GREENSBORO — The International Civil Rights Center & Museum has placed seventh among USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice travel attractions in North Carolina.
Friday’s announcement of the museum’s ranking follows another major accolade that it received on Monday: its inclusion on the new 14-state U.S. Civil Rights Trail.
The downtown museum is among 14 main sites among 130 locations being promoted as part of the trail, which organizers hope will boost tourism in the region.
The civil rights museum is the former Woolworth store at 134 S. Elm St. where four N.C. A&T students started nonviolent sit-ins on Feb. 1, 1960.
"With its iconic original lunch counter and seats, the ICRCM finds itself in awesome company on this trail," said John Swaine, the museum’s chief executive officer.
Swaine is pleased with both honors.
"We are delighted that we can expect an influx of even more visitors from far and near to benefit from our transformative story," Swaine said. "This is the next step for reaching our goal to be recognized as a world-class center, and we have more ambitious plans for making further impact."
National newspaper USA Today promoted the 10Best competition. 10Best enlisted a panel of North Carolina travel writers and photographers to nominate their favorite state attractions.
The panel of experts partnered with 10Best editors to picked the initial 20 nominees. The top 10 winners were determined by popular online votes over the past four weeks.
Winners were announced Friday at http://10best.com/awards/travel/best-north-carolina-attraction.
At the top of the list — Mount Airy’s Main Street.
Mount Airy was actor Andy Griffith’s childhood home and the inspiration behind the town of Mayberry in his 1960s television classic, "The Andy Griffith Show." The town’s historic Main Street looks much like its fictional counterpart, complete with vintage squad cars and a replica of the jail and courthouse from the show.
Here is the rest of the top 10:
2. Battleship North Carolina, Wilmington
3. Biltmore Estate, Asheville
4. Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Durham
5. Grandfather Mountain
6. Blue Ridge Parkway
7. International Civil Rights Center & Museum, Greensboro
8. Cape Lookout National Seashore, Harkers Island
9. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
10. Corolla Wild Horses, Corolla.