J. W. Muse House

(The information below in italics is from the Plaque Application for the J. W. Muse House)

Mr. J. W. Muse, Sr., was the cashier at the Fidelity Bank located in the Geer Building downtown (Main and Corcoran Streets). It was erected after the great fire of 1914 and was demolished in the early 1970s as a part of Urban Renewal. The Fidelity Bank was acquired by Wachovia Bank and Muse became a vice president there. Muses's wife, Bertha, was active in Durham civic affairs. She died of cancer in the late 1960s. The Muses' son, James Willard Muse, Jr., ("Woody") inherited the house when his father died in 1975. The younger Muse was a graduate of North Carolina State College in Raleigh and served as an officer in the navy. He may have been a veteran of World War II or the Korean War. He and his wife, Elizabeth ("Betty"), had one daughter, Susan. J. W. Muse, Jr., suffered from mental illness as an adult and his treatment included a regimen of drugs and a lobotomy. This left him partially disabled. He worked for the FCX, a farmers' cooperative which was active until the late 1970s. 

The house at 1110 Virginia Avenue was the younger Mr. Muse's home for most of his life. He told the applicants that he was three years old when his parents built it. He and Betty sold the house to the applicants in 1988. Mr. Muse died in the mid 1990s. Betty died in 2004. 

Much of the information concerning the Muses was provided to the applicants by Stan W. Muse, a relative of the former owners and a neighbor of the applicants. 

The J. W. Muse house is a late example of the "artistic" bungalow. It displays an interesting mixture of architectural elements. Some of these are typical to the bungalow, such as deep overhanging eaves and "German" or "gerkin-headed" gable peaks. The T-plan roof is a common device of bungalow design. It allows a relatively spacious house to hide behind a facade of cottage proportions. Other features of the house, such as the deep, double ogee hood over the entry and the unusual combination of classical columns and massive brick piers supporting it are not typical of bungalow design. The house is clad with the multicolored, wirestriated brick popular in the neighborhood and throughout Durham during the 1920s and 1930s. The interior of the house retains most of its original doors, cabinets, and finishes. The original floor plan is very little altered, however, the kitchen and bath have been remodeled and the attic space beneath the roof has been finished to include two bedrooms and a second bath. The house was built in 1928 for J. W. and Bertha Muse. Muse served as cashier for the Fidelity Bank in Durham. The Muse family occupied the house until 1988.