debuts plans for Museum

On March 17, 1999, St Patrick's Day and the 80th anniversary of Nat King Cole's birth, the Nat King Cole Society held a gala to announce plans for its new museum.

The evening gala at the Alabama Activity Center in Montgomery sparkled and the air filled with Cole's smooth sound as a parade of dignitaries and musicians gave tribute to the man and his music.

More than just offering a night of great entertainment, the society announced plans to create a permanent museum, park and monument to the native Alabamian whose voice was heard 'round the world.

Nat Cole, who at the time of his death in 1965 was a world-renowned singer , was born in 1919 in a small house at 1524 St. John Street, Montgomery near Alabama State University.

In 1994, the Nat King Cole Society was formed to preserve his birth home from planned neighborhood demolition. The society owns his birth home and plans to move it to a yet-to-be-determined site, renovate it as a museum, and create a park in Cole's honor.