Bricklayers Hall
National Register of Historic Places

Bricklayers Hall

Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama
Listed
July 23, 2020
Type
Building
Period
Civil War
Ref No.
100005355

About this property

The Bricklayers Union Hall is a historic building in Montgomery, Alabama. Built in 1954, the two-story International Style building is constructed of clay tile with a brick veneer. There are separate entrances to three office units, and a neon sign reading "BRICKLAYERS HALL" near the cornice. The two first-floor suites were rented out, and the second floor, containing offices and a large meeting room, was used by the union. The hall was built by the Bricklayers Union No. 3, which was a part of the International Union of Bricklayers, Masons, and Plasterers, and whose members were predominately Black. One of the offices was rented by the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), which was founded to organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The union secretary, Percy Doak, was a member of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where MIA president Martin Luther King Jr. was pastor. The MIA moved to the building in February 1956 and remained there until 1960. In 1956, the building was used as the logistics and operations hub for the bus boycott. MIA rented the office space in unit C, while unit B (the upstairs meeting rooms/community room) was used for strategy sessions and meetings with local organizers, like Jo Ann Robinson, E.D. Nixon, Ralph Abernathy, and Fred Gray. After the MIA, civil rights attorney Charles Swinger Conley had his office in the building, while working on cases to desegregate interstate busses (following the Freedom Rides), public libraries, and juries, as well as on New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. In 2023, the building was purchased by the non-profit group GirlTREK with plans to utilize the building as its Southern headquarters and field team. GirlTREK is an organization based on organizing community walking events as a way to heal intergenerational trauma, fight systemic racism and transform Black lives. The Alabama Civil Rights Tourism Association (www.civilrightstourism.org) utilizes the 2nd floor and incorporates Civil Rights dinners and programs that engage in exposure to Civil Rights History at this significate site which played such a critical role in the African American struggle for equality and justice.

Location

530 South Union St.
Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama
32.37120, -86.30000

Categories

ETHNIC HERITAGE-BLACKLAWPOLITICS/GOVERNMENTSOCIAL HISTORY
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

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Scott Street Firehouse
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Gerald-Dowdell House
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0.2 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Fort Toulouse
1717Colonial
7.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was Bricklayers Hall listed on the National Register?

Bricklayers Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 23, 2020.

What type of historic resource is Bricklayers Hall?

Bricklayers Hall is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Bricklayers Hall?

The period of significance for Bricklayers Hall is recorded as the civil_war era, specifically around 1954.

Can I research the history near Bricklayers Hall?

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