Tomorrow, December 3rd, is Giving Tuesday—a global celebration of generosity and community spirit to kick off the holiday season. This year, we invite you to participate in our "Give What You Can" Membership Drive to support the work of Preservation Durham.
As we reflect on the incredible success of our 50th Anniversary celebration last month, we’re filled with gratitude for the support and passion of everyone who came together to honor this milestone. It was a powerful reminder of the community that has carried us forward since our founding in 1974, when 600 charter members gathered to establish Preservation Durham.
Thanks to your dedication, we’ve made great strides in rebuilding our membership. At the start of 2024, we had 239 members. I’m thrilled to share that this year alone, 114 new members have joined us, showing just how much Durham values its rich history and architectural treasures.
But we’re not stopping here. To sustain our efforts to preserve the places that make Durham special, we need your help to grow even further. Your membership and donations are critical to our success, funding everything from educational programs and Open Durham to advocacy work that ensures Durham’s future remains deeply connected to its past.
This Giving Tuesday, you can play a part in shaping our community’s future. No matter the amount, every contribution moves us closer to our goals. Let’s come together to build a stronger Preservation Durham—because every member, every dollar, and every voice makes a difference.
Join or renew your membership tomorrow through our “Give What You Can” one-day membership drive. All donations, of any amount, made online or mailed with a 12/3 date will make you a member of Preservation Durham for a year with the benefits and event discounts that come with it.
Together, we can ensure that Durham’s history continues to inspire and enrich our community for generations to come. Exciting things are brewing!
With gratitude,
A Recap of Preservation Durham’s 50th Anniversary
Our 50th Anniversary celebration November 19th was a tremendous success, and we extend heartfelt thanks to every attendee, volunteer, partner, and award winner who helped make it unforgettable! We’re so fortunate to have such a supportive, preservation-minded community championing our mission.
This milestone event was a powerful testament to Durham’s rich preservation history and a celebration of those shaping its future. Honoring our award winners, who exemplify exceptional modern preservation efforts, was a highlight of the evening. We’ll be sharing more about each of the award winners on social media this week, so be sure to check out our Instagram and Facebook accounts (both @preservationdurham) to read more about the honorees.
The celebration was a fitting finale to our 50th year—although it’s not over yet! As our Board President, Amanda Boyd, announced at the event, we have an ambitious goal to raise $50,000 by the official end of our anniversary year on April 23, 2025.
Here’s to many more years of preserving Durham’s unique character and heritage!
Like many in Durham, we’ve been following the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) rewrite. The goal of the rewrite is to update and simplify the process for project review in Durham County and implement the Actions in our new Comprehensive Plan.
The Comprehensive Plan has a lot of preservation friendly goals, but without ties to the new UDO, the policies and actions will not materialize. Preservation Durham wants to make sure that a simplified code does not come at the loss of existing character, and that we take advantage of opportunities to incentivize preservation of existing character and structures. Drafts of the new zoning districts, allowed uses and zoning map are available online for review. We’re still wrapping our heads around the proposed changes in this first draft and hope that later drafts will include specifics that incentivize preserving existing structures and neighborhood character. However, we’ve heard that Durham voices need to be more vocal on the desire to preserving existing neighborhood character. “Preserve the soul of Durham” is something I heard over and over at the in-person open-house held earlier in the year, but the apparent loss of Neighborhood Protection Overlays (NPO) and other changes illustrate that this is not being heard.
We encourage you to take advantage of the open office hours with City-County Planning staff at Durham County Main Library, Main Entrance, 2nd-floor lobby on the 1st Thursdays 3pm-6pm and 3rd Thursdays 10am-1pm. Planning staff will be holding these open office hours through August 2025 but the time to ask your questions and express your concerns and hopes for the new UDO is now.
Good news! We have rescheduled the Cemetery Citizens Book Talk for December 11th from 6-7pm at The Chesterfield Building. We are sorry for any inconvenience in rescheduling but look forward to hosting the rescheduled event!
Is your house 70 years or older? Does it have a significant history or do you want to learn more about its history? Look no further than Preservation Durham’s Historic Plaque Program! The historic plaque program is a public history tool that highlights Durham’s historic homes through a bronze plaque. You can research and fill out an application yourself, or have our team do the research and application for you. We have close to 300 homes in the plaque program currently, and you have likely seen them on a house somewhere in Durham. If you are interested in more information or would like to apply for a historic plaque, check out our plaque page on Preservation Durham’s website.
John Hykes and Craven Miller were recognized at the 50th anniversary celebration for their outstanding work in the adaptive reuse of the historic bank building at 318 South Driver Street in East Durham. Formerly Fidelity Bank, John and Craven preserved the integrity of the building while transforming it into a central space for their interior design and landscaping businesses, consolidated under Design Bank. Read more about the history of this building and it’s significance to the East Durham commercial district on Open Durham. For more information on the Design Bank, visit their website, or even better, visit in person!
Local events and news from us and our partners in preservation you may be interested in.
- Durham cemetery seeks to give untold stories new life through national recognition story by Andrew Rice on WUNC
- Jonkonnu at Stagville Historic Site. December 7, 4:30-6pm. Free. Celebrate an African diaspora holiday tradition with St Sya Academy and Historic Stagville. More information here.
- Eno River Association: Guided History Hike - Confluence Natural Area. December 8, 2-4pm. $2-$4. Check out this guided history hike hosted by one of our partners, Eno River Association. This 2.5-mile guided history hike will include the East and West Forks of the Eno, the confluence where the main stem of the Eno River begins. Learn about the history of the land and the people who inhabited it, from Indigenous people to the Sheppard family who owned the mill, of which remnants can still be seen today. Registration here.
- Cemetery Citizens Book Talk. December 11, 6-7pm. The Chesterfield Building. Free. Join Preservation Durham and the Museum of Durham History as Adam Rosenblatt and Debra Taylor Gonzalez-Garcia discuss Cemetery Citizens: Reclaiming the Past and Working for Justice in American Burial Grounds and its application to present-day cemetery work. Register for this free event here.
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