City of Montgomery gets federal grant to preserve historic City of St. Jude hospital
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WAKA) – The City of Montgomery has received a $750,000 National Park Service grant through the Historic Preservation Fund’s African American Civil Rights program for rehabilitation and repairs of the historic St. Jude Hospital building.
The project will include architectural services, historic structure reports, preservation plans and physical preservation.
The City of St. Jude campus has a central place in the history of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights March. The 54-mile march began at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church in Selma. After four days, marchers reached St. Jude on March 24, 1965, where the campus served as their final campsite before the march reached the Alabama Capitol.
That night, the campus hosted the “Stars for Freedom” rally, organized by Harry Belafonte. The event brought performers and supporters to St. Jude, including Nina Simone, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger and Odetta. Thousands of marchers and supporters gathered on the campus.
Founded in the 1930s by Catholic priest Father Harold Purcell, the City of St. Jude campus provided health, education and social services to Black residents during segregation. St. Jude Hospital opened in 1951 as the Southeast’s first integrated hospital.
“St. Jude gave marchers shelter on the final night before they walked to the Capitol, and its history reflects the courage and determination behind the voting rights movement,” Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said. “This grant will help us stabilize and rehabilitate the historic hospital building and preserve an important part of that story.”
Today, most of the hospital has been converted into apartments for low-income families. Plans are underway to renovate the unused portion and turn it into an interpretive center and re-enactment site run by the National Park Service.
