Important Update: Demolition Summit

The "Code Enforcement Summit" is scheduled for May 1st at 6pm-7:30 pm in the City Hall Council Chambers. I would like to ask all of you who are concerned about losing our historic housing stock to a demolish-first-and-refuse-to-ask-questions city department to please be there if you can - I feel strongly that this may be our one chance to try to make headway against a department that refuses to acknowledge the costs of demoliton to our community. Have no doubt - the department is stacking the deck; they sought no input on a date, choosing one that is the same night as a major Preservation Durham event. I will be flying back to town and miss much of the meeting. (NIS left me off the "invited guest" list anyway - think that was an oversight?)

In short, the tone of the release says it all:

"Fast Facts
· The City of Durham is hosting a code enforcement public forum to help educate residents and property owners on code enforcement and legal processes, the removal of unsafe structures as well as preservation and revitalization efforts.

· City Manager Patrick Baker will open the forum and the City's Department of Neighborhood Improvement Services will provide handout materials along with a slide presentation. After the presentation, a moderator will facilitate community feedback and a question-and-answer session for attendees."

No, NIS, we don't need to be 'educated'. Perhaps you should, for once, listen before presuming that the public is ill-informed.

Please make it if you possibly can - I cannot stress, in my view, how important this is to the future of the landscape in our city. I do not want us to look back on this time in the same way we look back at the East End, the West End, Hayti, McMannen St., Dunstan, Brookstown, Morehead Hills... every neighborhood that was demolished in the 1960s because a stubborn city government decided that demolition was the way to 'fix' Durham.

125 ORANGE ST.

Looking southwest from the Post Office Site, 1934.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

125 Orange St. was a small commercial establishment just to the north of Markham Jones "retail grocers". By mid-century, it has become the "Duke Sport Shop." Think this was before Duke cracked down on their trademark?


Looking northwest, 1963.

Sometime in the 70s-80s, the first floor of this building was 'colonialized' with shutters, a pedimented doorway - etc. - but the second floor is intact.


Looking west, 2007.

111-123 ORANGE STREET

Orange St. was, as the name implies, once a street - with older commercial structures along the western side of the street.


Above, a fuzzy view of the western facades of Orange St. - behind First Baptist Church, 1924.

Below, the view from December 1963, looking northwest on Orange St. Only a portion of 111-113-115 is visible on the left, but the Markham Jones Company building (119-123) is fully shown. This was evidently a grocery store. Incidentally, notice that the flag is at half-mast after Kennedy's assassination.


Below, another view looking west from Rigsbee, though a parking lot. Only the northern portion of 111-113-115 is again visible.


Sometime in the 1970s, modernization struck Orange St. in a big way. While 111 was relatively unchanged, 113-115 recived a pretty nasty facade, and some bad replacement windows hit the Markham Jones Company (along with a modern-style first floor facade.)


111 Orange - nicely restored.


113-115 Orange, which bears little resemblance to the original.


119-123 Orange.

Overall, Orange St. would do well with elimination of the big planters - similar to the ones just removed from Main St. - and a return to a normal streetscape.

104-106 WEST PARRISH

The buildings at 104 and 106 West Parrish St. were constructed in 1908 and 1909, respectively.


West Parrish from Orange St., looking northwest, 1922.


A bird's-eye view of Parrish Street, looking northwest, 1924.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

106 West Parrish, the brick building on the northwest corner of Orange St. and West Parrish, was built by William P. Clements for his office. According to a publication by the Merchants' Association, he was "an extensive dealer in real estate."

108 West Parrish St., immediately to the west of the Clements building, was built by the North Carolina Mutual and Provident Association to provide additional office space for their growing company.


Above, a view of the upper floors, looking northeast, 1923.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

NC Mutual soon took over the Clements building as well for their district office. 106 West Parrish housed the Reformer Publishing Company, which printed the Durham Reformer and the NC Mutual company newspaper The North Carolina Mutual

By the 1950s, Rose's Furniture had moved into these storefronts.


Looking northeast, 1960
(Courtesy Duke Archives)


Looking northwest, 1963. Orange St. is on the left, N. Mangum on the right. A partial view of the side of the Clements building is visible past Boone Drugs.

Below, a view of both buildings, 1962.


Rose's furniture had closed by the 1970s

Looking northwest, 1978.

Today, 106 West Parrish has been boarded/vacant for some time, but it has been purchased by Center Studio Architecture. 108 West Parrish contains both businesses and residence(s?).

Looking northwest, 2007

116 WEST PARRISH

116 West Parrish was built between 1906 and 1910 as the remainder (western portion) of the 100 block of West Parrish developed subsequent to NC Mutual.


Looking northeast, 1911. The building appears to have a sign that says "_ Soda".
(Courtesy Duke Archives)


A view of Parrish Street, looking northwest, 1924.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

By mid-century, this building had become Ferrell's Watch Hospital.

Looking northwest, 1965
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

During the 1970s, a typical, if somewhat belated, facade covering was appiled.


It was not removed until a few years ago; the building has been renovated and contains offices for the North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development.

Looking northwest, 2007.

Quick Update: Downtown Charrettes

Fairly belatedly, DDI has managed to figure out venues and times for next weekend and the following weekend's downtown master planning charrette. The 'key stakeholders' (Greenfire, Capitol, etc.) have already been interviewed - this is your chance to give your input as to how downtown would best meet the needs of the public.

April 28th
8:30a-4:30p
Baldwin Building, Ground Floor
109 West Main St. (near Main and Mangum)
Lunch Provided

May 12th
8:30a-4:30p
Baldwin Building, Ground Floor
Lunch Provided

NORTH CAROLINA MUTUAL/ MECHANICS AND FARMERS

North Carolina Mutual Insurance Co. was established in 1898 as the North Carolina Mutual and Provident Association by John Merrick, Dr. AM Moore, PW Dawkins, DT Watson, WP Pearson, EA Johnson, and Dr. James E Shepard. This coalition of men appears to have grown out of the Grand United Order of the True Reformers, a mutual-benefit society founded in 1881 by William Washington Browne. John Merrick, a member of the True Reformers, helped form the Royal Knights of King David with John Wright, WA Day, JD Morgan, and TJ Jones. As was common in the 19th and early 20th century, fraternal organizations and 'friendly societies' were the source of life, burial, and health insurance. Although the sources I've looked at seem unclear, the Royal Knights of King David were evidently not financially successful in the insurance business, but the relationships therein formed the seed of the establishment of the North Carolina Mutual and Provident Association.

