Preservation Durham is the proud steward of OpenDurham.org, an incredibly rich, entirely volunteer-run community archive committed to documenting this cit’s people and places – its past and present – to preserve and pass along for the future. To keep that commitment, we need the voices of Durham old-timers and newcomers, writers and researchers, programmers and designers, intervieweres and photographers, neighbors and explorers. In short, we need you!

Working with Open Durham can be a great way to stay invovled in spite of restrictions on public gatherings brought on by the pandemic.

Click the link below to register for upcoming Open Durham virtual volunteer events.

REGISTER HERE

Whatever your point of entry, skill set, length of residence

Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Workshop

Do you own a historic property? Are you planning to rehabilitate the property? Is it located in a historic district? If yes to all of these questions, you might be eligible for rehabilitation tax credits. Join our live Renovators Network Webinar event with Preservation Consultant, Sara Lachenman of Four over One Design.

Date: Thursday, May 28, 2020
Time: 10:30am – 11:30am
Zoom Webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81572879268  or Webinar Meeting ID: 815 7287 9268
Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/PreservationDurham/inbox

Our Expert: Sara Lachenman of Four Over One Design LLC

Renovators Network is a series of classes and workshops that cover all things historic houses including a hands-on, DIY approach for issues such as plaster repair, wood window maintenance, interior design, and historic house

Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Workshop

Date: Saturday, July 27, 2019
Time: 10:00am – 12:00 noon
Location: Chesterfield Building, 701 West Main Street, Ste. 2909 Durham
Cost: Free, however, $10 or more donations are appreciated

Our Experts: Sara Lachenman and Emily-Kate Hannapel of Four Over One Design LLC

Renovators Network is a series of classes and workshops that cover all things historic houses including a hands-on, DIY approach for issues such as plaster repair, wood window maintenance, interior design, and historic house hunting.

Talk to an experienced consultant about…

Qualifying projects and design requirements
Proposed changes to the historic rehabilitation tax credit program
Ins and Outs of the state/federal historic tax credit process
When to hire a consultant — or do it yourself!

Get your questions answered if

Preservation Durham Talk:  American Dream Homes 1938-1951

Lobby, Center for Responsible Lending Building, 302 West Main Street, downtown
6:30 p.m., April 23rd

Durham architectural historian and preservation consultant, Jennifer F. Martin, will take us through the aesthetic, political, and social movements that shaped the form, style, and materials of Durham’s dwellings from the Great Depression into the post-World War II period. She tracks a swirl of forces that created a housing stock to meet the needs and financial realities of home-buying families. The history and houses of this period tell a story of opportunity for some families while documenting the evolution of the built suburban landscape over a twenty-five-year period.  This program will help tour goers understand

Improve Energy Performance For Historic Houses

Date: Saturday, March 23, 2019
Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: Chesterfield Building, 701 West Main Street, Ste. 2901 Durham
Cost: Free, however, $10 or more donations are appreciated

Our Experts: Alan Spruyt and Steven Thomsen of Trinity Design Build

Renovators Network is a series of classes and workshops that cover all things historic houses including a hands-on, DIY approach for issues such as plaster repair, wood window maintenance, and historic house hunting.

Presenters, Trinity Design Build, will help attendees understand:

how to identify typical energy deficiencies in older buildings, their deficiency source and practical solutions
inherent energy performance strengths in historic buildings;
what features were built with the environment in mind; and
how to conduct energy audits while maintaining historic features

This event is

by: Courtney James, PD Board Member

 When Urban Durham Realty opened more than seven years ago, I wrote a blog post addressing the trend of downtown living. It was 2008 and we were entering what is now known as the worst housing slump in history. I stopped counting the number of times I heard people sarcastically proclaim, “Seems like a great time to start a real estate company”! The good news is that while the market was indeed a “buyer’s market” back then, Durham was more insulated than other cities across the country, so we fared much better than most. A buyer in Durham today might find it hard to believe that not long ago, sellers went to extremes to