| Upper Ninth Street |
| W. Main St./Erwin Square |
| Broad Street |
| Ninth Street Shopping District |
| Edith, Virgie, and Carolina |
| Rosehill Ave |
| Hale Street |
| Knox, Green, Alabama |
| Oakland, Lawndale
| Trent Dr., Rutherford, Warner, Bolton and 15th Streets |
| Iredell Street |
| Hillsborough Road |
| West Pettigrew St. |
| Gin St. and Dezern Pl. |
| Sights Near OWD |
Snapshots of Old West Durham
This is a growing archive of shots submitted by residents of the neighborhood. Visit it often!
This is Ninth Street, the main business
district in the neighborhood. Our district fire house is here, as well
as an elementary school. The street features an interesting mix of eclectic
shops, cozy cafes and popular restaurants.
Ninth Street looking south (drawing by Jalaeh Steverson, NC State College of Design)
H&K Printing and A-1 Mail Shoppe (building used to house Whitmore
Bakery, which long-time residents said, "smelled wonderful and made
the best donuts in town").
Former Earth & Spirit store is now a Sushi restaurant (site of the
original Ninth St Bakery). To the left was Pender's grocery store --
famous for its wagon which delivered goods to the mill village (red
brick building is now Charlie's Bar and Grill).
George's Garage restaurant (in 1938, this corner lot was the home of
Clarence Cates).
Biddy Early's tavern.
McDonald's Drug Store (established in 1922, McDonald's is the oldest
business on Ninth Street).
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John McDonald, "Mayor of Ninth Street" |
The new kid on the block next door to McDonalds, Dogstar
Tattoo, was once West Durham Cash Store which sold dry goods.
One of the neighborhood's
National Register Historic District signs. To the left is Bernard's
Formal Wear -- once Bernardi's Fruit and Produce. The Bernardi family
lived south of Englewood Avenue, on Hillandale (near the Berini and
Citrini families).
Vaguely Reminiscent clothing (building once served as
both Kime Barber Shop and the West Durham Beauty Shop).
The Regulator Bookshop and Java Cafe (was Fred Hinson's
home in the late 1920s and early 1930s). Existing building was originally
Cheek's Dry Cleaner's. Mrs. Cheek's daughter had a seamstress shop in
the back of the basement (with an alley entrance) while furs were stored
in the front of the basement (where books are now stored). Folks thought
the glass blocks were a bit fancy for a mill village shopping strip.
Books on Ninth and
the Blue Corn Cafe. Rambeau's Barber Shop once stood here. Nearby was
Ninth Street's roughest spot -- a pool hall run by Louis Cole. Most
neighborhood kids were not allowed to pass through the doors.
The building that
now houses Art Craft Framing and Vaguely Reminiscent was Morgan's Cafe
for many years -- run by Garland and Lois Morgan. The night of Martin
Luther King's assassination, the front of Morgan's Cafe was hit with
a lit gasoline-filled bottle. Farther down Ninth, Couch's Furniture
Store was burned to the ground. Garland "Speck" Morgan had moved to
Durham to help his father run L&M Restaurant downtown -- before
establishing Morgan's Cafe. The Morgan family hailed from the mill village
of Reidsville (north of Greensboro). One of Speck Morgan's granddaughters
now writes for The Independent Weekly, in Old West Durham.
Native Threads once
housed the popular Ruby's Cafe. Owner Ruby O'Briant lived on Oakland
Avenue, near Lawndale.
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Native Threads (was a vacant lot in the 1930s). |
Francesca's Dessert Café was once Godwin's Dance
Studio. Back in 1925, 706 9th Street was the West Durham Weinie Stand
and 738 was the West Durham Cafe (now Jimmy John's).
Colorful flyers are up on bulletin boards along Ninth,
promoting local music and communty events and entertainment.
The Play House toy shop and Campus Florist: For many years, one side
of the Play House was Ray King's Barber Shop. Campus Florist was Brewer's
Drug Store and the Junior Order of the United American Mechanics was
upstairs. The Great A&P Tea Company stood here in 1925.
"A mob of shoppers rushing for a sale on DVD players
trampled the first woman in line and knocked her unconscious as they
scrambled for the shelves at a Wal-Mart Supercenter."
-Associated Press
Brueggers Bagel Bakery & CCI Photographics was once Wachovia Bank.
A couple of two-story mill houses stood across Ninth Street from the
old bank (where Specs and Alpha Graphics are now located). Their yards
backed up to the large mill pond on the corner. The Collins and Fergerson
families lived in the wood frame houses. Betty Collins went to EK Powe,
married Don Schlitz and their son grew up to compose "The Gambler" (the
song made famous by Kenny Rogers and was eventually made into a movie
of the same name).
Every locale has it landmarks That only the locals
know: A "T" in the road, a place to park, Where only the locals go.
Some stick around while others depart, But the bond's always there Deep
inside of their hearts.
--J. Wilson, Urban Hiker
If anyone else has pictures of other OWD homes or landmarks, email me and either attach the scans, or arrange to drop off the pictures to me and I'll scan them and put them on the site.
Thanks,
Tom Clark, webmaster