John Merrick had been a successful barber in Raleigh, and was evidently, in part, persuaded to move to Durham by Washington Duke, Julian Carr, and WT Blackwell. Once in Durham, he established a successful barbershop business as well as a real estate business - evidently assisted by a loan from Julian Carr. Dr. Aaron Moore had moved to Durham in 1888 to begin his medical practice - the first African-American physician in Durham. CC Spaulding was a nephew of Dr. Moore and became first an agent for the company, and then, quickly, chief of agents.

The company struggled initially, and the first death claim of $40 necessitated an additional capital infusion from the stockholders to keep the company afloat. The initial financial troubles of the company caused all organizers except for Merrick, Spaulding, and Moore ("The Triumvirate") to resign. However, the three men were successful in keeping the business afloat, and "using sound scientific principles" building a prosperous company.

The insurance company was first located in Dr. Moore's office on Main St., at the site of the "old courthouse". Parrish St. was transitioning from tobacco warehouses to commercial structures.


Looking northeast, 1905.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

In 1906, the NC Mutual and Provident Assn. built their own office building, just to the right of the Christian-Harward building in the above picture.


Looking northeast from Parrish St., 1911.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

The insurance company offices were located on the second floor, while the first floor was rented to a shoe store and a clothing store. By 1907, the principals had started Mechanics and Farmers bank, located in the same building.

Both the insurance company and bank were quite successful. John Merrick was the first president; after his death in 1919, Dr. Aaron Moore became president. In 1921, the company had grown to such an extent that the existing building on Parrish St. was not large enough. It was demolished, and an impressive neoclassical revival building - similar in style to the First National Bank building at W. Main and Corcoran - was errected in its place. The six-story structure was designed by local architects Rose & Rose.


A view of Parrish Street, looking northwest, 1924.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)


A view of the North Carolina Mutual building, looking northeast, 1920s.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

Mechanics and Farmers Bank was located on the first floor, Bankers Fire Insurance Company (organized as a separate division in 1920) on the second floor, and NC Mutual the remaining four floors and the basement.

After Dr. Moore died in 1923, CC Spaulding became president, a post he would hold for the following 29 years.

Above, two views of the building - the one on the left from the 1920s, the one on the right from the 1930s. Note in the second that the Christian-Harward building next door has added a third story.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

CC Spaulding built an ever more successful company, as did the presidents following his death in 1952. By the 1960s, the insurance company had outgrown its Parrish St. building as well.


Above, a view of the first floor of the NC Mutual building, 1963. The original windows had been replaced by jalousie windows.

NC Mutual purchased Four Acres, BN Duke's former mansion, and constructed a 12-story international-style structure in its place in 1965. While the insurance company moved to this large new structure, Mechanics and Farmers Bank remained in the original building on Parrish St. The "North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co." lettering on the facade was replaced by "Mechanics and Farmers Bank." The original awnings and entrances were removed - the two side entrances were filled, and a modern, single canopy entrance was put on the building.

At some point later - I'm not sure when, the building underwent restoration, including replacement of the jalousie windows with more historically appropriate sash windows. Unfortunately, the restoration did not include the original entrance.


Looking northeast, 2007

118 WEST PARRISH / CHRISTIAN-HARWARD

118 West Parrish St. is the oldest building remaining on the north side of the 100 block of Parrish St. It was built sometime before 1905 as a 2-story structure.


Looking east-northeast, 1905. Parrish St. is to the left, and 118 West Parrish is the rightmost structure in the row, with 3 sets of 3 windows. To its right is a large frame warehouse, which was the Mangum warehouse.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

During the early 20th century, the remainder of the block was developed with commercial structures, such that 118 W. Parrish was mid-block.


Looking northwest, 1924. 118 West Parrish is just to the left of the significantly taller NC Mutual building.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

A third story was added to the building sometime after 1924. I'm not sure when this became the Christian-Harward Furniture company, but it certainly was by mid-century.


Looking west down Parrish St., the Christian-Harward sign is visible on the right.
(From "Durham: A Pictorial History" by J. Kostyu.)


Above, the view looking northwest, 1963.

By the late 1960s, the front facade of this building was covered with a false front, which stayed on until several years ago (unfortunately, no picture.) This building was renovated, I believe by Carl Webb ~3-4 years ago now.)

100 BLOCK WEST PARRISH (SOUTH)

Aside from the previously featured Nancy Grocery and 119-121 N Mangum (the two ends of the block) the south side of the 100 block of W. Parrish St. seems to have been rarely photographed.

The Parrish St. side of the block extending through to W. Main St. was also badly damaged in the fire of 1914.


Looking west, 1914; the south side of the street is on the left. (I had not realized what an impressive terminating vista the Academy of Music once was at the west end of Parrish St. until seeing this picture.) Notice the brick detailing towards the top of the facade of the leftmost structure.
(From "Images of America: Durham" by Steve Massengill)

Strucutures were replaced/rebuilt, as they were on the Main St. side. Some, like Silver's extended through to the W. Main St. side.


Looking west, 1940s.
("Durham: A Pictorial History" by J. Kostyu.)

The Nancy Grocery was destroyed with the Geer Building. The remaining portion of Woolworth's, which extended through to this block, was destroyed by the city in 2001. A fire ravaged 119 W. Parrish St./120 West Main St. in 2003.

The result is a block diminished.

Looking west, 2007.

Greenfire owns 2 of these structures, and I hope they are a high priority for renovation. Remember that brick detail?


Looking southwest, 2007.

This structure, although modified, appears to be one which survived the fire.

Revitalization quote of the day...

"DDI subscribes to the so-called 'Disney Model' of keeping downtown clean and beautiful."
(From DDI's letter to city about why downtown's residents need to pay a special tax. Reported in today's Herald-Sun.)

I've heard plenty of people grouse about corporate groups wanting to 'Disney-fy' downtown, but I'm sort of surprised that DDI so honestly proffers Disney's Main St. as their ideal. Probably not the best communications move.

FIRE STATION #1

The home of the "Golden Belt Hose Company", a primarily volunteer firefighting squad, was constructed at the intersection of Holloway and Mangum Streets between 1888 and 1893, likely in 1890, on land adjacent to the E.J. Parrish tobacco warehouse.


Fire Station #1, probably around 1900.
(Courtesy University of North Carolina Library)


Fire Chief Dennis Christian in front of the Fire Station.
(Courtesy Duke RMBC - Wyatt Dixon Collection)

By the 1910s, the Mangum St. side of the building had been remodeled with large doorways to allow motorized trucks to move in and out of the station.


