Construction starts on $10M Selma Interpretive Center expansion

The $10 million renovation and expansion of the Selma Interpretive Center has begun on Broad Street and Water Avenue.

A black fence has gone up along the main drag in Selma indicating progress is approaching as the National Park Service moves forward on its plans to expand the Voting Rights Interpretive Center in downtown Selma.

It’s the first outward sign of the project’s construction that has been moving behind the scenes for years.

In December 2022, the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, operated by the National Park Service, bought six properties adjacent to the Interpretive Center as part of the $10 million interpretive education center project that will commemorate the Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches of 1965.  

The properties purchased are located at 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 Broad St. and 1119 Water Ave., which makes up about .65 acres. The plan was to start construction in early 2023, but Selma was hit by an EF-3 tornado on Jan. 12.

The plan also involved completed the expansion in time for the 60th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday in March 2025. It is unclear if the project will be delayed. A call to Dr. Joy G. Kinard, superintendent of Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, was not returned by press time.

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The Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail has operated a visitor contact station at 2 Broad Street since 2011. The expansion project, prioritized for investment in President Biden’s fiscal year 2022 budget, will expand the center’s footprint and provide a state-of-the-art visitor experience with a focus on educational programming, accessibility and opportunities for the community, according to a 2022 NPS press release.

The facades at 8-10 Broad St. will be retained and preserved as part of the historic streetscape where marchers trekked in 1965, according to the NPS release. 

“This acquisition (by the NPS) will better position us to interpret how the Selma voting rights struggle helped draw the nation closer to the promise of democracy,” Kinard said in the December 2022 release. “We appreciate the National Park Foundation’s support in this effort, which is primed to help spur economic development and recognize the foot soldiers central to this story.”  

NPF President and CEO Will Shafroth said, “Improving the interpretive center in Selma will provide people greater access and the opportunity to better understand and appreciate the historic struggle for voting rights that unfolded in Selma during a critical moment in the civil rights movement.”   

Established in 1996, the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail commemorates, interprets and preserves the important stories of the Selma voting rights movement and the routes of the Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches of 1965. The 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches are recognized as pivotal events among the campaigns for human rights in the United States. Together, the movement and marches were critical catalysts to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

“Today the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail serves as an enduring testament to the continued struggle to preserve the right to vote as a fundamental cornerstone of American democracy,” the NPS release said.