Birmingham, Alabama, was the center of the civil rights movement.

But a little known fact about this town is that one of the most popular upscale places

for African-American travelers to stay during segregation is right here, the A.G.

Gaston Motel.

This hotel is one of the many locations across America that's being restored to preserve

the history that took place there.

I wanted to understand how these restoration efforts were undertaken and ultimately achieved.

How did these communities come together to save these once vital places?

This is Drive in the Green Book from McMillan Podcast and I'm your host Alvin Hall.

While my producer Janay Woods Weber and I were in Birmingham, we had to stop by the Motel

to see it for ourselves.

The two-story building with open walkways was undergoing renovation in phases and is

pretty much a construction site.

At the original covered entrance, there was a wire fence and scaffolding covering areas

that were being repaired.

Nonetheless, we were able to stand in the courtyard and talk to the city's director

of Cultural Preservation Denise Gilmore.

This is truly an honor.

This is a place that I have known about for years when people would come to Birmingham.

When I was growing up in the 50s, people would talk about the Gaston Motel and to finally

see it is amazing.

I had no idea it was such an intimate scale.

...