I’ve developed a late night habit of trolling archived pages on the Preservation Durham website using the Internet Archive’s “Wayback Machine.” While I can’t say it helps me sleep, it’s better than doomscrolling the news and has been a great way to peek into the organization’s past programs, events, and advocacy efforts. The most interesting thing I’ve learned by doing this is that many of the same places we’re talking about today, we’ve been working on for years. It can often feel like our advocacy efforts are urgent (many are) and insurmountable climbs, but I’m often reminded of a phrase my former boss and mentor, Myrick Howard of Preservation North Carolina, liked to say: “Preservation is a long game.”
One of the more recent pages I came across was our “Places in Peril” announcement from 2010, which highlighted Old Lowes Grove School (4505 S. Alston Ave). Last week, fifteen years after that first call to action, the Durham Public School Board voted to move forward with an RFP process to invite ideas from interested parties about potential uses for the building. While this isn’t yet a win, it’s a major step in the right direction. We’ll keep advocating for the preservation and adaptive reuse of this building and continue to offer our support and resources to the DPS Board and Administration.
On a similar timeline is the Home Security Life Insurance Co. Building at 505 W. Chapel Hill Street, which we’ve mentioned in several recent newsletters. We’ve been advocating for subdivision of the parcel and negotiation with Preservation North Carolina on an option to purchase, so that a smaller-scale adaptive reuse of the building can proceed separately from the larger development site. We hope to have a larger update on this process for a presentation to City Council next month.
Both of those examples are large-scale, but the same “long game” approach applies to smaller properties in private ownership too. We’re constantly reaching out to offer technical support and resources, and a lot of work goes on quietly behind the scenes to lay the foundation (and build the trust) for successful preservation outcomes.
Preservation only works when the community cares enough to stay in the game. If you believe in this work and want to help us keep showing up for Durham’s historic places—whether it’s the long fights or the quick wins—please consider joining as a member or making a donation. Every bit of support keeps us in it for the long haul.
We are in the final stretch of the Chicken Hut local landmark nomination process! The nomination will be brought before the city council this month, at the October 6th meeting, for their vote. If they vote in favor, the Chicken Hut will officially be designated as a Durham Local Landmark.
We strongly recommend community support for the Chicken Hut landmark nomination during this meeting. The meeting will take place on October 6th at 7 pm, located at 101 City Hall Plaza, Council Chambers/1st Floor, Durham, NC 27701. You can submit a letter or comment in support by emailing the council, submitting written support through the online portal once the agenda is posted, joining by Zoom, or attending in person.
You can view the City Council agenda once it is uploaded this Friday, October 3rd, here and submit written support here.
The Chicken Hut has been a community staple for over 50 years, and we hope to see the community support returned during this process!
Also, join us on November 18th at our 2025 Preservation Party and Annual Awards Ceremony, where we will be celebrating the Chicken Hut as one of our 2025 award winners. We are delighted to recognize the Chicken Hut for their dedication to preserving the beloved restaurant through the local landmark nomination process.
Preservation Durham 2025 Award Winners:
- Robyn Wiegman for the Preservation of her Craftsman-Bungalow Home at 117 W. Seeman Street
- The Junior League of Durham and Orange Counties and the Hill Trust for their renovation of the Hill House
- Andre’ Vann, local public historian whose work has supported many preservation and education efforts, including the preservation of the James E. Shepard House
- Philip Hansell for the restoration of Little Five Points
- The St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation for 50 years of great work in preserving the Hayti Heritage Center and using it as a vital local culture center
- Tre and Khya Tapp, owners of the Chicken Hut, for their dedication to preserving their family’s legacy by going through the local landmark nomination process
- Central Park School for Children Foundation for the preservation and reuse of the North Durham Graded School
- DTW Architects and Planners LLC for over 40 years of amazing preservation work in Durham
- The Museum of Durham History and Friends of Geer Exhibit: Unearthing Stories from Geer Cemetery, which demonstrates the importance of archaeology, preservation, and education in the protection in one of the oldest Black cemeteries in Durham
Preservation Durham Awards are awarded to those who have engaged in remarkable acts of preservation and public history across Durham County. The awards recognize those who have taken significant care in preserving Durham’s built environment and those who have creatively and innovatively engaged with, transformed, and disseminated Durham’s rich history. The awards seek to broaden our preservation community by celebrating what preservation looks like across Durham County.
Over the past few weeks, we have been meeting with award winners to film introductory videos to be shown during the party! It has been a delight to talk with each award winner and learn more about their dedication to historic preservation and education in the Durham area. We are so grateful to the incredible Ben Oliver of Storyboard Media, who will be editing each video to be displayed during the program. We are delighted to show off the amazing work our award winners have done and continue to do with a glimpse through these videos.
