Alabama: Freedom Riders National Monument

The Freedom Riders National Monument is located in Anniston, Alabama. It was established in 2017 to commemorate the 1961 Freedom Rides during the African American Civil Rights movement. The monument is managed by the National Park Service.

Anniston Trailways Station

The Trailways Station in downtown Anniston was the site of violence and intimidation of Freedom Riders in route to Birmingham on May 14, 1961.

• The Trailways station building is a multi-story grey building on a street corner in a downtown commercial district. One side of the building, facing Noble Street, features large rectangular window and a black-and-white striped awning. In front of the building on Noble Street there is a historic marker and solar-powered audio post which features testimony from a Freedom Rider. The adjacent side of the building, facing 9th Street, features large mural artwork depicting a Trailways bus. The mural is accompanied by interpretive text panels.

Greyhound Bus Burning Site

On this site in May of 1961, a small group of nonviolent activists called Freedom Riders were attacked by a white mob.

• The burn site is a grassy triangular field alongside a state highway. Across an access road, there is a state historic marker that describes the bus burning. A brown NPS sign with a red awning stands in the middle of the field, facing the highway. Near the small parking area, a triangular interpretive display features three panels with information about the burn site attack.

Greyhound Bus Depot

The Anniston Greyhound Bus Depot witnessed the early stages of mob violence against a small group of nonviolent Freedom Riders in May of 1961.

• From the street, you will see a one-story building made of yellow brick and an adjacent alleyway, covered by a wide awning. The front entrance is covered by a small black awning. Near the entrance stands a City of Anniston historic marker and an audio post where visitors can listen to the account of one of the Freedom Riders present in 1961. In the alleyway, opposite the wide awning, is a mural. The mural, called "Could You Get On the Bus?" features an image of a period-correct Greyhound bus and several interpretive panels detailing the events of the May 1961 attack. The interior of the building is divided into two rooms by a wall, partially covered by wood paneling. both rooms have concrete floors, painted red, and original teal tiling. The building's interior is undergoing restoration.

Greyhound Bus Mural

This mural, titled "Could You Get on the Bus?", commemorates the Freedom Riders attacked in Anniston on May 14, 1961 at the Greyhound Bus Depot. The mural faces the alleyway where the attack began.

• The "Could You Get On The Bus?" mural is located on a red-brick wall in an empty alleyway shared by yellow-brick building. The alleyway is paved and approx. 80 feet long, and the mural itself is approx. 25 feet long and 15 feet high. A wide overhanging awning attached to the building opposite the mural provides ample shade.

Noble Street Park

Located in the heart of the Downtown Anniston Historic District, this street corner provides a welcome resting place during an afternoon of exploration in downtown Anniston. 

• This location is at the corner of two busy streets in downtown Anniston's commercial district, surrounded by brick and stone commercial buildings. The location features a small resting area, including benches, limited landscaping, and murals on buildings.

Public Library of Anniston-Calhoun County

The Public Library of Anniston-Calhoun County was the site of integration efforts by African American faith leaders in 1963.

• The Public Library of Anniston-Calhoun County is a two-story rectangular building made of stone and glass, located at the corner of two city streets in downtown Anniston. One side, facing 10th street, features a covered awning supported by four brick columns, brick outcroppings at regular intervals along the façade, five large second-floor windows above the entrance, and a historic marker. The adjoining side, facing Wilmer Avenue, features a bus stop, an entrance to the library parking lot with a large black metal gate, and a stone and brick wall with no windows. Trees line the sidewalk at regular intervals along both street-facing sides of the library building.

West 15th Street Historic District

A "city within a city," the West 15th Historic District was the epicenter for African American commercial and social life in Anniston between 1898 and 1950.

• The West 15th Historic District includes several city blocks along 15th Street in Anniston, Alabama. The landscape includes twentieth century commercial brick buildings, frame and brick homes, empty lots, and small public park. The linear district surrounding 15th street stretches for approximately .25 miles, and the public park measures .25 acres. The public park faces a large, open-air mural depicting scenes that commemorate the history of the West 15th Street community and features benches, picnic tables, a historic marker, a few young trees, and an exercise path.

Zinn Park

Zinn Park is an inviting downtown park, located a few blocks off Noble Street in downtown Anniston.

• Zinn Park covers two city blocks (approx. 2 acres) in downtown Anniston, AL. The park is filled with several tall trees that provide ample shade cover to benches and picnic tables throughout the location. A splash pad, often filled with happy children, sits near one corner of the park, opposite the Unity House, a one-story brick building used for community meetings. The park also includes a brick amphitheater surrounded by aluminum bleachers for community events and a multi-colored playground set with towers, swings, slides, and other equipment.

Anniston Greyhound Bus Depot

• Anniston Greyhound Bus Depot
• The Anniston Greyhound Bus Depot is open Tuesday–Thursday, 10 am–4 pm. Park rangers and volunteers will be available to open the site and answer visitor questions, provide parks brochures, park stamps, and Junior Ranger books and badges. Outside exhibits are open 24 hours every day. Visiting on a day the depot isn't open? Visit the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce for passport stamps and brochures.

Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce

• Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce
• Due to limited hours at the Anniston Greyhound Bus Depot, information about Freedom Riders National Monument is also available at the Calhoun County Area Chamber & Visitors Center. The Visitor Vestibule with the passport stamp and park brochures is open 24 hours every day.

• Junior Ranger
• Explore the story of the Freedom Riders through the Junior Ranger Program in Anniston, Alabama.

• Explore the Freedom Riders Story
• Explore the indoor and outdoor exhibits that tell the stories of the Freedom Riders. Indoor exhibits are limited to open hours, but outdoor exhibits are always available.

• Drive Through Anniston Civil Rights History
• The Anniston Civil Rights Heritage Trail project began in 2010. This nine-stop driving tour explores key sites and stories associated with Anniston's civil rights history.

The Model City Walking Tour

Take a stroll through 100 years of Anniston history and learn about some of the people, places, and changes that have shaped the "Model City" from its founding in the 1870s through the integration efforts of the Bi-Racial Human Relations Council in the 1960s. The "Model City" Walking Tour route is about two miles long and includes seven stops throughout downtown Anniston. For the full experience, listen to the tour's interpretive audio, or follow along with the accompanying transcript.