Above, the Italianate Fire Station around 1910, and Company #1 demonstrating their motorized equipment, which was replacing horse-drawn equipment that was not fully phased out until 1918.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)



Above, the Sanborn map from 1893, showing the fire department at the intersection of Mangum and Holloway. (spelled "Hollaway" here)

Below, an earlier view, from around 1905, looking east from the newly constructed Trust Building. Parrish St. is to the left, and the towers of First Baptist Church, Fire Station #1 (with its weathervane and windsock), and Trinity Methodist Church in the background. The Parrish warehouse is the low brick structure to the right of the Fire station (it looks a bit strange - I think two pictures were imperfectly spliced.)

(Courtesy Duke Archives)


The fire company in 1922. Commercial structures along Holloway to the left and the back of commercial structures facing Parrish St. are to the right.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

Below, a view from the same era, showing the Rogers Drug Co. and First Baptist Church.



In 1924, the original fire station was torn down, and a new one designed by Milburan and Heister was constructed on the same spot.


Milburn and Heister rendering of the new station.
(Courtesy Duke Rare Book and Manuscript Collection - Wyatt Dixon Collection)

Below, the view looking northwest over the buildings on Parrish St., with the First Baptist Church on the left. The foundation and first-floor walls are in place of the new building.


(Courtesy Duke Archives)

The new fire station bore some resemblance to the original, but reflected a more typical 1920s appearance, with Craftsman-style elements such as exposed rafter tails as well as multipane windows and doors. The doors were still side-hinged (swinging outward).

(Courtesy Durham County Library)

By 1960, the doors had been replaced with roll-up rather than swing-out doors.

(Courtesy Durham County Library)


Fire engine exiting station #1, looking north, 09.20.54
(Courtesy the Herald-Sun Newspaper)

Below, an aerial view from the early 1960s showing Fire Station #1 in context.


By 1964, a new fire station #1 was built at Cleveland and Morgan Sts. and this fire station was left empty. It was purchased and converted into offices in 1969 by Gerard Tempest, who had earlier built The Villa in Chapel Hill out of parts of Harwood Hall and Four Acres.


The old station under renovation, 02.14.69
(Courtesy Herald-Sun)

Which it remained through the later decades of the 20th century.


Former fire station #1, 1980s.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

This is another Greenfire property, in the midst of renovation during 2007-2008 in conjunction with 107 East Parrish St. and the Rogers drugstore.


Looking east, 2007.

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH/ BOONE DRUGSTORE / GLADSTEIN'S

(Courtesy Duke Archives)

The First Baptist Church was the first church in Durham. The congregation formed in 1845 as the Rose of Sharon Baptist church, according to Boyd's history of Durham, "in the Piney Grove schoolhouse, 1 mile south of West Durham." In 1850, with population growing near "Durhamville" and Prattsburg, they moved their congregation to the current Pettigrew St. With the railroad contruction, they moved to the area of the 500 block of Cleveland St. Boyd describes it as a "country church" on 4 acres, with "preaching held once a month" as there was no regular pastor.

In 1876, Dr. Columbus Durham wsa employed as a full-time pastor, and the name of the church was changed to Durham Baptist, as another congregation to the north of Durham had also taken the name Rose of Sharon. In 1878, the church wanted to move to the center of town, and purchased a lot on Mangum St. They constructed the above church soon thereafter.

(Courtesy Durham County Library)

With the establishment of Blackwell's Baptist Church on West Chapel Hill St. in the 1880s, the name of the church was changed to the First Baptist Church. The small steeple on the south side of the church was an addition to the original structure added in about 1890. The town grew around the church, and by the turn of the century commercial structures had nearly surrounded the church. This picture, looking west, shows the trolley lines coming from Holloway St. and diverging north on Mangum and south to join Main.

Above, a partial view of the church with a revival tent set up to the north. The split of the streetcar lines at Holloway is visible in the street. ~1910s
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

Below, looking northwest, the church in 1924. The 100 block of East Parrish St. is in the foreground. The road just to the right of the church was Rigsbee Ave., which used to extend past East Chapel Hill St. to North Mangum.


(Courtesy Duke Archives)

In 1927, the church wished to expand, and built a new structure on Cleveland St., at the terminus of Chapel Hill St. (which is the building still in use today.)

The piece of land between Orange, Mangum, and Rigsbee St. was then developed with commercial structures as well. At the southern 'point' of this semi-triangle was Boone's Drugs. DL Boone had joined with the Haywood-King drugstore, and King sold his interest to Boone. The new drugstore, Haywood-Boone, was located at the northwest corner of W. Main and N. Mangum Sts. until that location was sold to Walgreen's in 1937. Haywood left the business, and DL Boone opened his own drugstore at the Orange, Rigsbee, Mangum location.


Looking northwest, 1963. Orange St. is on the left, N. Mangum on the right.

I don't really know the story behind the shot below - a mid 1960s rally for 'supporting schools.'

(Courtesy Durham County Library)

By sometime in the mid-1960s, Boone's had closed and the building had become "The Coffee Break".


Looking northeast - Orange St. is on the left.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

Just north of Boone's Drugs on N. Mangum St. were several commercial structures and businesses, including Gladstein's, which "fit the big man."


Looking northwest from N. Mangum., 1963. Boone's Drugs is at the left edge of the picture.

These structures angled a bit at the less-than-90 degree intersection with Rigsbee Ave.

Looking north, 1963.

Below, another view of the commercial row, late 1960s

(Courtesy Durham County Library)

By 1973, the parking deck on East Chapel Hill had been constructed, blocking off Rigsbee Ave., and Boone's Drugs / The Coffee Break had been demolished.


Looking northwest, 1973.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

These remaining buildings were demolished soon after this, and the whole area became surface parking.


Looking northwest at the former interection of Rigsbee and N. Mangum.


Looking north at the former 'point' of the triangle/ Boone's Drugs.

Why I'm annoyed with images.google.com

Quick note - older images (several months) will not load properly until Monday, as they are on a server that only provides me limited bandwidth - if it exceeds, they shut me down until the 2-week period is over.

I thought I'd solved this by shifting all new images to a different server (since they use most of the bandwidth). But for some reason, images.google.com must have finally indexed everything on the two servers, as I'm getting hammered with random hits from all over the world that turned up a photo result on images.google.com - particularly in the last month.

