How to Spend a Day in Atlanta's Sweet Auburn Historic District

During the 1920s, Auburn Avenue became the commercial center of Black Atlanta. And in 1956, Fortune Magazine named it "The richest Negro street in America." The phrase "Sweet Auburn" was coined by businessman and civil rights activist John Wesley Dobbs, the "Unofficial Mayor of Sweet Auburn" and the maternal grandfather of Atlanta's first African American mayor, Maynard Jackson. Today, the avenue is home to the Sweet Auburn Springfest, the Caribbean Festival & Parade, and the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade. Here's the best way to spend a day in the Sweet Auburn Historic District.

Auburn Avenue Museums

Your first stop must be the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History. It is the first public library in the Southeast to offer specialized reference and archival collections dedicated to the study and research of African American culture and history and of other peoples of African descent. The newly renovated library has all the information you want on Auburn Avenue’s history.

Next door is the APEX Museum, Atlanta’s only museum solely dedicated to telling the rich and often untold story of people of the African Diaspora. The museum houses exhibits on Africa, the slave trade, African Women in S.T.E.M., Atlanta’s African American politicians and a film on the history of Sweet Auburn.

Iconic Sweet Auburn Neighborhood Locations

Continue east down Auburn Avenue and you’ll see the historic sign for the The Atlanta Daily World, the first black daily newspaper in the country. The paper ran from this building from 1928 to 2008. Though its offices have moved, the paper continues to provide coverage of issues and events affecting Atlanta’s African American communities.

Across the street is the historic sign for The Royal Peacock. In its heyday, the black-owned nightclub hosted such entertainers as James Brown, Little Richard, Gladys Knight, B.B. King, Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles.

Auburn Avenue Churches

If you're visiting on a Sunday, why not get your praise on at a church service at one of four churches along the avenue? Big Bethel A.M.E. Church founded historically black Morris Brown College in 1881. Auburn Avenue was originally called Wheat Street until 1823, and Wheat Street Baptist Church is where the Butler Street YMCA — known as Atlanta’s "Black City Hall" — was founded in 1894. It's also where part of the movie "Selma" was shot. There's also Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, and Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where both Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr. and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached. Church services are held at the new church building across the street, while only tours and special events are held in the historic building.

Sweet Auburn Restaurants

After church, you’ll continue to be thankful as you try the jerk chicken or oxtails at Mangos. On Edgewood, you’ll find a smorgasbord of food options at The Municipal Market. Opened in 1924, it houses vendors offering everything from fresh meats, fish and produce, to prepared foods. And, chitterling lovers have come to the right place! The market is known for selling more chitterlings than any other place in the world — especially during the holidays.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Auburn Avenue

Back on Auburn Avenue, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park offers a smorgasbord of historic sites to see. The park includes the Visitor Center, which holds the original farm wagon that held King’s casket during his funeral procession, along with exhibits and a film on King.

Also included is the Civil Rights Walk of Fame, where you can step into the footprints of activists like Congressman John Lewis. Across the street is The King Center, which houses exhibits on Dr. King, as well as the tombs of Dr. King and his wife, Coretta Scott King.

One block east is the Martin Luther King Jr. Birth Home (temporarily closed for renovations) and other historic homes, where the pastor of Wheat Street Baptist Church and the principal of Booker T. Washington High School — Atlanta’s first high school for African Americans — lived. And finally, there's Historic Fire Station No. 6, which houses an old-fashioned fire engine and an exhibit on the desegregation of Atlanta's fire department.

Getting Around Atlanta's Sweet Auburn Neighborhood

A walk down Sweet Auburn is like a walk through history. But if you're not into walking, catch the Atlanta Streetcar, which will take you all the way down the Avenue and even to The Municipal Market for only $1, or $3 for an all-day pass.