502 West Lakewood Avenue

35.986893, -78.909064

502
Durham
NC
Cross Street
Building Type
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502Lakewood_050811.jpg
502 Lakewood Ave., 05.08.11     The most interesting thing about this building to me is the fact that the roof is level with the sidewalk on the west side - which generally doesn't seem like a good idea from a no-water-in-building perspective. While it was some kind of porn store for awhile, it has seemed abandoned for ~5 years now.    In 1960, it was home to Carolina Air Conditioning Co.

Comments

Despite that obvious flaw, I've always been intrigued by this building. Seems like it would be a great space for *something*. I once looked up its listing (since it's had a for sale sign out for awhile), and the asking price was over $400K at the time.

That has got to be one of the ugliest building in Durham. I am sure it served its original function well, but no money was wasted on design.

That building's roof always had standing water on it. Possibly because it was an air conditioning company, I always heard that the water had something to do with the building's HVAC system.I didn't believe it as a kid. It might have just been a poorly designed flat roof with no slope and clogged drains.

That building has been empty for well over 10 years, maybe 15. When I moved here 19 years ago, it was a porn shop. I liked to beep the horn and wave if I saw someone exiting the store. lol All day they probably wondered who saw them! lol

i have some friends who used to use this space as a band practice space. its actually a MUCH cooler space than it appears to be. there's much more room to it than meets the eye due to it being set into the hill...its for sale but only for the value of the land...I actually thing the building could be useful...AFTER a good "cleansing". the guys in the band still refer to it as "the porn shop" and it retains a bit of the cringe factor...aside from the occasional feeling of otherworldly things brushing by you at odd times...LOL TSQ75

Oh yes Peep World, my friends and I would dare each other to go inside, in high school. It was a NASTY store, and I'm not talking about the stuff they sold.

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