National African-American Archives & Museum (Alabama, USA)

Museum Information

The building at 564 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue has served several roles in Mobile’s African American history. Opened as the Davis Avenue Branch of the Mobile Public Library in 1931, it provided library service to Black residents during segregation. It later became the National African-American Archives & Museum and, following renovation, reopened in 2023 as the Historic Avenue Cultural Center.

The current center uses exhibitions, public programs, talks, workshops, and community projects to document the history of the avenue and Mobile’s Black communities. The former museum’s collections also preserved photographs, records, books, artworks, furniture, and other material connected with African American history in Mobile.

🏛️ From Davis Avenue Library to Historic Avenue Cultural Center

The building was designed by Mobile architect George B. Rogers as a smaller counterpart to the city’s Ben May Main Library. Its Classical Revival design includes a rectangular central block and projecting end sections. The library branch opened in 1931 on Davis Avenue, the street now named Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.

During segregation, it was the library branch available to Mobile’s Black residents. Historical records note that the community helped raise money and collect books for the facility. A rear addition completed in 1961 expanded the building, and after library desegregation the property was later used to store government documents.

The former Davis Avenue Branch was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 22, 1983. The listing recognized both its architecture and its history as a segregated public library. [Source-1✅]

National African-American Archives & Museum

In 1992, Delores S. Dees reopened the building as the National African-American Archives & Museum and served as its first president and executive director. The institution developed collections and exhibitions documenting African American history at local, regional, and national levels.

Historical descriptions of the museum identify holdings that included documents, photographs, records, books, African artworks, furniture, and special collections. Exhibitions addressed slavery, Africatown, Mobile Carnival and Mardi Gras, military service, sports, and the contributions of African American residents to Mobile’s economy and culture. [Source-2✅]

Subjects Documented by the Former Museum

• Slavery: historical material documenting enslavement and its institutions
• Africatown and the Clotilda: records and interpretation connected with Mobile’s African-descended community founded by survivors of the last known slave ship to enter the United States
• Mobile Carnival: African American participation in Mardi Gras and Carnival traditions
• World War II: Black workers and their roles in Mobile’s wartime shipbuilding industry
• Sports: material related to Mobile athletes, including Hank Aaron
• Military and public service: figures including Maj. Gen. Jerome G. Cooper and former U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman

The museum eventually closed in the mid-2010s, and the building remained vacant for several years. Its historical role as an archive remains part of the site’s identity, but visitors today enter a county-operated cultural center rather than the former museum in its earlier form.

Historic Avenue Cultural Center Since 2023

In 2018, the Mobile County Commission entered into a long-term lease with the City of Mobile for the historic building. Mobile County reports investing $500,000 in renovation and preservation work before the property returned to public use.

The building reopened on October 4, 2023 as the Historic Avenue Cultural Center. Its role now combines exhibitions with lectures, workshops, community programs, cultural events, and projects that document the people and institutions associated with the Avenue. [Source-1✅]

Remembering the Avenue Exhibition

The center currently features Remembering the Avenue, a civic-practice exhibition developed through the Alabama Contemporary Art Center’s Guest Curator Program and curated by Jada Jones. It documents historic Davis Avenue through community memory, maps, photographs, stories, and discussion of the corridor’s past and future.

Davis Avenue was a major center of Black business, education, religious life, entertainment, and civic activity in Mobile. The exhibition examines that history alongside the effects of urban renewal and later changes to the neighborhood. Community participation is part of the project, with residents contributing memories and knowledge connected with the Avenue. [Source-3✅]

Subjects Connected With the Avenue

• Black-owned businesses and commercial life along Davis Avenue
• Neighborhood institutions, schools, churches, and civic organizations
• Family and community memories associated with the corridor
• The effects of urban renewal during the twentieth century
• Historic photographs, maps, names, and places connected with Mobile’s Black community

Architecture and National Register Status

The former library was designed in the Classical Revival style by George B. Rogers, who also designed Mobile’s Ben May Main Library. The Davis Avenue building was conceived as a smaller version of the main branch, with a restrained exterior and projecting sections at either end.

The National Register listing records the property as the Davis Avenue Branch, Mobile Public Library, reference number 83003459. Its 1983 designation preserves the building’s identity as both an architectural work and a physical record of segregated public services in twentieth-century Mobile.

Archives, Community Memory, and Public Programs

The site’s function has changed, but archival activity remains relevant to its public programming. The center has hosted programs involving photographs, documents, recorded memories, neighborhood history, artists, historians, and community organizations.

Current programming can include exhibitions, lectures, arts events, community-history projects, and archive-related activities. Individual events may have their own schedules or admission arrangements, so the venue’s regular opening hours should not be treated as the schedule for every program.

🗺️ Visitor Guide: Hours, Contact, and Current Use

The Historic Avenue Cultural Center is currently open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and closed Sunday and Monday. The current venue phone number is (251) 434-9935, and the listed email address is hacc@mobilecountyal.gov. [Source-1✅]

• Regular hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 10:00 AM–5:00 PM
• Closed: Sunday and Monday
• Address: 564 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Ave, Mobile, AL 36603
• Phone: (251) 434-9935
• Email: hacc@mobilecountyal.gov
• Events: Check individual listings because some programs use different hours or ticket arrangements

Research and Group Questions

Visitors seeking access to archival material, planning an organized group visit, or researching a specific subject should contact the center before arrival. The former National African-American Archives & Museum and the present cultural center do not operate in exactly the same way, so historical descriptions of archive access should not automatically be treated as current visitor procedures.

Photography and Accessibility

• Photography: Ask staff about current rules when photographing exhibitions, archival material, or special programs.
• Accessibility: Visitors with specific mobility, seating, or other access requirements can contact the center before arrival for current building information.
• Special events: Programs outside regular exhibition hours may use separate entry procedures.

Who May Find the Center Most Relevant

• Mobile history visitors studying the city’s African American neighborhoods and institutions
• Researchers and students interested in the former National African-American Archives & Museum and its collections
• Civil rights and urban-history visitors examining segregation, desegregation, and urban renewal in Mobile
• Community-history researchers interested in Davis Avenue and its businesses, schools, organizations, and residents
• Architecture visitors studying the former Davis Avenue library and George B. Rogers’ Classical Revival work

The building at 564 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue connects three related histories: the Davis Avenue Branch library established for Black residents during segregation, the National African-American Archives & Museum established there in 1992, and the Historic Avenue Cultural Center that reopened in 2023. Its current exhibitions and programs continue to document the Avenue and Mobile’s African American history while the building itself preserves an earlier chapter of the city’s public and cultural institutions.