East Pettigrew Street

518 East Pettigrew, ~1970 (Courtesy Durham County Library / North Carolina Collection) 518 1/2 East Pettigrew, ~1970 (Courtesy Durham County Library / North Carolina Collection) 520 - 520 1/2 East Pettigrew ~ 1970 (Courtesy Durham County Library / North Carolina Collection) Built in the late 1920s, 518-522 East Pettigrew housed a variety of...

Looking east, 1940s. (Courtesy The Herald-Sun Newspaper) I don't have much in the way of information or photos on the Biltmore Esso, at 402 East Pettigrew Street. It appears to have been established in the early 1930s, and was run by John Lee (Johnnie) Roberts, who also owned Roberts' Esso on Pine Street, and the Knox Street Grocery in Walltown.

Looking southwest, ~1970. (Courtesy Durham County Library / North Carolina Collection) Looking east down the south side of East Pettigrew St., ~1970. (Courtesy Durham County Library / North Carolina Collection)

1920s view showing part of 408-412 on the right. (Courtesy Durham County Library / North Carolina Collection) 408-412 East Pettigrew was a multi-tenant commercial building built in 1928 by G.P. Holloway. He established the Bull City Barber Shop in the 410 E. Pettigrew bay that same year. Bull City Cafe occupied the 412 E. Pettigrew bay. Early...

414-416 East Pettigrew appears to have been built by ~1920, and remodeled by the late 1920s. 414 initially housed the Liberty Bakery, and 416 the Self-Serve Grocery. By the late 1920s, the Liberty Cafe had been replaced by Red Bird Ice Cream. In the 1930s, the 414 housed Midway Lunch, and 416 housed John Trohatos' restaurant. By the 1940s, 414 housed Wilson's Sport Shop (a pool hall) and 416 the Wonderland Barber Shop and Beauty Shop.

Wonderland Theater, looking southwest from East Pettigrew and Ramsey Streets, 1922. (Courtesy Duke Rare Book and Manuscript Collection / Digital Durham) The Wonderland Theater was built in 1920 by Frederick K. Watkins, self-described "Movie King" (his house at 1218 Fayetteville St. still bears this description) at the southwest corner of East Pettigrew Street and Ramsey Street.

Looking southeast at the Regal Theater and the Biltmore, 1946 (Courtesy The Herald-Sun Newspaper) Although Dorothy Phelps' book opines the the Biltmore Hotel was built in 1923 by Dr. Clyde Donnell, it seems likely, based on the city directories, that the hotel was built in ~1929. Dr. Donnell's 1951 biography makes copious mention of his various...

Regal Theater, late 1930s or early 1940s. (Courtesy The Herald-Sun Newspaper) The Regal Theater was built in 1927 by George Washington Logan - providing a variety of entertainment, including musical performances by the likes of Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and others. By the 1930s, it seems that the theater had become predominantly a movie theater.

(Courtesy Durham County Library / North Carolina Collection)