Oregon Street

Looking southeast from Erwin Road at Forlines Grocery, 1980 Per the Durham Architectural Inventory, a store occupied the southwest corner of Erwin Road and Blacknall St. (later Alexander Ave.) It appears that the masonry structure above had been constructed by 1910. The store was run by AL Bowen during the 1910s, and by 1924, Forline's Grocery -...

Erwin Auditorium, 1920s. (Courtesy Durham County Library - North Carolina Collection) Built in 1922 by Erwin Cotton Mills, the Renaissance Revival, 2 1/2 story Erwin Auditorium was designed by Hill C. Linthicum to provide all-purpose recreational space for the community. The construction was not entirely benevolent, as William Erwin used money that would have otherwise been distributed to workers as bonuses to construct the building.