Preservation Durham, North Carolina

Annual Home Tour

Monthly Lunch & Learn

Weekly Walking Tours

Membership Meetings

Annual Fall Fundraiser

Renovators Network

For more information about Preservation Durham,

please contact our office at (919)-682-3036 or
by email

8th Annual Old Durham Home Tour ~ Forest Hills

Despite the rainy weather on May 1, 2004 hundreds of Preservation Durham members and friends came out for our 8th Annual Old Durham Homes Tour of the architectural treasures of Historic Forest Hills.

Tour graphics by Julie Maxwell

Durham was booming in the 1920s when developers James O. Cobb and Fuller Glass purchased tracts of farm land along University Drive and hired Durham architect George Watts Carr, Sr. to lay out a new suburban neighborhood around a golf course (now Forest Hills Park).

Forest Hills quickly became one of the most desirable places to live within Durham's city limits, attracting newcomers to Durham as well as the younger generations of established Durham families. Buyers began to construct houses in popular period revival styles.

Colonial, Tudor, and English Cottage homes, some of them adaptations of plans originally published in popular magazines such as Home and Garden, soon filled the forested hills only a few blocks south of downtown. Development continued after World War II, with newer homes following the tradition of quality design of the original Forest Hills development in exciting modern styles.

The tour included ten homes built between the 1920s and the 1950s, all distinguished by their fine design and careful preservation, as well as the English gardens at Pinecrest, one of the largest estates in Forest Hills.

Tour Introduction Presentation ~ An Evening with the Natives


It was standing room only at the Forest Hills Clubhouse on Tuesday, April 27 when Preservation Durham President Jane Goodridge (R) introduced long-time Forest Hills residents (L-R) Robert "Judge" Carr, Peaches McPherson, Dillard Teer, and Mena Webb and panel moderator Bob Otterbourg. The panel of entertaining storytellers kept the overflow crowd rapt with stories of both childhood pranks and early neighborhood association activism as they reminisced about their lives and times in Forest Hills.

(TL) The Forest Hills Clubhouse was designed by George Watts Carr in the 1920s when today's city park was a golf course for the new suburb's homeowners. (TR) After Tuesday night's program, Judge Carr talked with members of the audience. (R) Peaches McPherson and tour committee member Brenda Brodie greeted friends as audience members lingered to hear more about the history of Forest Hills.

Tour's Eve Celebration ~ Durham's Best Party!

HPSD Executive Director John Compton (L) and President Jane Goodridge (R) greet tour patrons.

Partygoers got an exclusive look at the beautiful 1920s Tudor Revival Parks Alexander House which was open only for the Tour's Eve Celebration. People gathered on the front lawn at tables decorated with fresh tulips and other spring flowers, enjoying delicious hot and cold hors d'oervres from Foster's Market. Beverages were supplied by Fowler's. As the evening grew cooler, people moved inside to explore the elegantly furnished house, sample more delicious food, and listen to classical music provided by a violin duo.

Mayday by the Park Pictures

webb house
umbrellas

HPSD's 2004 Old Durham Home Tour explored the architectural gems of Forest Hills. Several Colonial Revival style homes designed in the 1920s by Forest Hills' original architect George Watts Carr, such as the 1925 Webb-Fuller-Hobgood House (above left), which Watts designed for his brother-in-law Frank Webb, were included on the tour. Afternoon rain did not deter intrepid tour goers, here (right) headed for the Slattery House.

singletary house

The tour included not only houses from the early development of Forest Hills, but also modern houses from the post-World War II era. Tour goers enjoy exploring the Singletary House which retains many original elements, including a wall-installed GE double oven in the kitchen. The current owners have taken the 1958 house into the 21st century with bright colors and unique furniture and art.

interior

taylor house

(L) At the Taylor House docents greet visitors and introduce them to the home. In this house, both the first and second floors were open to tour goers. The current owners have retained many elements of the original 1920s style and changes made by previous owners while updating the house for modern living. Meanwhile, (R) tour goers compare notes on the front steps.

umbrellas

slattery house

Ticket takers at the entrance to Pinecrest and passing tour goers alike manage to shelter under umbrellas (left). Tour goers (right) walk past the lush lawn at the Slattery House.

azaleas pinecrest

Despite the rainy weather, the beauty of Forest Hills attracted hundreds of tour goers. The 60-year-old azalea hedge was in full bloom at the Ashbaugh House (left). Pinecrest's English style gardens were worth exploring even in the rain (center). The classic architecture of the 1927 Bugg-McBryde-Nashold House is an example of the fine homes that have made HPSD's Old Durham Home Tour an annual event for many tour goers.

Thanks to our wonderful homeowners who so generously opened their homes for the tour. Thanks also to all the tour goers who came out to Forest Hills despite the rain. HPSD invites you all to come again next year for our 9th Annual Old Durham Home Tour- May 7, 2005.

Archives and Tour Pictures

2007
2007

2006
2006

2005
2005

2004
2004

2003
2003

2002
2002
2001
2001

2000
2000

1999
1999

1998
1998

1997
1997