Grand Master John Wesley Dobbs 
Temple 2025 restoration
Temple 1950’s
Temple 1960’s
Disc jockeys at WERD radio station 
South-east view 2002
Front view with Tabor at left
Detail
Detail of masonry medallions
Detail
Detail
Prince Hall Masonic Temple
& Tabor Building (left)
332-34 Auburn Avenue
Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic District
Atlanta, Georgia
Original owner: Prince Hall Masons
Built: 1937-main; 1941-addition; John Wesley Dobbs
was Grand Master and raised the funds.
Architect: Charles Hopson and Ross Howard
Architectural Style: Renaissance Revival
Original Use: Built as a meeting place for the Prince
Hall Masons, Georgia’s most influential Black Masons Group.
2002 Re-adaptive Use: Currently is the office of the SCLC
2025 The building will be renovated into approximately 16,000 square feet of multi-use space. Once completed, the basement and first floor will be leased and operated by the National Park Service as an educational and interpretive exhibit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s office, while the second floor and Hilliard Street storefronts will be operated by local businesses. The current owner will continue to maintain a portion of the second floor and all of the third floor for organizational activities.
Investment: $10.2 Million
Developer: Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Masons
Status: Under Construction
Year Complete: 2025
Office Space: 10,000 sf
Retail Space: 1,300 sf
Institutional Space: 5,000 sf
Category: Institutional
Type: Adaptive Reuse
1871-The first Mason Lodge is organized
among African Americans in Atlanta. The St. James Lodge No.
4 F.& A.M. with Frances J. Peck, pastor of Big
Bethal A.M.E., as the worshipful master.
1937 – built by Atlanta’s Black Masonic
lodge, headed by John Wesley Dobbs.
1950’s – it was the home of WERD the
nation’s first African American radio station, founded in
the 1920s.
1960– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. moved back to Atlanta, where as president
of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), he
headquartered the organization in this building and led a
national campaign to end segregation.; the Women’s SCLC is
next door in the Tabor building.
The following is from the Atlanta Urban
Design Commission. Auburn Area Commercial District Design
Guidelines. (1990) by The National Main Street Center, Natural
Trust for Historic Preservation:
In Addition to the Prince Hall Masons and
the Odd Fellows, the Auburn area
boasted numerous other fraternal organizations that supported
the black business community. The 1945 city directory lists
27 of these organizations on Auburn Avenue, many of which
had their headquarters in the Prince Hall Masonic building.