Durham County Courthouse (third)

The county's 1978-2012 courthouse was outdated and hated from the moment it was completed. Worse yet, the powers-that-be destroyed an entire block of attractive - some beautiful - structures in order to build this cold mess.

The best of the lot was the Hotel Malbourne, on the northwest corner of N. Roxboro and East Main.
 

Looking northwest, 1966

Using urban renewal funds, the city demolished the entire block bounded by Church, Parrish, Roxboro, and East Main streets, including the Hotel Malbourne.

 

Demolition, 1966.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

Looking northeast, 1968.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

05.27.70
(Courtesy the Herald-Sun)

These structures were taken by the city and demolished using urban renewal funds, along with the remainder of the block. To some extent, this entire block fell victim to the pipe dreams of an Oklahoma developer named - Barket, and the anxiousness of a city to do whatever it could to a attract a developer who promised a 40 story building to be constructed in downtown Durham on the block between E. Main, Church, N. Roxboro, and E. Parrish Sts.

 

Barket's rendering of the 40 story building to sit at 200 East Main St., 07.16.68
(Courtesy The Herald-Sun)

The on-again-off-again flirtation between the city and Mr. Barket persisted throughout the later half of the 1960s, until he finally pulled out, never to be heard from again.

In 1978, the city built a new courthouse on the block, which looms, Death-Star-like, over the street. It seems that they tried their best to emulate Barket's Folly, but could only afford the first ~5 stories.

 

Where the block once was, 1975.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

The county decided to build its new courthouse on the spot by the 1970s, designed by Archie Royal Davis.

 

Looking southwest from Roxboro and Parrish, 1978.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

Under construction, 1978
 

In 1981, a protest happened here that helped define the course of Durham’s LGBT+ activism. In April of that year, on the banks of the Little River near Johnston Mills Road, Ronald “Sunny” Antonevitch was killed in a hate crime. In response to the violence, 125 people rallied here, on April 17th, 1981, to make a united stand in support of the LGBT+ community.  

One of the organizers of the rally was a man named Carl Wittman, who came to Durham from San Francisco with his partner, Allan Troxler. Wittman was an activist, having written a text called “The Gay Manifesto” calling for gay liberation. Carl and Allan were also involved in civil rights protests in the 1960s and in the anti-war movement. Within Durham, Carl advocated for better environmental protections through the group Citizens for Safer East Durham. In addition to all his political work, Wittman and Troxler were country dancers and helped bring a gender-free style of country dance-calling to Durham. Together, they founded the Sun Assembly English Country Dancers, which still hosts dances in Durham. 

This remains the 'new' courthouse, until another new courthouse gets built at Dillard and Mangum.
 

Looking northwest at the former Hotel Malbourne site, 2007.

I'm convinced that it flies back to the swamp to house the Legion of Doom at night. I don't know whether the design direction was "try to intimidate people into avoiding the courtroom," but that's the vibe it gives me. It's among my least favorite buildings in Durham.

By comparing the early pictures of the Malbourne to the courthouse, you can see how badly this building relates to the street - it's a fortress. Unfortunately, too many architects haven't advanced beyond this motif, still building long stretches of blank wall on the street, setbacks, etc., and we're building them again in our new structures. What's sad about the persistence of these design mistakes is that the examples of what worked as a part of the streetscape - like the Hotel Malbourne - are there. A little bit of Malbourne in our Human Services Complex, transit station, and 'new new' courthouse would be a plus, but it ain't gonna happen.

Looking northeast, 2007.

It ain't any better from the back.

Looking southeast from Church and East Parrish, 2007.

Looking northwest, 10.21.13 (Photo by Gary Kueber)

In 2016, Durham County began renovating the third courthouse to turn it into an office building. The intended aesthetic is typical for O'Brien Atkins.

11.09.2016 (Catherine Bartels)

01.28.19 (G. Kueber)