Land to Be Added to King Historic District

The site of a former pencil factory will be added to a historic district honoring Martin Luther King Jr. today as part of celebrations marking his birthday.

The 5 1/2 acres will be converted into a parking lot for a King visitors’ center that is being built by the National Park Service. A one-mile walkway will connect it to the Carter Presidential Center’s library and museum.

With Atlanta hosting the 1996 Summer Olympics, officials expect many visitors to the sites.

“For someone visiting here from France, England, China, what they’re going to think about is: ‘Where is Martin Luther King?’ and ‘Where is Jimmy Carter?’ We’re connecting them,” said Rand Wentworth, a representative for a trust that has acquired and transferred land to complete the 15 1/2-acre district.

The district also includes the neighborhood where the slain civil rights leader grew up.

In the 1950s, the Scripto pencil plant was Atlanta’s largest employer. The King district has become the area’s new economic draw.

The land transfer is one of many ceremonies marking King’s birthday in Atlanta and elsewhere around the nation. President Clinton is scheduled to attend a service at Ebenezer Baptist Church, next door to the King Center, before touring the Olympic Stadium.

The King Center, which is run by King’s family, will hold its annual march and rally. Emory University will show a portfolio of rare photographs taken during the last year of King’s life.

A music program was planned at Boston University, where King got a doctorate in theology in 1955.