617 East Lawson Street – Mrs. Dorothy McDougald House

This two-story, side-gabled Colonial Revival house is three bays wide and double-pile with a gabled, one-story wing on each end. The house has a continuous brick foundation and veneer and an exterior end chimney on the east elevation. The one-story wing on the east end appears to be an enclosed porch with plywood sheathing, one-over-one, double-hung wood sash windows, and weatherboards in the gable end. The rest of the house has vinyl windows and the recessed front door has a classical wood surround with fluted pilasters; it is accessed by a brick stoop and stair with metal railing. The house retains wood soffits, fascia, and louvered vents in the gable ends. The site slopes to the rear to reveal an exposed basement and a modern stone retaining wall extends across the east end of the property. County tax records date the building to 1950; the earliest known occupant is Mrs. Dorothy McDougald in 1955. McDougald is the widow of Richard L. McDougald. The building is currently used for Undergraduate Admissions for North Carolina Central University.