Neighborhoods, preservationists and businesses are urging the City of Durham to preserve the old commercial district at Little Five Points, the intersection of Mangum, Cleveland, and Corporation Streets a few blocks north of Downtown. "It seems like their cultural significance is worth taking into account," said David Arneson, chairman of the Durham Historic Preservation Commission, quoted in The Durham News (December 30, 2006). "Contributing to what used to be a vibrant neighborhood." Before World War II, Little Five Points was a busy business district serving the suburban neighborhoods of North Durham and the commercial buildings are considered "contributing properties" to the Duke Park and North Durham historic districts The building at 731 N. Mangum, at the Corporation Street corner, might have been built as early as the 1870s, making it one of Durham's oldest commercial structures. Since the 1980s, the city has channeled millions of dollars into reviving the area. The city council authorized funding for demolition of some of the buildings in February, 2006, over the objections of the Old North Durham and Old Five Points neighborhood associations. Afterward, Old North Durham president Leslie Frost sent a plea via e-mail listservs for others to press city officials to reconsider. "There was a wonderful response," Frost told The Durham News. Preservation Durham and the preservation commission got involved on the buildings' behalf, and by mid-December, the city was advocating renovation, too. Building owners Haskell Properties and UDI are now looking into a joint rehab project. The city owns another building next to the Haskell property. "We are still interested," Ed Stewart of UDI told The Durham News. "We hope some time in early January to develop a concept we would share with the community, one the owner and UDI ... work together on." OLD NORTH DURHAM

Work progresses at the Baldwin Building.

Thousands of people came downtown and waited patiently in long lines to view the four unique and exciting Warehouse Interventions by French installation artist and photographer Georges Rousse in spaces in Downtown Durham. Rousse fabricates magical worlds in everyday spaces that are impossible and perplexing visual conundrums. Armed only with paint, simple building materials and the laws of perspective, he creates strange optical puzzles which morph from 2D to 3D depending on your vantage point.

During September 2006, Rousse worked with teams of volunteers in the Baldwin Building, 107 W. Main Street, the Liberty Warehouse, 500 Foster Street in Durham Central Park, the Chesterfield Building, 701 W. Main Street, and the Bargain Furniture Building, 309 E. Chapel Hill Street. A reception celebrated the completion of the work at the Chesterfield Building on Tuesday, September 26. Rousse's ephemeral creations will live on in stunning large format color photographs. Photographs of his earlier installations have been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world. During his month-long residency, Rousse made connections across Durham including The Center for Documentary Studies, NCCU and Duke University's Art and Art History programs, The Nasher Museum of Art, Durham school children and the wider Durham community. As Downtown Durham experiences a dramatic rebirth, Rousse's work provided the perfect bridge from the past to the future and allow us to look at our everyday spaces in a new and exciting way. For more information about how you can still get involved with this project please email Frank Konhaus or Ellen Cassilly. GEORGE ROUSSE PROJECT

The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation has awarded funds to Preservation Durham for the preparation of a College Heights Historic District nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Across Fayetteville Street and southwest of the North Carolina Central University campus, this will be Durham's first historically African-American residential neighborhood historic district. It will include homes built by prominent business and community leaders as well as staff and faculty from the University.

The Dr. Stanford L. Warren House, moved to Pekoe Street by Preservation Durham in 2003 to prevent its demolition, will be part of this early 20th Century district along with the former home of NCCU's second president Alfonso Elder on Formosa Avenue. Matching funds have also been requested from the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office, and if approved, work will begin on the district study in late summer. Carrie Mowry of the Preservation Durham office surveyed the proposed district and prepared the preliminary application which was approved last year by the North Carolina Natioal Register Review Board.

"Mutual Interest" describes the past successes and present redevelopment plans for the Black Wall Street, Durham's Parrish Street. Originally published in Our State magazine.
 

American Tobacco Renovations Proceed

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East Durham Added to National Register

A historic section of East Durham has a new lease on life. On December 23, 2004, the National Park Service placed a 50-square-block area (226 acres) with 950 structures in East Durham on the National Register of Historic Places. The East Durham National Register District will be Durham’s largest historic neighborhood, and has the highest percentages of contributing properties. The designation means not only that the area’s character can be better protected, but property owners can qualify for state and federal tax credits ranging from 30% to 40% on restoration investments. ...

Parrish Street Project Receives Funding

The City of Durham has received a $199,000 grant from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to hire a full time project planner for two years and to create economic incentives to encourage businesses to move to Parrish Street. ...

Several sites in Durham are to be included on a new Civil War Trail being planned to guide tourists through central North Carolina. "Carolina Campaign: End of the War" follows Union General Sherman's march and ends at Durham's Bennett Place State Historic Site. ...

Two of Durham's National Register Historic Districts were officially expanded in June, 2004. Morehead Hill, first named a Historic District in 1985, ...

A North Carolina State Historic Marker identifying Parrish Street as the Black Wall Street was unveiled in downtown Durham on June 17, 2004. The unveiling was attended by several dozen people, including ...

West Village developers Blue Devil Ventures applied in mid-January 2004 for rezoning for seven buildings once occupied by the Liggett Group tobacco factory at the corner of Main and Duke Streets. Plans call for the creation of 447 apartments, 210,00 square feet of office and laboratory space, and about 50,000 square feet of retail. The NC Department of Transportation ...

Bean Town Meets the Bull City

Durham was featured in the Boston Globe's Travel Section in December 2003. Read what correspondent Diane Daniel had to say about her weekend in the Bull City!