Site of Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination to open to public for the first time

The balcony where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis is now open for visitors for the first time since the National Civil Rights Museum opened in 1991.

The museum says visitors on Monday were able to stand on the spot where King was fatally shot on April 4, 1968.

The museum stands on the grounds of the former Lorraine Motel, where King stayed while supporting a sanitation workers strike. It includes various exhibits about the history of the civil rights movement and allows visitors to see the room where King stayed.

The balcony will be open temporarily, likely closing around the time when renovations to the museum end in 2014.

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