The Lathan Company

01/15/2024

The Lathan Company moves history:

This modest home in Selma, Alabama offers no clue from the outside of the historic events that occurred inside these humble walls. From the home of his best friend, Dr. Sullivan Jackson, Dr. King planned the voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery in March 1965.

Dr. King watched President Johnson address the nation and a joint session of Congress within this simple home in Selma. The photo of that moment is among the most famous images of the civil rights movement when published by Life Magazine.

Dr. Jackson's family recognized the importance of those events and preserved the home and its furnishings for future generations.

The Henry Ford Museum of Dearborn, Michigan, acquired the Jackson Home and hired The Lathan Company to preserve the home and its contents. The home and items have been shipped to the museum's Greenfield Village where they will be reassembled by The Lathan Company in the summer of 2024.

See the story at: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/985898d5/88GxJYjJ80yzIC5GHH9LeA?u=https://www.thehenryford.org/visit/greenfield-village/jackson-house/


In March of 2023 , The Lathan Company began preparing The Jackson House of Selma , Alabama for the journey to The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

Lathan meticulously removed, cataloged and packed the home's roof tiles, rafters , chimneys, windows , roof decking, doors, and brick piers to prepare the house to be transported to Michigan. Lathan recorded and preserved the components so they will be back in their original place and condition at Greenfield Village.

Lathan then expertly braced and shored the structure inside and out to ensure the move would not compromise the integrity of the house. Using laser measurements and expert craftsmen , Lathan separated the structure in to two halves and sealed it for the 800 mile move.

On December 8, 2023, all pieces arrived safely in its Michigan warehouse awaiting the restoration which is scheduled to take place in the summer of 2024. The Lathan team will travel to The Henry Ford museum to reassemble this historic home.

Source: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/985898d5/88GxJYjJ80yzIC5GHH9LeA?u=https://www.thehenryford.org/visit/greenfield-village/jackson-house/

09/19/2023

A great honor for TLC to dismantle-with TLC- the Jackson home for the prestigious The Henry Ford Museum. Piece by piece, we are dismantling this historic home that was the home base for Martin Luther King, Jr in Selma. AL. MLK stayed at this him as he organized and planned the civil rights protests and marches. In this house, he watched as LBJ pledged to sign the Civil Rights Act. The original contents have already been packed and sent to the museum where they await the arrival of the home to be joined again for visitors of the HFM to see. The HFM is also home of the Rosa Parks bus that ignited the civil rights movement in Montgomery. We are proud to be taking meticulous care of this historic and important American history home.

Our crews are hard at work in Selma, Alabama, preparing the Jackson House for its big move to Greenfield Village. https://www.waka.com/2023/09/13/crews-packing-up-historic-house-in-selma-for-move-to-detroit/

WAKA News

05/24/2023

We see you Jacob Title- can’t wait to show off the final product. What a beautiful building that just needs TLC.

01/17/2023

Kirkwood Mansion in Eutaw, AL The Lathan Company is already beginning restorations from the storm damage of last week. The cupola is missing as well.
History: https://www.ruralswalabama.org/attraction/kirkwood-eutaw-al/

01/09/2023

Live in your high school? In Lincoln, AL, The Lathan Company has repurposed the old Lincoln High School into an assisted living facility. A beautiful building that just needed some TLC…literally!

12/24/2022

The weary world rejoices…

12/06/2022

What does the 2011 Warner Brothers movie "The Green Lantern" (with Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Tim Robbins, Peter Sarsgaard and Angela Bassett) and The Lathan Company have in common? The movie was shot in 2010 on a Lathan job site in New Orleans- Lakefront Airport. Lakefront was being renovated to restore the original art deco building of the 1930's back to its original architecture after changes were attempted in the 1970s. Lathan had to work with Warner Brothers for the job to continue but to work around the movie making process. For working so well with the production schedule and director/producers, Mr. Lathan was even given a speaking part in the movie. Go back and check him out- the man in the big party scene who says to Tim Robbins, "Senator, thanks for everything", while shaking his hand, is Jerry Lathan. Lakefront Airport became 'Ferris Air' while Lathan work continued. The movie cost $200,000,000 to make, brought in $219,000,000 which was low compared to what was expected, but Lathan Company's job site of the New Orleans Lakefront Airport was a magnificent restoration project for all to see today.
Fun facts: Lakefront Airport had a bomb proof exterior built after WWII. It was damaged during Hurricane Katrina destroying several buildings on the property.

11/16/2022

As Artemis launched today, The Lathan Company remembers our 1990 contract with NASA to replace the roof on the VAB- Vehicle Assembly Building- at Kennedy Space Center. The reroof of the building was done after the shutdown of the Columbia Space Shuttle accident. The VAB was the second largest building on earth by volume. It hosts the largest American flag in our nation. Each stripe on the flag is the width of an interstate lane.

11/04/2022

Netherlands Carillon- adjacent to Arlington Cemetery and the Iwo Jima Monument: TLC carefully removed and tracked all 2,940 components of the 127 ft monument down to a bare steel superstructure. Each piece was documented so that it went back into its original position. The components were brought to Alabama to restore by artisans skilled in refurbishing metal. While the Lathan Alabama Team restored the components, the Arlington team meticulously reinforced the superstructure. After all components were refurbished (or replaced in kind due to severe deterioration), Lathan reassembled the Tower. The final outcome is a fully restored monument that will live on for generations to enjoy and remember the deep sacrifices of World War II. Guests at the ribbon cutting: Netherlands Ambassador Andre Haspels , Jerry Lathan, Congressman Barry Moore, Terry Lathan and Congressman Jerry Carl.

10/20/2022

Hotels of history. The Lathan Company has stepped back in time to restore prestigious historical hotels- oh, if these walls could talk.

10/14/2022

The Lathan Company is proud to be partners with many HBCU-Historically Black Colleges and Universities- and African American institutions. Each property we have restored, repaired or reconstructed is with the upmost care and detailed work.

08/25/2022

The historic Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma is receiving extensive renovations. Flying one of the cupolas down and now repairing it with TLC. We are renovating this 1869 iconic civil rights church that was ground zero for the March to Montgomery in 1965.