SECOND PARRISH WAREHOUSE/ ROGERS DRUG STORE

Looking northeast from the corner of Parrish St. and N. Mangum St., 1890s
(Courtesy Duke Archives)


(Courtesy Duke Archives)

After his first warehouse on the south side of the 100 block of E. Parrish St. burned in the 1880s, EJ Parrish built a second warehouse that eventually extended most of the length of the block, although it was set back from Mangum St. with a grassy area in front and places to park your mule along the north side of the building.


(Copyright Sanborn Fire Insurance Co.)

Above, the intersection of Parrish, Mangum, Orange, "Hollaway" (now City Hall Place), and North (later Rigsbee, now parking lot) - 1893. Fire Station #1 is located just to the north of the warehouse, and the Parrish building is just to the south. First Baptist Church is located west, across Mangum St.

Below, a fuzzy bird's eye view shows the EJ Parrish building (with some interesting protruding bays on the front that I hadn't previously noticed), the Parrish warehouse, and the first Fire Station #1. Trinity Methodist Church is in the background.


Looking east, 1905.
(From "Images of America: Durham" by Steve Massengill)

By the January 1913, the Parrish warehouse was torn down by RH Wright. He announced that month he would tear down the ware house and begin construction on "six of the handsomest business buildings in the city - four [of which would] face Mangum street while the other two [would] face Parrish street" to be completed before 1914.


Above, looking north from the 100 block of North Mangum St., around 1914. On the right, the EJ Parrish Building, and just beyond that, the northeast corner of Parrish and Mangum. There is a scale outside the front door, and it appears that there is a sign that says _Levin on the Mangum St. side.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

Public Hardware was an early tenant. By 1923, they had moved a few doors east on Parrish St., and this building became the Rogers Drugs Co.


Above, the view looking east-northeast, 1923. Moving left to right, a bit of the First Baptist Church is visible at the left edge of the picture, the first Fire Station #1, Rogers Drug, and the EJ Parrish building. ( I surmise 1923 because Trinity Methodist Church is missing in this picture - it burned in January 1923 and was rebuilt in 1924).
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

The Rogers Drugs Co. was the longstanding occupant of this building during the 20th century, A small view of their sign is visible at the left edge of the shot below, looking east on Parrish St. ~1940.

(Courtesy Duke Archives)


A shot of the south side of the building looking west down Parrish St., 1950s.
(Courtesy Bob Blake)

The business lasted into the late 1960s.


Above, the Rogers Drugs Co., 1968 - note the multiple building entrances/storefronts.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

A 1970s redo deprived the building of its original windows and much of its variety of entrances on the first floor for a feast of plate glass, but helped meet the wig needs of Durham.


Above, looking northeast, 1979.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

Another redo in 1980 reformulated the entryways with arches and different doors.


Looking northeast, 1979.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)


Looking east down the 100 Block of East Parrish
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

I think this was a Verizon building for a number of years in the 1990s. Most recently it has been occupied by Preservation Durham and the Parrish St. Advocacy Group. It is one of Greenfire's many buildings, and they are in the midst of a renovation of this building, fire station #1, and 107 E. Parrish St. (adjacent to this building on E. Parrish St.)


Looking northeast, 2007

Update 4/21/09:

Greenfire appears to have nearly completed renovations on the old Rogers' drugstore, and has "For Lease" signs up. They've done a marvelous job with the exterior, returning to the original form windows, which elicits a sigh of relief after looking at this structure with terrible solid 1980s tinted windows for decades.


Looking northeast, 04.14.09.

SW CORNER MANGUM AND PARRISH (109-119 N MANGUM)

The building on the southwest corner of N. Mangum and W. Parrish was likely built during the 1910s, and contained a number of commercial storefronts on the N. Mangum St. side of the building.

Below, the view from W. Parrish St., looking east, 1940s.

Moving roughly left to right, Rogers Drug Co., the Duke Power Building, 109-119 N. Mangum, and at the right edge, 105-109 W Parrish (currently the "Hair Estate")
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

Below, the view from Mangum and Parrish, looking southwest, 1963.

Walgreens and Kress are to the south of this building - the storefronts on Mangum are visible from this angle.

And the same view in 1968.


This building, along with the Walgreens building to its south, were taken via urban renewal. The site is currently a park.

Looking southwest, 2007.

EJ PARRISH / DUKE POWER BUILDING

In 1879 EJ Parrish (the first man to auction tobacco in Durham) built a tobacco warehouse on the southeast corner of Mangum St. and the eponymous Parrish St.


(Courtesy Durham County Library)

No records exist of the exact location of the warehouse, but I do know that it was on the "western portion of the site", which would imply that the above view is from Mangum St. The Conestoga wagons were used to haul the tobacco to the warehouse for auction.

By the 1880s, this warehouse had burned, and Parrish built a new warehouse on the north side of the street. Julian Carr owned the site and constructed the 3-story Parrish Building soon thereafter.


Looking northeast from Corcoran St. ~1900
(Courtesy Durham County Library)


Above, the Parrish Building, ~1920s, looking northeast.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

Multiple businesses used the building during the first part of the 20th century - the first offices of the Golden Belt Hosiery Company, the first location of First National Bank, and Durham's first movie theater - the Dreamland theater.

In 1918, the building became the headquarters of the Duke Power Company. Soon thereafter, the building was remodeled.


Looking southeast.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

It lost some of its late 19th century ornamentation and, it appears, received the stucco treatment.


Looking southeast, 1930s.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)


Looking southeast, 1940.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

The Duke Power Company had quite the electrified Xmas display. I guess they sold appliances as well, from the looks of the window displays.


Looking east.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

I find the anti-window fetish of the 1950s-1960s truly bizarre, and this was the typical approach. I can only imagine that it was an attempt to save energy, but it seems sort of baffling to me.


Looking southeast, 1972.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

In 1972, Duke Power constructed the building just to the south of this site - I guess the bricked in windows still weren't modern enough. This building was torn down soon thereafter.


Looking east.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

Oddly enough, it was replaced several years later with a somewhat similar building - which seems to echo some of the elements of the original building. I believe that it contains law offices.


Looking southeast, 2007.

Quick Update: Demolition Politics

There are two articles in today's Herald-Sun about the 'demolition moratorium' - one highlights the decision to seek the moratorium, and interviews Mike Woodard about why the city would seek to hold off on demolitions (with comments from me as well.)

Interestingly, there is a second article about how Constance Stancil went out to present pictures of the worst houses her department has demolished (burned, collapsing) to the Partnership for a New East Durham community group. And evidently she told the community that:

"People from outside North-East-Central Durham were moving to trying to prevent [her] from demolishing such properties"

The us-vs-them theme was echoed by Melvin Whitley - who posited that "Fireball White has an ally in a non-profit organization that doesn't even live here?" (I assume he is talking about Preservation Durham, but I don't know.)

