URBAN TOMBSTONES

While there are interesting, near-forgotten cemeteries tucked away in Durham, I am referring to the remnants of houses past. I've had a couple of questions/comments about research, and one part of that research is 'on the ground.' Looking at the urban landscape, you can often find clues demonstrating where houses were located, and the pattern of the earlier landscape.



When houses were large and destroyed in an iterative way (rather than a large clearance project like urban renewal) you can still see significant demarcation of where the houses were. In this view of the east side of the 300 block of Morris St., you can see the steps, as well as the small concrete property line 'retaining wall' with small 'posts' at the steps and the property lines. From this you can gauge the size and spacing of the houses on the street. So while I know of no pictures of these houses, I can begin to put together a mental picture of the landscape.

A more common finding in Durham is the curb cut without a house attached. If you are looking for them, some are fairly obvious as a driveway-to-nowhere:



Others are more subtle, as when the old granite curbs have been filled in with concrete at the curb cuts:



Foundation or retaining wall remnants are another clue to an old buildings site - such as this mostly buried section of curtain wall on a wooded lot downtown.



or this piece of a failing retaining wall of a vacant lot downtown





Plants and trees are another clue as to the location of ex-buildings. Bulbs, such as daffodils, are long lived and tend to come back each spring in the original planting patterns. Rose bushes on the edge of woods are a noticeable summer sign.
Patterns of old trees surrounding a former building site, often with younger, smaller trees in the middle (at the site of the former building) are another clue.

Comments

Submitted by Joe (not verified) on Thu, 9/28/2006 - 5:26am

When there's a cutout in old hewn granite curbing, I understand. But I've seen cutouts in concrete that I thought miht have been poured by the city (or whomever) just because there was a lot there. Does that happen? WRT lots, if (in general) one sees an empty lot in an otherwise developed (but not cookie-cutter developed) neighborhood, does that usually mean no house was built there, or that a previously-standing house was removed? Maybe these questions are too general -- sorry.

Submitted by Sven (not verified) on Thu, 9/28/2006 - 11:21am

Joe

Thanks for your comment. There definitely isn't a a general rule - I'd term the curb cut as 'on-the-ground' reconnaissance for further investigation. It certainly depends on the location in city - closer in to the center of the city, probably a tear-down, but out in the 'burbs, probably not. Generally, in Durham, if it is south of Murray Ave or north of Hope Valley and there's not obvious new construction around it, I'd say there was a house. Concrete vs. granite isn't in-and-of-itself a good delineation, as there was a lot of concrete poured in the 50s and 60s for curb cuts/driveways to older houses that are gone. The first example I showed in the post is one of those - poured in the 1960s during the street re-do for circa 1910s houses that are now gone.

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