Map: The motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated

450 Mulberry Street, Memphis, TN 38103

The map below shows the motel (black marker) and its related locations.

You can use one of the following shortcuts to open this location in Google Maps or Apple Maps:

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Main Article

The map above belongs to the following article:

The motel where Martin Luther King was assassinated

Assassination Site in Memphis, Tennessee

On April 4th, 1968, civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. was shot dead at this location in the South Main District of Memphis.

A pro-segregationist named James Earl Ray was later convicted of the crime.

Related Locations

The following locations are related to the motel. Please note that the descriptions for these images may lack context if you have not read the main article.


Bessie Brewer's rooming house

Bessie Brewer's Rooming House

This is a Google Street View image of the former rooming house that Ray used to carry out the shooting. He fired his rifle from the small window on the top right.

Ray purchased his Remington rifle just six days before the shooting.

Initially, he traveled to Martin Luther King Jr.'s hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. At the time, he had a map with the locations of King's house and church circled on it.

However, shortly after arriving in Atlanta, he picked up a local newspaper and saw that the civil rights activist had plans to return to Memphis for a couple of days. Consequently, he decided to follow him there.

After driving to Memphis, he rented a room at the New Rebel Motel on Lamar Avenue. Once there, he learned that King was staying at the Lorraine Motel on Mulberry Street.

At around 3.30 p.m. on April 4th, 1968, Ray walked into Bessie Brewer's rooming house and rented room 5B, which was situated at the back.

That afternoon, he purchased binoculars and set up his rifle in the bathroom window, which had a direct line of sight to King's room.

New Rebel Motel

New Rebel Motel Memphis

After arriving in Memphis, James Earl Ray rented a room at the New Rebel Motel, which was situated at 3462 Lamar Avenue. The motel was roughly 10 miles away from Bessie Brewer's rooming house.

These days, it is called the South East Motel.

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