will be removed around mid-April.
In effort to gain additional information from the public about the motel, Mayor Woodfin has asked people to submit their memories and photos about the motel to gastonstories@birminghamal.gov. People may submit between March 27 and May 15, 2019.
Phase 1 Restoration July 2019 – June 2020
This will cover the 1954 wing of the motel, which is where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stayed in Room 30. This project will also cover the motel’s entire roof and trim.
Phase 2 Programming, design and community input July 2019 – June 2020
This will include community meetings to gain feedback on the reuse of the building.
This will also cover the 1968 portion of the motel.
Phase 2 Restoration July 2020 – December 2021
This will cover the motel’s 1968 exterior and interior, the courtyard, landscaping, the restaurant, the motel sign and remaining areas. The existing motel sign is not the original motel sign. The existing sign will be removed and replaced with a replica of what the original sign looked like.
