Located at the Lorraine Motel—the site of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination on April 4, 1968—the National Civil Rights Museum stands as both a national institution and an international pilgrimage site. The west campus landscapes, collaboratively designed by Howard+Revis as prime with Self+Tucker and SWA, mark a return to a site of extraordinary historic and cultural significance where the same team collaborated two decades ago to shape the Museum’s first major expansion.

The new phase of work expands the Museum campus with Founders Park, an amphitheater for performances and civic demonstrations aligned with perspective lines toward the Lorraine Motel balcony where Dr. King stood; shaded “ascending rooms” designed as outdoor classrooms; and the Legacy Terrace, a panoramic overlook—with new vantage points of the motel balcony—that pairs meadow-inspired planting with contemplative gathering spaces organized into a swirling form. The design team collaborated closely with the Museum and its steering committee to ensure that the landscape provides a powerful yet understated backdrop to the historic motel while preserving the authenticity of the site, a key step as the Museum pursues UNESCO World Heritage designation.

New entries, signage, and lighting improve connectivity and visitor experience, carefully minimizing visual clutter so that the Lorraine Motel remains the site’s defining landmark. Subtle design gestures, such as stainless steel lines embedded in paving forming a viewshed toward the balcony where Dr. King stood, acknowledge history without prescribing a single interpretation of events. Seasonal planting, designed in collaboration with award-winning horticulturist Patrick Cullina, recalls the historic field conditions around the motel while providing color and bloom cycles timed to annual commemorations like MLK Day. The museum’s new Legacy Building and renovated Boarding House are slated to open in April 2026.