Park Service Taking Over King Landmark

Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. grew up and from which he led the civil rights movement, will be turned over today to the National Park Service. Between the weekend tourists and its 40 ministries, the church has outgrown its walls on Auburn Avenue in downtown Atlanta. Although members will move to a bigger building across the street, the day will be bittersweet. “Those old pews and windows mean so much,” said Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), one of King’s compatriots. Lewis was married in the church by King’s father in 1968 and he still attends Sunday services there when he is in town.