Downtown Durham (ca. 1933): Northwest corner of Main & Corcoran, with the original Post Office, the Fidelity Bank and office building next door, the Washington Duke Hotel (twin towers) in back, and the Geer Building across the street on the right. Five Points and the Brightleaf District can be seen down West Main. Courtesy of Durham Co Library.
Walking tour of Durham's Tobacco Heritage: 90-minute free tour (described here) tells many tales from Durham's past during the tours, using oral histories and photographs to illustrate the history of tobacco and people like blues guitarist John Dee Holleman. 1st Saturdays, April-November (10 a.m. Durham Farmers's Market, Foster St). 682-3036.
Aerial View of Five Points & Brightleaf District (ca. 1920): Looking west down Chapel Hill, West Main and Morgan Streets. Note Liggett & Myers Tobacco Factory(old Duke tobacco factory in the center), the Carolina Theatre (lower right) and and City Hall (behind the theater, now Durham Arts Council). Courtesy of Durham Co Library.
Civil Rights History Tour: Two-hour free tour (described here) focuses on sites in downtown Durham that were important during the 1950s and 60s Civil Rights movement, including the Durham County Courthouse, the Arts Center (originally Durham High School and later City Hall), and the Kress and Woolworth buildings, sites of sit-in protests. 2nd Saturdays, April -November (10 a.m. Durham Farmers's Market, Foster St). 682-3036.
Aerial View of American Tobacco Company (ca. 1926): Located at the southwest corner of Pettigrew and Blackwell Streets, building was originally the main building of W.T. Blackwell and still has the Bull Durham ads on the front. Note railroad yards and signal house in foreground. Durham Bulls Athletic Park now stands to left. Courtesy of Durham Co Library.
Tour of Architecture and Landscape: Two-hour free tour (described here) covers buildings in Downtown Durham and includes examples of many architectural styles popular in the 20th century, including Art Deco, Italianate, Neo-Classical and the elaborate brick structures of the tobacco industry. 3rd Saturdays, April - November (10 a.m. Durham Farmers's Market, Foster St.). 682-3036.
Civil Rights protest in front of Durham's old City Hall during the 1960s. Courtesy of Durham Co Library.
West Main Street (ca. 1920): View looking west reveals the ornate style and details of the many shop facades built after the turn of the century including: Geer Building, Post Office, and Fidelity Bank, Kinton's Jewelers, Doyle Florist, Merchants Bank, Florsheim Shoes, Whelan Drug Company, and Kress Department Store (later site of sit-in protests). Courtesy of Durham Co Library.
Architectural rendering of East Campus by Julian Abele, an African American architect in Philadelphia. Courtesy of Duke Archives.
Walking tour around Duke's East Campus: 60-minute self-guided tour takes you around Duke's old campus and includes brief forays into historic neighborhoods. Where did Richard Nixon live as a Duke Law student? Where did Elvis go to lose weight? Why is Ninth Street called Ninth Street? What song writer for Norah Jones was 'born on a kitchen table' near the East Campus wall? 18-stop tour begins anytime at Broad and Perry streets (across from Whole Foods Market). Print free tour guide and go.
Walking tour down West Club Boulevard: The main road in Watts Hospital-Hillandale neighborhood (next door to OWDNA; have a look here) is a treasure trove of early twentieth-century American residential architecture.