Looking west-northwest from Church St. and East Main St., 1895. (Courtesy Duke Archives) The 100 block of East Main St. was part of the central core of downtown that developed during the 1880s, with early frame structures transitioning to brick by 1890. Clothing and drugstores were common tenants, and another of Durham's early newspapers, the...

When Julian Carr established the Durham Hosiery Mill No. 1 (above), and the Golden Belt Hosiery Mill, he developed two communities - Edgemont and Morning Glory. At the center of those two communities, he developed a park (seen in the foreground above) with a baseball diamond, gazebo, trees, etc. This park was the center of the community - a place...

When Julian Carr established the Durham Hosiery Mill No. 1 (above), and the Golden Belt Hosiery Mill, he developed two communities - Edgemont and Morning Glory. At the center of those two communities, he developed a park (seen in the foreground above) with a baseball diamond, gazebo, trees, etc. This park was the center of the community - a place...

121 Market Street was built in the early 1920s on previously vacant land. Above, the original Morning Herald building, with the Durham Life Insurance Company to its north. 121 Market and 136-138 E. Chapel Hill were built to the north (right) of the insurance building. (From "Images of America: Durham" by Steve Massengill) The Durham Morning Herald...

136-138 East Chapel Hill Street was built in the mid-1920s on previously vacant land. Above, the original Morning Herald building, with the Durham Life Insurance Company to its north. 121 Market and 136-138 E. Chapel Hill were built to the north (right) of the insurance building. (From "Images of America: Durham" by Steve Massengill) The Durham...

132 E. Chapel Hill St., looking southeast, 1920s Looking southeast from East Chapel Hill St., 2007

132 E. Chapel Hill St., looking southeast, 1920s Looking southeast from East Chapel Hill St., 2007

Looking north at the intersection of N. Mangum St. and Rigsbee Ave. and SE Rochelle's motorcycle club, ~1910. (Courtesy Durham County Library) The northeast portion of what we now consider 'downtown' was a primarily residential area well into the early 20th century, gradually supplanted by commercial structures during the 1920s and onward. Above...