Forty years of Black history from the APEX Museum
Located on 135 Auburn Avenue in Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn historic district is the African Panoramic Experience (APEX) Museum.
For 40 years, the APEX Museum has strived to provide its visitors with a unique experience of Black history as it relates to Atlanta and the African diaspora.
The museum is home to a variety of exhibits including “Africa the Untold Story,” Timeline, “Women in STEM” and “The Georgia Negro.”
While the APEX Museum wasn’t officially founded until 1978, the building that it occupies was constructed in 1910 as the Atlanta Book Depository until it was turned a tire warehouse in the 1970s.
It was later renovated and restored by the ER Mitchell Construction company before APEX Museum founder, Dan Moore Sr., decided to house a museum for African Ameican heroes in the first floor of the structure.
The filmmaker came up with the idea after attending a banquet for civil rights leader and former Morehouse College president Dr. Benjamin E. Mays. APEX Museum’s special event coordinator Deborah Strahorn says that Moore often liked to spout the words of Asa Frant Hillard, former Georgia State University professor, “whatever you do, don’t believe that Black history starts with slavery.”
Strahorn herself is a fixture at APEX Museum, working from 1987-1990 and returned in 2014. Guests can visit the APEX Museum on Tuesday – Saturday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Paid parking of $8 -$10 is available, as well as being handicap accessible to ensure that all are welcome to come and experience the eye-opening history that is there to offer.
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