I can't say how unfortunate I find this - quite obviously, the us-vs-them stance implies that Stancil is an unwilling participant in this 'summit' and doesn't feel the current demolish-'em-all mentality should be changed.

To be clear: I don't think anyone would argue that a truly-collapsing, burned-out structure should not be demolished. And while I am not a non-profit organization, I think it should be clear that I am no friend of what Fireball does with his properties.

For the city administration to try to sow the seeds of division between neighborhoods by highlighting our differences rather than our common ground is not acceptable. I welcome the input of anyone into this process, and I fully recognize the costs of vacant and abandoned property to the community.

But we've been forced into a false dichotomy - live with the horrible house in perpetuity, or tear it down. My position always has been to answer "none-of-the-above". Historic housing is a community asset, and, as such, it needs to be protected from demolition-by-neglect (blight) and demolition. We need to repair and revitalize these houses, at which point they will be a benefit to the community around them.

For a city employee to imply that we have no other choices, and that 'others' want to perpetuate blight in the community is nothing more than inciting the politics of division to protect her department's unchecked power.

NE CORNER MAIN AND MANGUM - HARVEY CAFETERIA

The buildings on the northeast corner of East Main St. and North Mangum St. were constructed sometime prior to 1891 and housed a variety of commercial establishments, the first being the T.J. Lambe's men's clothing store.


Looking northeast from Mangum and Main, 1895.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

By 1937, the Harvey Cafeteria was located in the easternmost portion of the building.

Looking northwest.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

Another view from ~1940 shows the Harvey Cafeteria, Globe Jewelry, and Weavers Men's Shop.

Looking northwest.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

A view from Mangum St., looking southeast shows the Mangum St. facades of the building, including the taller portion containing the Fuller Music store.

Looking southeast, ~1940.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

The Citizens Bank is in the background, along with the eastern facades of S. Mangum St. In the distance is the Austin-Heaton Co./Peerless Flour Mill


The view of the Harvey Cafeteria and "The Globe" looking west-northwest, ~1960.
(Courtesy John Schelp)


Harvey's in the 1950's - when it appears from looking at the number of meetings and events held there that it was a well-patronized establishement.
(Courtesy Herald-Sun)


The interior of Harvey's
(Courtesy Herald-Sun)

By 1965 Harvey's Cafeteria and Drink Shop was still around, along with the 'Shoe Box'.

Looking northeast, 1965.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

But in 1967... Building or Xmas tree - always a tough choice.


Looking northeast, 1967.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

Duke Power Co. had decided to build a modern building to move to from the EJ Parrish buildling, just to the north of this site.


Under construction, 1971, looking northeast
(Courtesy Durham County Library)


Completed product, 1973, looking northeast.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

I'm not sure when Duke Power moved out of this building, but it's now owned by the Masons, or, as the property record calls them "PRINCE HALL GRAND LODGE FREE &ACCEPTED MASONS OF NC INC, THE."


Looking northest, 2007.

Quick Update II: Letter in today's HS

Shannon Thornburg has a letter in today's H-S decrying the effect of demolition on our neighborhoods and the perversity of the city's current policy - particularly in light of the mayor's stated goal to revitalize our neighborhoods, not destroy them. She also notes the lack of transparency in the current process.

It is encouraging that some members of city government have agreed to slow this process temporarily so we can at least discuss the issue without knowing that the steady rise in demolitions continues. I hope that the city will commit to an ongoing effort to generate a code enforcement process that improves our neighborhoods rather than tearing them down.

Quick Update I: West Village Streetscape

A small blurb buried in the N&O notes that the West Village folks received $1 million from the US Economic Development Administration for "streetscape improvements." That's certainly good news - while I'm a fan of streetscape improvements downtown, I think the bigger bang-for-the-buck will be to get a continuous, improved streetscape that connects Brightleaf with Five Points. The blurb says that the "EDA investment is expected to create 225 jobs and generate $47 million in private investment." Not sure I understand the logic of $1 million in streetscape improvements doing all of that - but if it can, I'd like the USEDA to know that we've got a Loop that needs some improvements, too.

SNEED-THOMAS BUILDING / CITIZENS BANK - 102 EAST MAIN

The Sneed-Thomas building was constructed on the southeast corner of East Main St. and South Mangum St. in the 1890s. It housed the Sneed and Thomas drugstore, operated by Paul C. Sneed and Allen S. Thomas. Their building was described in the "Handbook of Durham" as "a large three-story pressed brick building with marble trimmings."


Looking north on South Mangum St. from near Peabody St., 1905 - the Sneed-Thomas building is on the right.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

This structure was torn down in 1911 for construction of a Neoclassical structure for the Citizens Bank, completed around 1915. The Citizens Bank was the outgrowth of the Morehead Banking Company which had reorganized after the death of Eugene Morehead in 1889, and reorganized again in 1905 with B.N. Duke as founding President of the new Citizens Bank. The bank moved to 105 East Main St. in 1905 before moving to its new building in 1915.



Looking southeast, 1920s The historic inventory notes the resemblance to the old Fidelity Branch Bank in East Durham and surmises that the architect may have been the same.

Below, a clearer view of the structure, looking southeast from Main St. Note the beautiful arching, multi-paned windows along the Mangum St. side and a smaller one over the cartouche.

(Courtesy Durham County Library)
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

In 1961, the Citizens Bank merged with the Durham Bank and Trust and the University National Bank of Chapel Hill. The new firm was called Central Carolina Bank (CCB) and was headquartered at the former Durham Bank and Trust building, the Hill Building.

The former Citizens Bank building was converted to law offices in 1970, and referred to as the "K&M Building". This conversion, unfortunately, involved removal of all of the large windows and filling the openings with similar, but slightly different color stone.


Citizens Bank, 1970s. Notice the filled window above the cartouche.

I guess that this building is empty right now, from the sign on the front. Seems like it could be very cool - something - particularly if someone were to put the windows back.


Looking south, 2007


Looking southeast, 2007

UNION STATION

Union Station, ~1910. Note the original courthouse in the background
(Courtesy Dave Piatt)

When Bill Bell reacted ~2 weeks ago to the DOT's decision to pull back from plans to locate the Amtrak station in the Walker Warehouse, he said, per the Herald-Sun, that Durham was likely to end up the only city in North Carolina "that has a dumpy railroad station." If I were with the state, I would have retorted - "and whose fault is that?"

Neck and neck with the Washington Duke Hotel for the most grievous single-structure architectural loss in Durham history is the demolition of Union Station, demolished by the City of Durham to make way for a road and a parking garage.


(Courtesy Durham County Library)

As with stations around the country with the same (or similar) name, Union station arose out of the need to consolidate several smaller stations, belonging to individual railroad companies, into a single terminal. In Durham, I believe there were three - Seabord, Norfolk-Western, and Southern - scattered along the rail line from Dillard St. to Corcoran.


Looking west from the tracks, south of the courthouse.
(Courtesy The University of North Carolina)

Union Station was constructed in 1905 for $50,000 by the above-named railroad companies at the foot of Church St. It was an Italian Renaissance revival structure designed by Milburn and Heister, responsible for many of Durham's early buildings. Its most distinctive feature was a 65-foot tall tower.


(Courtesy Duke Archives)

Above, looking east from the Hosiery Mills building, 1920s. Union Station is at the center and, immediately to its left, the courthouse (which people call the old courthouse, but given that we are about to build our fourth major courthouse, I'll call it the second.) The south-facing facades of East Main are at the extreme left (including the Malbourne Hotel) and the old JD Lyon tobacco company/city stables are immediately across the tracks (with a smidgen of the Venable Warehouse visible beyond it).


(Courtesy The University of North Carolina)

Those who feel that Durham mistakenly located its current jail at the main entry points to downtown should realize that this is a long tradition. As Steve Massengill notes in his book, "Images of America: Durham"

"As a youngster in Durham, the compiler recalls the prisoners' jeering taunts from the open windows of the jail on the top floor [of the courthouse]"

Below, the station in 1924 with the train pulling out. The courthouse is to the right, and the warehouses along Peabody are visible just beyond the station. There was also a jail located in the small structure just behind the tower.


(Courtesy Duke Archives)

But other than the greeting committee, it must have been a beautiful sight to step off the train, exit the station to the cobblestones of Church St. and Trinity Methodist Church as the terminating vista 3 blocks away.

A view of the tower and the station, looking east, 1930.

(Courtesy Durham County Library)

Below, looking west, a train pulling into Union Station, 1940, with the Durham Silk Hosiery Mill in the background.

(Courtesy Durham County Library)

Below, the view of the front of the station from East Main St., looking down S. Church during a snowstorm in 1945.


(Courtesy Herald-Sun)

The old engines were replaced by the 1950s with the less-embellished modern engines. Below, looking northeast from the tracks towards the station.

(Courtesy Durham County Library)

Below, the view east, 1950s.

(Courtesy Durham County Library)


A blurry color shot from the mid-1950s
(Courtesy Barry Norman)


Union Station interior, 1962.
(Courtesy Herald-Sun)

The rise of the automobile and plane travel were not kind to rail travel. The National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956 began a massive investment of public funds into building national-scale automobile infrastructure (the name gives away the 'Red Scare' rhetoric that influenced passage of the bill, deemed necessary in part to ensure adequate troop movement should there be a war.) The same could not be said of the railroad infrastructure, which was showing its age. The loss of customers to cars and planes made passenger service unprofitable, and by 1965, the railway lines had discontinued passenger service to Durham

The front of "Vnion" Station, 1968, looking southwest

(Courtesy Duke Archives)

The station from the tracks, looking east, 1968.

(Courtesy Durham County Library)

From the platform, looking northwest, 1968.

(Courtesy Duke Archives)

By 1968, Durham had been busy implementing the Tarrant plan, including punching through a road from the West Chapel Hill St. railroad crossing along the formerly intermittent Peabody St. to connect with Roxboro and Ramseur- the southern portion of the downtown loop. At the same time, using Federal Urban Renewal funds, the city had taken and demolished a swath of structures along either side of the path of the Loop, and was building a series of parking garages on that land. 1968 was the year that plan hit Union Station.


Looking southeast.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)


Looking northeast, September 03, 1968.
(Courtesy Herald-Sun)


Looking south, September 05, 1968
(Courtesy Herald-Sun)

And the Church St. parking deck was constructed on this land in 1978.

(Courtesy Durham County Library)

And an addition was built behind the 'old' courthouse in the early 90s, with a similar red roof, on the eastern portion of the former station site.

The site today:


"Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably will themselves not be realized," said Daniel Burnham. While I'm a fan of Burnham and the Plan of Chicago, I consider plans that 'stir men's blood' with a skeptical eye. Because the thrust of this website is that a group of people once considered the demolition of Union Station, the Loop, the Freeway, Urban Renewal, etc. a great idea. We like to consider ourselves more enlightened, but then, so did they - convinced that no one would ever ride the train again. What is our self-satisfied conviction?

Big Quick Update: Demolition 'Mortatorium'

In the first positive sign of progress on this issue, Councilman Woodard emailed me last night to let me know that, after discussions between Patrick Baker, Wanda Page, NIS, and himself, they have agreed that after these properties are demolished (which he states cannot be averted)

3690 Guess Road
2511 Dearborn Drive
318 East Umstead Street
3018 Ruth Street

there will be no further demolitions until a stakeholders meeting can be conferred to

"discuss the City’s policies and practices related to the demolition and rehabilitation of properties [and] consider more active methods of communicating the status of targeted properties."

As a tangible sign of progress, the in-process list is, for the first time, available on the web at

http://www.durhamnc.gov/departments/nis/

in the left-hand menu, as an Excel file. If you are familiar with Excel, note that there are multiple worksheets.

While these may seem like small steps - available information and engagement with the community, they are huge. As residents of Old North Durham experienced yesterday with another demolition - of 711 North St., neighbors felt they were working with the city to try to get the property repaired - they had no warning that it was actually going to be demolished.

Piggybacking on this good news is the good news that, after discussing the matter with NIS, Constance Stancil informed me that NIS

"ha[s] no intentions to demolish 1620 Duke University Road. [They] have been working with the owner and the prospective buyer for sometime."

Several residents of the SW Durham neighborhoods wrote to me to tell me how opposed they were to demolition of this property.

Obviously, as with all of these properties, none of us want persistent vacant and abandoned property in Durham; we want vibrant, healthy neighborhoods for all residents of Durham. Rehabilitating historic properties meets goals of preservation, sustainability, and health-promoting urban design.

100 EAST PEABODY

(Courtesy Duke Archives)

The warehouse buildings along the 100 block of East Peabody Street (now Ramseur) were the warehouses for the Peabody Drug Company. A smaller building immediately to the east of the warehouse buildings appears to say "Durham County Progress". I'm not sure if this was a newspaper building or not. This view is looking northwest from the tracks, with S. Mangum St. and the Durham Silk Hosiery Mills in the background.


(Courtesy Duke Archives)

Above, another view of the Peabody Drug Company building in the 1950s, looking northeast, which has become the North Carolina News Company and Dixie Awnings. The small building to the east says "News-Journal" - evidently a publisher/printer.


A view of the 100 block of East Peabody from the tracks, looking northeast, 1950s.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)


Above, a close-up view of the News-Journal building from 1966.

These buildings were taken by Urban Renewal in the late 1960s and demolished. The Church St. parking deck and the widened Peabody (renamed Ramseur) were built in their place.


Under construction, 1978.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

And it retains that same unmitigated charm that it had 20 years ago.


Looking northeast from Mangum and Ramseur, 2007.

100 S MANGUM (EAST)

I have to take somewhat of a piecemeal approach to the east side of the 100 block of S. Mangum St., as there isn't a very complete early shot of the streetscape.

Below, looking north from the tracks on Mangum St., you can see the mix of brick structures replacing the earlier wood, frame structures. The Italianiate window style (curved at the top) on the brick building would be a repeated architectural element in this block. This picture predates the construction of the Citizens' Bank on the southeast corner of Mangum and Main; the brick building on the right side of the street near the end of the block in this view would be replaced by Citizens.


Looking north, 1905.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

This shot is all I can get from the 1920s, and only some of that repeated Italianate window pattern is visible, sort of peeking through in the right-middle portion of the shot.

(Courtesy Duke Archives)

One business in this block was the Palace Barber Shop.


Both sides of the street in the 100 block of South Mangum Street featured several establishments catering to African-Americans in the segregated era - the Lincoln Cafe on the west side, and the Palace Barber shop on the east side were two of these. Per one oral history, the primary patrons were African-American workers at the American Tobacco Company.


Looking northeast from South Mangum and the railroad tracks, with the Palace Barber Shop visible on the corner.
(Courtesy The Herald-Sun)

A great shot below, but with little of the 100 block. A train pulls out of Union Station in the 1940s. The northwest corner of Mangum and Peabody (later Ramseur) is the "Palace Barber Shop", with a bit of 117 S. Mangum St. visible as well.


Looking northeast.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

The following series of shots show the block in 1963, where several of the buildings had been converted to a stark, modernist style.


109-111 S. Mangum. Pardon the distorion in the upper right - I merged two old photos that were never intended for merging. The modern building was likely the Italianate building in the 1905 shot.

Moving, south, 115 S. Mangum, complete with all of its original detail.



And moving south to the corner of Mangum and Peabody (Ramseur), another modernization.




Looking north at the intersection of Peabody and S. Mangum - from Pettigrew, 1966.

These buildings were urban renewal-ized in the late 1960s, and this land became the western end of the Church St. parking deck.


100 block South Mangum St., east side, 2007

Quick Update: Demolition Bids

NIS has released a list of properties for demolition bids. The dates were the dates that the bid was due.

While I don't know all of these addresses by sight, 1620 Duke University Road is one I've previously profiled, and it's a prime example of the folly of our current policy. The owner has done nothing to improve this property during, at least, the past 10 years. But clearly, this property is an asset to the community and would, if renovated, significantly enhance the community. If demolished, it will have a negative impact on the community. I seriously doubt that this is a buildable lot, and a great, turn-of-the-century Victorian house that was, at one point, out in the country, will be lost forever.

Please contact the city council to let them know that demolishing these structures is not the solution, because it hurts all of us. We need these property owners to repair their properties or get them into the hands of someone who will.

Bid Due Date

1620 Duke University Road Friday, 03/02/07
2822 Angier Avenue Friday, 03/02/07
113 N. Maple Street Friday, 03/02/07
115 S. Briggs Avenue Friday, 03/02/07
2505 Lane St. Friday, 03/16/07
702 Grant St. Friday, 03/16/07
704 Grant St. Friday, 03/16/07
2911 Angier Ave. Friday, 03/16/07
2618 W Main St. Friday, 03/16/07
1612 E Main St. Friday, 03/16/07
3007 Bryant St. Friday, 03/16/07
4000 Forrestdale Dr. Friday, 03/16/07
2635 Glenbrook Dr. Friday, 03/16/07
910 Scout Dr. Friday, 03/16/07
6200 Barbee Rd. Friday, 03/16/07

100 S MANGUM (WEST)

Durham's often-noted rough-around-the-edges reputation is nothing new - in the mid-to-late 19th century, the town was well known for its multiple saloons - the place where students from the University of North Carolina would come for some less-than-genteel entertainment (many of them would disembark from the train in Durham and head onward to Chapel Hill by other means.)

The Carrington bar, located at the northwest corner of S. Mangum and Peabody (now Ramseur), was one of these early establishments. This picture, from the 1880s, looking northwest, shows the Hotel Claiborn in the background.



By 1902, the Women's Christian Temperance Union had succeeded in prodding the city to pass prohibition, and the saloons were no more.

Below, Same view of the former Carrington Bar, looking a bit worse for wear, with the Durham Silk Hoisery Mill in the background, likely early 1920s. Note how close these structures were to the railroad tracks - Peabody St. did run sporadically between the tracks and buildings north of the tracks, but it was no more than a small-ish two-lane street.


(Courtesy Duke Archives)

By the later 1920s, the old bar had been renovated, and we see the other commercial structures between the bar and Main St., including the back of the Sneed-Markham-Taylor building, profiled yesterday.


(Courtesy Durham County Library)

And I felt the need to blow up this shot more to show two things: one, the awesome snake, and two, the 2-story commercial structure at the right, just behind the SMT building. The writing surrounding the windows on the second floor looks oddly like hieroglyphics to me from this angle - but I can make out "Tailoring".


(Courtesy Durham County Library)

My hieroglyphics building was demolished along with the SMT building to make room for the Kress building in 1933, but the next building to the south remained. I love the shot below; the building is great - the brick detailing at the cornice is amazing. But also, the guy out front is just cool. And third, it's "The Lincoln Cafe" - which, all put together, just makes me wish I could walk down Main St., take a turn at Mangum and end up at this place.


Looking northwest from S. Mangum St., 1963

Below, the other buildings to the south of the Lincoln Cafe. The Silk Hosiery Mills Building looms behind them.