Join us at the annual Preservation Party where we’ll celebrate the award winners on November 18th at ReCity Network (112 Broadway St)! This is a FREE event, with a suggested donation of $30/ticket. Registration is open now on our website!
Preservation Durham and the Pauli Murray Center are pleased to announce a joint fundraiser to highlight Durham’s Queer History with a bus tour and social reception. Learn more about the numerous individuals, organizations, and activism that has shaped Durham into the LGBTQ+ safe space that it is today.
The tour will include a 1.5-hour bus tour, where attendees will learn more about the importance of built space for the protection, celebration, and community building within the LGBTQ+ community in Durham. The bus tour will include two outside excursions: to the Sarah P. Duke Gardens to visit the Stormie Daie mural and to the Pauli Murray Mural on 1101 W. Chapel Street.
The tour ends at the Pauli Murray Center for an opportunity to visit the Fitzgerald House, where Pauli lived while in Durham, for a social reception. Thanks to a partnership with the Duke Human Rights Center, attendees will also receive a zine about the importance of preserving Queer spaces.
This exclusive tour will take place on Saturday, November 8th, 2025 from 2:30-5:00 pm.
In light of increasing federal censorship, it's more important than ever to raise awareness about the significance of historic LGBTQ+ sites and the preservation programs that preserve and celebrate their stories.
This year, the Pauli Murray Center was among many historic sites that lost critical funding. In response, we’re proud to share that all proceeds from this special tour will be split to support both the Pauli Murray Center and our own ongoing programming.
Tickets are $75 per person, with an option to contribute additional donations.
We recognize that $75 is a significant cost, and we’re committed to making this tour accessible to everyone. A free, self-guided version will be available on Open Durham, allowing anyone to explore the history on their own after the tour. We're also actively seeking local partners interested in offering the tour at a reduced rate or for free. (If your organization would like to help bring the tour to more people, please reach out!)
A condensed version of the tour will also remain available as a private walking tour through Preservation Durham.
Even if you can’t join the tour, we invite you to make a donation in support of this vital work by both organizations. Your contribution—no matter the size—will directly support efforts to protect and uplift LGBTQ+ history in the face of increasing threats. Together, we can ensure these stories are preserved, shared, and celebrated.
Local Durham elections are coming up, with Primary Elections on Tuesday, October 7th, and General Elections on Tuesday, November 4th, which include races for mayor and city council members representing Ward 1, Ward 2, and Ward 3. To gauge how these candidates plan to advocate for preservation if they were to win, we sent out a questionnaire. This questionnaire was sent out to each candidate, with the same amount of time to answer and the same due date to ensure fairness.
We heard from a total of 10 candidates and have uploaded their answers to our website. We asked seven questions, which varied regarding how funding would be used to further Durham preservation, how each candidate would like the city to work with us and other preservation organizations, the role preservation plays in Durham’s future growth, and more. Check out our post on our website to see how your local candidates view the future of Durham’s preservation, and go vote!
Who pointed a cannon at the young “communists” moving onto Ninth Street? Where did Madonna take early dance lessons? Who dedicated the Muhammad Ali Gymnasium in Durham? What's buried under Duke Hospital? Where was the indigenous village of Adshusheer? Who lived on the hilltops and who lived in the creek bottoms? Where were Durham's three municipal incinerators located? Who saved Trinity College from bankruptcy? Where was Kevin Costner spotted in his boxer shorts? Who stopped Duke from building a Barnes & Noble down the street from the Regulator Bookshop?
Come along and find out. Saturday, Oct 18 at 10AM. Two hour walking tour starts at Ninth & Green, across from White Star.
Local street historian John Schelp, creator of Postcards from Durham, one of our 2025 award winners, will join us as we walk through Old West, Watts-Hillandale, Walltown and a corner of East Campus. Co-hosted by the Museum of Durham History, Preservation Durham and the Sierra Club.
Parking on nearby streets. No dogs please. Peel off anytime. Free, no registration needed.
The Durham Historic Preservation Commission is looking to fill four vacancies! These vacancies are on both the city and county levels, with two vacancies each.
From the City of Durham Boards, Committees, and Commissions Website:
The Durham Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) holds quasi-judicial public hearings to determine whether requested changes to the exterior of historic district or landmark properties are appropriate and in accordance to State law, local ordinance and historic preservation plans.
The Commission is comprised of nine members, four of which are appointed by the City Council and one appointed by the Mayor.
Special Requirements: 5-8 hours per month for meetings, review of reports and possible site visits.
Visit this site and search ‘Durham Historic Preservation Commission’ to learn more and apply.
4514 Erwin Road, Bob Fortner Photography
One of the 55 properties we protect in Durham through a preservation covenant is up for sale! If you are interested in living in a historic log cabin in Durham, this is the place for you. Email info@preservationdurham.org for more information regarding the covenant.
