Skip to content
BusinessesGrow
Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, Montgomery, AL

Photo: Punkairwaves, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

SightseeingHistory BuffIconic

Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church

454 Dexter Ave · Montgomery, AL

Why you should go…

This brick church was completed in 1889 for a congregation that freedmen organized in 1877, and it is now a National Historic Landmark. Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor here from 1954 to 1960 and directed the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott from his basement office. Guided tours take you into the sanctuary where he preached, and the nearby Dexter Parsonage Museum shows the home where his family lived. Church tours are by appointment only, so call ahead.

  • #civil rights history
  • #historic church
  • #guided tour
  • #martin luther king jr
  • #national historic landmark

Good to know

General sightseeing guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • The forecast is part of the ticket

    Haze, low cloud, and rain flatten a view. Clear-day visits are worth rearranging your plans for.

  • Golden hour sells out first

    Sunset slots at observation decks and cruises are the first to go, so book those further ahead.

  • Dress a layer warmer

    It is always breezier up high and out on the water than it feels at street level.

  • Timed entry is common

    Plenty of landmarks release tickets in windows rather than at the door, so check before you walk over.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Alabama State Capitol

    Free

    Walk the 1851 Greek Revival statehouse where the Confederacy was formed and the 1965 voting rights march ended.

    Steps awayMore like this

  • Museums
    History Buff

    The Legacy Museum

    Under $25

    Walk through immersive exhibits tracing American history from enslavement to mass incarceration, on a site where enslaved people were once held.

    0.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Rosa Parks Museum

    Under $25

    See exhibits on Rosa Parks' 1955 arrest and the Montgomery Bus Boycott at the spot where she was arrested.

    0.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    National Memorial for Peace and Justice

    Under $25

    Walk beneath more than 800 hanging steel monuments naming victims of racial terror lynchings, county by county.

    0.7 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site

    Free

    See the George Washington Carver Museum and Booker T. Washington's home, The Oaks, on the Tuskegee University campus.

    35 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site

    Free

    Tour the Moton Field hangars where the Tuskegee Airmen trained, with a restored Link Trainer and exhibits on the cadets.

    37 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums