SMITH WAREHOUSE
The Smith Warehouse, built in 1906, was the largest of the Duke & Sons tobacco warehouses, used for the storage of tobacco prior to processing.
Below, a view from the Washington Duke building at Trinity College (now East Campus) looking south, prior to the construction of the Smith Warehouse across the railroad tracks. The sizable two-story structure visible across the tracks is the West End Graded school.
Looking south, ~1900.
(Courtesy Durham County Library / North Carolina Collection)
Below, the same view, ~1910
(Courtesy John Schelp)
The Smith warehouse during the 1920s - the direction (whether this is the west or east face) isn't immediately clear, although I suspect it is the east face.
(Courtesy Durham County Library / North Carolina Collection)
More definitively the west face of the warehouse from construction on Campus Drive, 1920s.
(Courtesy Durham County Library / North Carolina Collection)
A smidgen of a glimpse of the warehouse during the funeral procession for Ben Duke - people are marching across West Main St. south on Milton Ave.
(Courtesy Durham County Library / North Carolina Collection)
The Smith Warehouse remained in operation during the Liggett years, becoming, at least in part, a printing facility for cigarette cartons/packaging. After being cast off by Liggett, the warehouse was purchased by Duke, which has converted it to office space and arts space.
Looking west, 03.18.08.
I wish Duke would do more to make the facade of this warehouse inviting - it's as beautiful as any of the others. The site still appears to be some semi-industrial, seemingly-abandoned space. It's really a lost opportunity to create a vibrant connection between this part of Buchanan (and the West End/West Main) and Campus Drive, the very cool old East Campus power plant building, and the re-commencement of West Pettigrew to the west of the warehouse near the Center for Documentary Studies. Why not treat this as an opportunity to connect Duke to the urban realm?
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13 comments:
Gary--my understanding is that plans are in motion to revitalize the area around the warehouse. Liggett kept a presence (a printing press)in the middle portion of the building until about a year ago and that portion is now being renovated. Along with that renovation, the parking lots are going to be reworked and Maxwell Street is to be paved/lit for pedestrians. The East Campus Steam Plant is being recommissioned as well.
I have been in the middle space recently. Duke, along with local architect Brockwell Associates and Mixon Construction are doing a great thing there with the restoration. Durham will be proud.
While I don't live in Durham anymore, I enjoy this blog as it brings bac many pleasant memories. However, from my out-of-town perspective it appears that many of these renovations around Durham (some quite good) seem to stall out at the curb appeal level. Poor landscaping, parking, signage, undergrounding utilities, etc. Per the two previous posts this many hopefully be an exception.
This 1905 photograph of President Teddy Roosevelt was taken by the railroad tracks -- between the Smith Warehouse and the old entrance to Trinity College...
http://www.owdna.org/History/history3.htm
With the hoots of factory whistles, Roosevelt arrived in West Durham on his train and declared, "As I came in, gentlemen, I felt as if I was at a football contest."
A group of NCSU School of Design students took a look at the Ninth Street area (for OWDNA) and suggested a sidewalk past the Smith Warehouse, connecting the Center for Documentary Studies with Brightleaf Square.
Duke refused at the time (Tallman Trask, III). But this might be a good opportunity to ask again. We could call it "Roosevelt Way."
(I'll post this comment and forward the link to Phail Wynn at Duke.)
The color postcard of Smith Warehouse in Gary's entry today is one of my favorite postcards of Durham. It shows the old entrance to Trinity College -- with the Ann Roney fountain and the original location of Washington Duke sitting in his arm chair.
The Roney fountain is still standing today, in front of Duke East. The statue of the Sower (a.k.a. Johnny Appleseed) now stands where the old Wash Duke statue was located. If you stand next to the fountain and look towards West Main Street, you can see how it lines up with the Sower -- showing the original roadway into campus.
The Ann Roney fountain (ca. 1901) is a tribute to the woman who took care of Washington Duke's sons after their mother died. Today, this fountain has no plaque, no indication of the role Ann Roney played in Duke's history. I've suggested the idea of getting a plaque to some student groups. We'll see.
Finally, in looking at the postcard, you can see where President Roosevelt spoke (in front of these older "iron gates" -- not the "stone gate" entrance you see today). The Smith Warehouse was built in 1906... so Roosevelt spoke here the year before.
More... http://www.owdna.org/selfguidedtourOWD.htm
Gary:
And the chain link fence doesn't do a lot to attract you to those buildings...
Myers
The construction seen on Campus Drive is most likely the Steam Plant rather than the bridges or the road itself--it has a concrete vault underground where the boilers sit and the concrete in the picture looks like the construction of those walls.
The Smith warehouse is, at least initially, supposed to be "swing" office space for people displaced by construction projects. I work at the library, and one of the departments here will be moving to Smith in the upcoming months (much to their consternation - especially humorous is their insistance on referring to this as "smith building", never "Smith warehouse").
I think they're nuts - this building should make a nice office space eventually. Supposedly it will also house refugees from other construction as needed, including central campus. As a resident of Burch, I do hope they work on the grounds a bit, though.
Interesting to know more about the history of the Smith Warehouse. Our library department is moving there today, to join Duke Performances and other campus offices and programs. The renovated space is gorgeous, and "green": no off-gassing from carpets and paint means very happy tenants! There is lots of exposed brick, natural light from skylights and large windows, and high ceilings, as you might imagine. Eventually this beautiful building will house around 1000 employees, an estimate I've heard. The outside areas are still very rough, but there are plans for better landscaping and lighting. This area will only get better for people and foot traffic. We are proud to be part of this revitalization and can't wait to patronize businesses down the street for good coffee and lunches!
Keep an eye on the Smith Warehouse in the coming months: once-extant murals on the Pettigrew and Buchanan sides are now being restored.
The outside area (Maxwell Street side) now has new pavement, new landscaping, and a new fence. What an improvement!
["The Ann Roney fountain (ca. 1901) is a tribute to the woman who took care of Washington Duke's sons after their mother died. Today, this fountain has no plaque, no indication of the role Ann Roney played in Duke's history. I've suggested the idea of getting a plaque to some student groups. We'll see."]
The Ann Roney Fountain has been fully restored and is being moved to the new Mary Semens rose garden location on May 11, 2011.
When I worked at L&M in the sixties, I was a paymaster at the "print shop"
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