When you go to Selma, my friend said, you need to stay at the Woolworth Lofts. These renovated rooms atop the old five-and-dime are filled with light, art and a fair amount of history. Sixty years ago, civil rights marchers gathered on the street outside the downtown building on their way to the state capitol in Montgomery. But first, they had to cross the Edmund Pettus bridge two blocks away.
Of course, there was history before those days, but I can’t help a fascination with the history since. And that’s why I was thrilled to learn that I slept in the same suite where a genuine music legend stayed. Joan Baez, singer, activist, artist, stayed in this room filled with light and art when she kicked off her Fare Thee Well Tour in Selma in 2019.
Welcome to the Woolworth Lofts
Joan Baez Slept Here
Art in the Lofts
The 5 and Dime
Below the lofts is the original Woolworth store, now known as the 5 and Dime. Artist and developer AC Reeves, renovated the Woolworth Lofts. Her goal is to revitalize Selma through art. How amazing is that?
AC (short for Anna Catherine) says Selma “is about to pop open like a can of biscuits!” She posed with my daughter, Laura, below:
I can’t resist fresh flowers in glass bottles, especially if they’re zinnias. As my kiddo would say, this is my aesthetic.
Stay at Woolworth Lofts in Selma, Alabama
For more information about the Woolworth Lofts, check out Airbnb and Facebook.
