711 Rigsbee Ave.

From the National Register in italics below:

The 1959 Durham City Directory lists the “GMAC Insurance Corporation” at 711 Rigsbee Avenue. The one-story, flat-roof brick office building of modest mid-century modern design is likely this office. The building is now adaptively reused as a bar known as "the bar." Red brick laid in running bond covers the sides and rear. There are no openings on the side elevations; the rear has a small flat-roof frame addition. The three-bay-wide façade features a central entrance with flanking bays of decorative brickwork. The north bay features brick aligned in rows, with every sixth brick recessed to create a textured surface. The south bay contains a flush wall of brick in geometric rows. The entrance has a replacement wooden double-door with transom, and the high windows above the south bay have been covered with vertical siding. A shallow mansard roof addition shelters the entrance and south bay of the façade. The new entrance and covered windows have substantially altered the façade’s architectural character, making it a noncontributing resource.

This building housed Competition, a gay bar which opened in 1991. Advertising in The Front Page, a gay and lesbian newspaper published in Raleigh, the same year, Competition boasted a “patio deck, outside bar, Bar-B-Q pit, Volleyball court (with sand), homey atmosphere, private parties.” 

This location would continue to hold its queer standing, coming under different ownership, names, and themes throughout the years, including Visions and All About Eve. There was a brief pause in its queer affiliations when it became a hip hop themed club, Club Bedrock. Shortly after, the bar was bought by Theresa Harris and renamed Steel Blue, returning to its queer beginnings. Steel Blue was originally located along US 70 but was relocated to 711 Rigsbee. It then became The Bar...Durham, owned by queer couple, Renee and Roe, from 2011 to 2021. The couple decided to name it “The Bar” because, despite its continuous rebranding, it remained
a queer staple and was referred to as “The Bar” throughout its queer tenure and everchanging name/ownership. Today, it is still owned by Renee and is now rebranded to The Pickleback 2.