Copper thieves struck the Montgomery, Ala., apartment where Rosa Parks lived when she made civil rights history, reports the city’s Advertiser. Parks’ former apartment, unit 634, was one of many in the Cleveland Court project heavily damaged in thieves’ hunt for copper pipes and tubing last weekend. The apartment, designated a landmark on both the state and federal registries, is marked outdoors with a small sign: “The Home of Mrs. Rosa Parks.”
The 140-unit project is vacant and fenced off as it undergoes a multimillion-dollar renovation. Parks’ former apartment also was undergoing restorations to allow more visitor access. The apartment serves as a small museum, furnished with replica period pieces from the 1950s. Parks, who died in 2005, lived at the complex from 1951 to 1957 with her husband, Raymond, and mother. Parks made history when she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a Montgomery bus in 1955.