Rigsbee Avenue

The area of East Chapel Hill St. and Rigsbee Avenue was primarily filled with residential and small frame structures up until the early 1920s, when masonry commercial structure supplanted the earlier uses. 400 Block of East Chapel Hill St., looking east from Rigsbee Ave., 1900. (Courtesy Duke Rare Book and Manuscript Collection, Wyatt Dixon...

(Courtesy Durham County Library) The once-residential area on Rigsbee developed from the tobacco warehouses south and from Mangum north during the 1920s. The house in the middle, now 204-208 Rigsbee, was demolished for parking (yep, even back in the 1920s.) The above photo shows the lot to the left of 216 Rigsbee from the construction site of the post office, 1934. 400 East Chapel Hill would be just out of frame to the right.

The structures near the intersection of Rigsbee and Morgan were likely constructed in the 1920s, on land that had previously been residential. The buildings, like most of Morgan St. contained light industry and services. Many of the commercial buildings in this area had a market relationship with the nearby tobacco warehouses, providing services...

Although our new ubiquitous 'wayfinding' (to use the earnest planning lingo) signs proclaim the area of the Liggett redevelopment as the "Warehouse District", the real warehouse district in Durham stretched along both sides of Rigsbee Ave., north of Morgan St. The view in 1924, looking northwest. The two very large brick warehouses straddle Rigsbee...

211 Rigsbee Avenue was built ~1947 for the Durham Insurance Service Company. Above, the view from Rigsbee Ave., looking west-northwest, 1966. Aside from some fancy awnings, it has changed little, although it now contains the city purchasing office and equal opportunity offices. Looking west, 2007. 211 Rigsbee underwent a full renovation in 2008. 10...

Like the Harris Service Station/Hotel Gas and Storage across the street, the tiny 'block' between Orange St. and N. Rigsbee skipped the 1910s-1920s mercantile commercialization and went straight to the car culture. Prior to the late 1920s/early 1930s, this spot was a boarding house. (Courtesy Duke Archives) Looking north-northwest, 1924. The First...