The price of the home was recently reduced $25,000 and is currently going for $425,000.
Reach out to Courtney Brown (courtney.brown@relevate.life) or Kari Ainsworth (kari.ainsworth@relevate.life) if interested!
Jay Nailah Avery and Historic Stagville are hosting a special event dedicated to honoring the history of the American Girl Doll, Addy Walker. Journalist Jay Nailah Avery has written numerous articles about the impact of Addy Walker. Check out those articles here and here.
Based on her research, Jay has planned a spectacular event in celebration of Addy Walker, including special guest, author of the Addy Walker books, Connie Porter.
This 108-year-old home was restored to most of its original design in 2017, during its 100th anniversary.
Kenneth U. Bryan built the home in 1917, buying part of the lot from business partner William Byrd. A grocery store was previously located on the property, and the applicants believe that part of the current home was at one point part of the original grocery store.
Kenneth U. Bryan and William Byrd did, in fact, own a grocery store together, Byrd and Bryan Grocers, which was located at 119 West Parrish Street.
The applicants believe the home was converted into an undocumented duplex, which they converted back into a single-family dwelling. Luckily, much of the original material was still intact, allowing them to preserve those features and restore the home. They worked with the State Historic Preservation Office to guarantee accurate and detailed preservation of the home.
The College Inn was part of the many institutions that made up the Hayti community. The College Inn was an ice cream shop and restaurant was originally owned by William Henry Jones and Martha Jones. When William passed away, Martha eventually married Carl Easterling Sr., and together they continued to run the shop.
The College Inn was a popular site for many traveling, famous African Americans, including Duke Ellington, Tina Turner, and Malcom X. It was also a listed site in Victor Hugo Green’s travel guide, most well known as “Green Books,” that outlined safe and welcoming spaces for African Americans during Jim Crow.
While 1306 Fayetteville is already up on Open Durham, we are working to update its page and many other properties along Fayetteville Street. This is part of a bigger project Preservation Durham is doing with the Hayti Promise CDC. We will continue to highlight Fayetteville Street properties through our Open Durham highlights, sharing what is currently on Open Durham, as well as new tidbits we have learned that will eventually be uploaded to Open Durham.
More information for the Hayti Promise: Community Conservation Program Coordinator here.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is also hiring a Program Assistant for the Hayti Promise CDC Project. More information on this position here.
Local events and news from us and our partners in preservation you may be interested in.
- Dear Addy, Celebration. Hosted by Jay Nailah and Historic Stagville. October 4th, 5:30 pm. $150/ticket. Join journalist Jay Nailah and special guests as they celebrate the history and political impact of American Girl Doll, Addy Walker. This event will include a five-course meal, curated libations, live music, and historical readings. Buy tickets here.
- Chicken Hut Local Landmark Nomination before the Durham City Council. October 6th, 7 pm. 101 City Hall Plaza, Council Chambers. Come out to support the Chicken Hut in the last stage of the local landmark nomination process at the October 6th city council meeting. More information on how you can share you support for the Chicken Hut as a Durham local landmark here.
- Geer Cemetery Timed Tours. RESCHEDULED DUE TO RAIN: October 11th, 10-12 pm. $15 for general public, Free for Preservation Durham and/or Friends of Geer Cemetery members. Learn more about Geer Cemetery, the first Black Cemetery in Durham in celebration of the Unearthing Stories of Geer Cemetery exhibit. Buy tickets/register here.
- Neighborhood Hike Led by Local Street Historian and 2025 Preservation Durham Award Winner, John Schelp. October 18th, 10 am. Free. No registration required. Meet-up at Ninth and Green Street, across from White Star. Don’t miss out on the beloved annual neighborhood hike led by local street historian John Schelp. Join us on October 18th and learn more about fun Durham history!
- Preservation Durham and Pauli Murray Center Fundraiser: Queer History Tour of Durham. November 8th, 2:30-5 pm. $75/ticket. Join us as we raise money for Preservation Durham and the Pauli Murray Center through our Queer History Bus Tour! This event includes a bus tour, social hour at the Pauli Murray Center, and a physical copy of the Queer Durham History zine made specifically for this event. $75/ticket with an additional donation option. Buy tickets here.
- Preservation Durham Annual Awards Ceremony and Preservation Party. November 18th, 6-8 pm, ReCity Network (112 Broadway St). Free with suggested $30 donation. We are excited to host this year’s preservation party and awards ceremony at ReCity Network. We will be celebrating our ten award winners for their great work in preserving Durham’s history. Learn more about what’s going on in Durham’s preservation scene while enjoying snacks and beverages with other historically-minded Durhamites! Register here.
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