Looking northwest from Peabody (now Ramseur), 1963.

These buildings were taken by Urban Renewal and demolished for the Loop and surface parking.


Looking northwest from Ramseur and Mangum, 2007.

SNEED-MARKHAM-TAYLOR / KRESS - SW CORNER MAIN AND MANGUM

The John L. Markham Cash Store, located at the southwest corner of Main and Mangum Sts., was the first commercial brick structure in Durham, built sometime prior to 1881.


(From "Durham: A Pictorial History" by Joel Kostyu)


Looking southwest from Mangum and Main, 1890s.
(Courtesy Durham County Library / North Carolina Collection)

This structure was demolished sometime prior to 1895 and replaced by a larger, three-story structure that housed the Sneed-Markham-Taylor clothes store on the first floor, a printery on the second floor, and the Knights of Pythias, uh, lodge/temple/meeting hall on the third floor.


Looking west from Mangum St. down Main St., 1905. The SMT building is the first on the left side.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)


A view from the railroad tracks north on Mangum St., 1905. The side of the SMT building is on the left.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

A view from the Washington Duke Hotel, looking southeast. The SMT building is on the left (west of Mangum St.) and the Wheelan Drug Company is on the right. The Greek Revival Citizens Bank is across Mangum St. on the far left.


(Courtesy Durham County Library)

In 1932, the Kress Co. moved east from their previous location at 113 West Main St. to this location. They demolished the SMT building and constructed a beautifully embellished Art Deco structure, in keeping with the style of many of their buildings errected during this era in other parts of the country. This example has more of what I would describe at art nouveau-influenced details - flora, foliage - within an art deco framework.

Below, looking southeast from Main St., late 1930s

(Courtesy Duke Archives)

Below, looking southwest from Main and Mangum, late 1930s

(Courtesy Duke Archives)

The view below shows part of the facade, obstructed by the Walgreens building, looking south from Parrish St.


(Courtesy Duke Archives)

After urban renewal removed the buildings along Mangum between Parrish and Main as well as the structures immediately behind the Kress building, the building stood alone with along the western side of Mangum St.

Kress continued to operate into the 1970s.



But the store closed sometime in the late 1970s and was converted to office space - which involved removal of portions of the interior detail.

Most recently, the structure was purchased by Greenfire and has been renovated as condominium space, which are still for sale - at $300,000 to $500,000 a pop.


Looking south from Main St., 2007.

Quick Update 2: Heed the sins of Raleigh

An interesting article in today's N&O profiles the upcoming demolition of Kings, which, for those who aren't familiar with it, is a music club in downtown Raleigh, set amongst a row of one-story early 20th century commercial structures on McDowell St. It's the kind of homegrown, grassroots place that has the right setting and substance to attract a wide array of people - kind of like Joe and Jo's did here in Durham. (They call the structure cinderblock, when the picture clearly shows that it is brick; seems like a quibble, but has definite value connotations.)

The article in the Independent back in February emphasized the fact that the structure was going to be torn down only for a temporary staging area for construction of the parking deck for Wake County; the N&O adds the information that the owner plans for it to be a surface parking lot when that staging is done.

"Honestly, you can make as much from leasing parking as leasing buildings."

... is the comment from the owner, who bought the building 10 years ago as an investment, thinking the RBC center was going to be built around that spot. He evidently sees the parking lot as a better blank canvas for whatever bounty he sees coming down the pike.

We have a tendency to get starry-eyed over the glory of grand new development, and as one whose childhood play options seemed revolve around Legos, blocks, or Tonka trucks, I understand the appeal. Despite my frequently malcontented posture on this blog, I still feel the passion evoked by construction.

My concern arises from what I think is a tendency to lump all of our economic hopes into big landscape changes - whether it be wholesale demolition or fancy new buildings or both. In the slash, burn, and build process, we risk nullifying the small seeds of economic change that can accumulate to form a greater whole. The new construction market is going after the kind of leases that can allow them to bring in a 17-20% IRR to their equity investors. And that's fine - I'm not against people making money. But it is necessarily going to exclude small businesses that are struggling to put something together at the outset. Part of saving old builings is to provide those opportunities for businesses like Kings, which the owners say is "viable, but no one has gotten rich from [it]". They create positive externalities though, both by attracting the market to that geographic location, and by the more ephemeral 'cool' or 'interesting' factor.

And really the issue for me is how government plays its role. Do they get starry-eyed, and throw millions of dollars at large-scale projects without a clear sense for the pitfalls? Do they demolish old buildings (opportunities) because their economic development programs are not successful at alleviating poverty? Do they demolish music clubs for staging areas for building parking decks while building convention centers that rely on booking conventions who base their location decisions in part on the entertainment options around the site? (Sorry for the intended run-on sentence.) What preconceived notions are in play? That the high-end convention-goers want 4-star restaurants, not unscrubbed clubs?

While the decisions to demolish the mansions of McMannen St. (now Mangum St., where the ballpark, Diamond View and the Durham Freeway now intersect Mangum) and all of the other businesses and homes taken by urban renewal long preceeded the coming of our own new downtown south of the tracks, it is our public funds chasing our public funds in an effort to alter the economic circumstance of downtown Durham. We don't know what small businesses would have started on S. Mangum and what a cool neighborhood McMannen (Mangum) St. might have become had we left well-enough alone in the 1960s - or how much tax renvenue might have been lost from these neighborhoods. The same mindset predominantes in our current decision-making - witness the upcoming demolition of all of the structures in 300 block of East Main St. for a county surface parking lot.

We continue to try to change the market by changing the venue, a policy that, nationally and historically, as well as locally, has very limited efficacy. To date, in Durham, the successful market has come from people renovating the structures that survived demolition, primarily at the hand of government, in the 1960s. Why our elected and un-elected officials can't digest this notion, I don't know.

Quick Update: Five Points Cafe / Milestones Culinary Institute

A blurb in the Business section ('Work and Play') of the Herald-Sun this morning notes that Steve Matherly and James Davis will be opening "Five Points Cafe and Milestones Culinary Institute" at 347 West Main St. "soon". With the slated re-opening of the former Fowler's (which is sounds like may have its own cooking class scene) it seems that the culinary arts may be gaining a foothold, okay, toehold, downtown. To hell with Charlotte - who needs Johnson and Wales?

Steve Matherly, who is running the cafe side, has made quite a name for himself in the downtown scene between the school board and the co-op. I hope none of the behavior Michael Bacon recounted on The Bull in Full will be on display, or I don't think I'd have much of an appetite