320 North Mangum Street

The southeast corner of N. Mangum and East Chapel Hill contained several two- and three-story commercial structures, all built in the late 1910s-early 1920s

The southeast corner is to the right in this photo, looking northeast from N. Manguma and East Chapel Hill, 1920s.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

The view north on North Mangum, 1940 - the structures are visible on the right. The bus station is on the left - segregated, like most everything in Durham was.
(Library of Congress)

The view of the three buildings facing Mangum - a Sherwin-Williams, a clothing store,and McGhee Furniture
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

A slightly different view, looking north on Mangum, 1962.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

Yet another, looking east across Mangum.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

The corner view, looking southeast.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

A view of an additonal structure on the corner 'site', the Rochelle Gun and Bicycle Shop - gotta love the combo deal = seen from the A&P parking lot. The Planter's Warehouse is to the left, and I'll profile that next time.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

Rochelle's, and the Planter's Warehouse, looking east-southeast.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

In the early 1960s these buildings were bulldozed by the city for surface parking

Looking west towards the remainder of downtown.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

Looking north-northwest.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

Within a few years, the city planned a fine new police station on this land.

The police station under construction, looking north-northeast, 1964
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

Nearly complete, looking north-northeast, 1965.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

Looking southwest from East Chapel Hill, 1978.
(Courtesy Durham County Library)

This structure served as the police station from ~1966 until sometime in the late 1980s or early 1990s, when the police station moved to the former Home Security Life building on West Chapel Hill St.

This building then became the city hall annex, which it remains.

Looking southeast from North Mangum and East Chapel Hill, 2007.

Worst building in downtown? - ooh, tough category. The SouthBank building may win on size and prominent location. I have to give We-Want-Oprah (view 1) (view 2) its due with a certain kitch value to the windowalls and first-floor retail. City Hall itself - pretty atrocious, but, well, at least they were trying to be interesting.

This building is just stridently mediocre in style, and downright awful in site plan. I'm not sure you can give a bigger affront to a major street than this building does to East Chapel Hill St. It is classic for the 1960s - service entrances all around your main street, and then the main entrances fronting on a bare, useless space in the center.

We've gotten better about not being so stark with our spaces, but we're still building these inwardly focused street-affrontage buildings.

Michael B. commented a few posts ago that he'll break out the champagne when this sorry excuse of a building goes down - I think it will be a hoppin' party, and I'll be there.