Civil Rights Memorial Under Construction

If you’ve driven by the Civil Rights Memorial in Downtown Montgomery recently, you may have noticed it is under construction.  After nearly 30 years, the memorial is getting a face lift.

Civil Rights Memorial Center Director Lecia Brooks explains why the construction is needed.

“The civil rights memorial that was dedicated in 1989 has been operating on this same pump since 1989,” she shared.

Brooks says they’ve been having issues with the pump over the past few years and now was the time to replace it.

“We hate to have the civil rights memorial down any time of the year as you can imagine, but this is just the right time to do it,” she added.

Amy Papalexandrou was in town Monday hoping to see the memorial, and was disappointed to see it was under construction.

“I know all about Maya Lin and I was really interested to see her design so I’m really disappointing that I couldn’t,” she explained.

Brooks hopes she’ll come back to see the memorial in the future, and adds they’re also touching up some of the etching that has worn down over the years.

“We have thousands and thousands of visitors every year that pass through the memorial and we want them to touch it, and over time it’s just kinda worn down,” Brooks said.

Maya Lin, the original designer, is overseeing the project.  Brooks says it will cost around $1 million and should be finished by the end of October.  The Memorial Center remains open despite the construction.