Home Tour 2011: Duke Park

15th Annual Tour Explored Duke Park on May 7, 2011
Read more about Duke Park on our Historic Neighborhoods pages! The 2011 Old Durham Home Tour in the Duke Park neighborhood was another popular success! Hundreds of historic architecture fans wandered the neighborhood, visiting the many and varied homes, welcomed and guided by Preservation Durham docents. Tourgoers enjoy Preservation Durham’s annual tour at their own pace, exploring year by year the many neighborhoods that make Durham unique. Each building on the tour is staffed by friendly and well-informed docents to make the tour more interesting and enjoyable. Exchange advance tickets for a tourbook and map or buy tickets on the day of the tour at Preservation Durham’s Tour Headquarters. Present your tourbook at the door of each house and collect marks from all the houses you visit! Most of the land that is now part of Duke Park was once owned by Brodie Duke and the Glosson family, whose farmhouse is one of the oldest homes in Durham. Real estate development in Duke Park began in ernest in the 1920s as Durham grew northward past the Norfolk and Western Railroad line. Successful businessmen and professionals who didn’t have to rely on trolly transportation built homes in popular revival styles. The Colonial style dominates the neighborhood, but there are interesting examples of Spanish, English Cottage, bungalows, and other styles. The Park was a big drawing card, with large open wooded areas, picnic shelters, and a big swimming pool with a bathhouse. The Wright House, Whitehall Terrace, is a good example of the first building boom. The white Colonial style house looks over the neighborhood from a rise just south of the Duke Park. The Gamble House, built on Mangum Street in 1937, is a unique example of the International style, very modern compared to the revival styles that surround it. Development slowed during the Depression, but Duke Park had another growth spurt after World War II when many ranch style homes like the one at 1913 Glendale and even more cutting edge modern designs like the house at 1617 Shawnee Street were built near the park. The construction of I85 in the 1980s cut off the neighborhood on the north side, and main artery Roxboro Street cuts through the middle, but the quiet residential streets on either side and around the park still provide a popular place for Durham families.