Part of the wave of new motels that swept into the city in the 1960s - including downtown's Jack Tar Motel and the Holiday Inn. The Downtowner had high aspirations with its Four Flames restaurant, recipient of the first liquor-by-the-drink ABC license in Durham. The hostelry fell on harder times by the 1980s, and closed for good in the 1990s. It was demolished in 2002, and replaced with Durham's newest bus station.

The site just to the west of the first Duke Factory was Washington Duke's first in-town home. (Durham Historic Inventory) In 1884, Duke built a new brick factory, just to the east of his house and original factory. In 1888, he built a new house, which he called Fairview. Looking west, with the old factory building to the right. The steeple of Main...

Where the immense Chesterfield Building sits as of 2011 was where Washington Duke made his home and began his in-town tobacco production operation. (Durham Historic Inventory) In 1884, Duke built a new brick factory, just to the east of his house and original factory. In 1888, he built a new house, which he called Fairview. Looking west, with the...

The Home Savings Bank Building, 01.30.69 (Courtesy Herald-Sun) The Home Savings Bank occupied the eastern half of 313-315 East Chapel Hill Street through the 1950s; it then replaced the western half (which had been replaced 29 years earlier with an exuberantly art deco building) with a new exuberantly modern building, transitioning half of the...

The Center Theater replaced half of an earlier structure, which half was replaced again 29 years later - moving from Mansard to Modern to Launch Vehicle. The building at 313-315 East Chapel Hill Street was constructed around 1907 as the Corcoran Hotel, but did not survive for long due to stiff competition from the other downtown hotels. It became...

The house of the man whose name was inextricably linked with "Bull Durham" - moved for a Duke-funded church after the once-wealthy tobacco magnate lost everything.

The site of the $44 million Durham Performing Arts Center grew as a mixture of industrial and residential uses, located just south of the main railroad depot and just east of Blackwell's Durham Tobacco Co. Julian Carr established the "Carrolina Roller Mills" - a flour mill - in 1902, incorporating the concern on April 21, 1902. The firm was...

Banner Warehouse, 1910 The Banner warehouse was established on West Main Street in the 1880s, moving to Watkins (Morgan) Street in 1903. From the 1910 Durham Illustrated: Since the establishment of the first tobacco sales warehouse in 1871, this industry has grown every year more important. In 1903, JA Warren and Maynard Mangum established their...