1508 Pinecrest Rd. - 2nd Duke President's House

35.986388, -78.942609

1508
Pinecrest Road
Durham
NC
Year built
1966
Architectural style
Modern
Construction type
Frame
Masonry
Neighborhood
Duke Forest
Use
Residence
Event Venue
Building Type
Residential
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Dow Knight house 4.jpg
Dow Knight house3.jpg

From Triangle Modernist Houses:

The Douglas M. and Grace Knight House, aka the Duke President's House, 2402 Academy, Durham. Also listed as 1508 Pinecrest Road, Durham. Landscape design by Dick Bell.

Commissioned 1963. Former NC Governor Terry Sanford, then at Duke as President, wanted a nice place to entertain donors. Douglas Knight was the first Duke president to live in this the second President's House to be built by Duke. Located on 436 acres that includes the Duke golf course. The house is now used as a guesthouse for Duke's VIP gests. Top photo by Heather Wagner. Bottom photos by Julie Hollenbeck.

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Comments

Submitted by Greg (not verified) on Mon, 8/4/2014 - 6:38pm

I remember when "Doug" moved in. It was considered quite an opulent place at the time and the students and lots of alums thought it over the top. But my best memory is marching to there during "The Vigil" which was on the main quad right after the MLK assassination. Quite emotional times and in the end Duke/Knight's reaction to the affair forced him out of office.

Submitted by PR (not verified) on Mon, 11/3/2014 - 5:13pm

Grew up walking with my family on the Duke Cross Country trail and we'd park on Pinecrest just a few feet from the eastern driveway of this house. The photo on this page is the first time I've ever actually seen it, considering how well concealed it is by the forest. It's lovely, though. Deep on the trail near the Washington Duke Inn split, you can see the back windows of the house -- just barely -- through the tree limbs.

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