Southern High School

35.940698, -78.865828

65
Moore Drive
Durham
NC
Year built
1956
Year(s) modified
1993 construction completed 1996.
Architects/Designers
Davis, Archie Royal
Architectural style
Modern
Construction type
Masonry
Neighborhood
Southern Durham
Use
Office
School
Building Type
School
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workingonsouthernhighschool_081356.jpg

"Working on Southern High School, 08.13.56"

Southern High moved to 800 Clayton Road in 1993; these buildings were purchased by Glaxo, gutted, and refurbished/rebuilt as part of GSK's campus. The main building encompasses 201,056 sq ft with the detached gym building coming in at 10,178 sq ft. The building was once known by its 1818 Ellis Road address however, once incorporated into the the GSK campus it became part of the 5 Moore Drive campus. 

During it's time with GSK the building was named for Charles Sanders who served as Glaxo's Chief Executive Officer from 1989 through 1994 and Chairman of the Board from 1992 through 1995. GSK remodeled the interior of the building completing the work in 1996 with the Heery Company from Atlanta, GA providing the designs for the remodel. Opting for an open office concept that removed the bulk of the interior walls and forever changing the interior of the building from it's former life of classrooms and students. Welcome Credit Union operated a branch within the building as well until around 2015-2016. GSK began downsizing in the early 2000s however in December 2014 GSK cut 20% of the 4500 people working on the campus. 

When GSK sold the campus to Karlin Real Estate in 2017 the county assigned individual addresses to the site and the building became known as 65 Moore Drive. GSK continued to lease space in both 42 Moore (their former headquarters) and 65 Moore Drive. However in August 2021 GSK announced they would move out of the campus they formally called home and would move into office space on the Tobacco Campus in downtown Durham. 

In August 2020 Parmer sold the campus to California based developer Alexandria Real Estate who currently owns the property.

1818Ellis_BE.jpg

Inside of the gym building circa 2019. Still looks the same in 2025.

65 Moore Drive Gym Interior Circa 2018

Comments

Submitted by durhamite (not verified) on Sat, 4/14/2012 - 2:54pm

Hi Gary - I know this property was bought from the Durham Public Schools around 1991 and a new Southern High School was built elsewhere.  Do you have current pictures of the old Southern?  I remember seeing that it was taken down to the steel frame by the new owner, and I wondered what it looked like now.

Submitted by gary on Sat, 4/14/2012 - 3:22pm

Thanks for clueing me in - I didn't even realize that it had moved, and I had put the new address on Clayton Road. After a little bit of digging (always surprising to me when things like this aren't already out there somewhere,) I figured out that it used to be located at 1818 Ellis Rd. The buidings were sold to Glaxo in 1993. It looks like they may have heavily renovated vs. demolition, just based on the building footprints over 1993->1998->now. I've added a Google Birds' Eye view of the Glaxo buildings.

Submitted by Durhamite (not verified) on Sat, 4/14/2012 - 3:35pm

Thank you for the prompt response. Perhaps -not positive- that back parking lot (north of the tennis courts) may have been the old football field.  I didn't go to school there, but that is a vague memory.   

Submitted by gary on Sat, 4/14/2012 - 3:39pm

Indeed, you are correct. The football field was where the leftmost parking lot is on the aerial; the somewhat tree-clear area north of the adjacent (north side) roadway was the baseball field.

Gary

Submitted by Carol Rigsbee (not verified) on Sun, 4/22/2012 - 2:01am

Gary, do you need photos of the old school, I still have all my yearbooks and could scan and send them to you.  Glaxo has increased the size of the site, looking at the photo really shows how much they added.  Not sure of my memory, but I believe the baseball field was were the tennis courts now stand.  When I was there, we didn't have tennis courts.

Submitted by gary on Sun, 4/22/2012 - 8:44am

Carol - I would love the post to have more photos of the old school. Please do either scan and send, or you can hit "New Draft" and add them to the post yourself. Instructions are here:

How to Add Content, or Edit Existing Content

(This link is also under "Help" on the About page.)

Submitted by tatafreeman on Sun, 4/27/2025 - 1:50pm

My wife and I were in the very last class to graduate from here. I grew up about a mile from here. We no longer live in Durham, but have been to the area a few times. Boy! It’s changed quite a bit. 

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