Erwin Road

Southside School

Southside School, undated (William Franklin Warren Collection, Durham County LIbrary) Southside School was built in 1921, replacing an earlier "West Durham School" that had been located at Swift Ave. and Thaxton Sts. Plan of Southside School (Courtesy Old West Durham) I don't have much information about what the school was like, students'...

The Blue Light / Sam's Quik Shop

One of the classic "drive-ins" of the 1950s, Sam's catered to high school and college students; by the 90s-00s, it had transformed multiple times, becoming primarily known in the 00s-10s as a source for an incredibly diverse beer selection.

3912 Erwin Road

(N. Levy, 03.07.2019) This house on the right side of Erwin Road as you go southwest between 751 and Cornwallis had caught my eye a couple of times before I pulled over recently to snap the picture above. Efforts to crowd source information about the history of the property with a Find Out Friday posting on Open Durham social media - @opendurhamnc...

Whites Cross Roads School

Whites Cross Roads School, 1920s David Southern notes: The original White's Cross Roads was at the intersection of the misnamed Cornwallis Road and the New Hope Road, about a hundred yards to the west of the present-day Erwin and Cornwallis intersection. The New Hope Road (also known as old Chapel Hill Road, old Oxford Road, and University Road)...

Hanes House

Looking west at the intersection of Trent Dr. and Erwin Rd., 1950. (Courtesy The Herald-Sun Newspaper) The erstwhile dormitories clustered around the intersection of Trent Drive and Erwin Road were built between 1942 and 1951; for a period of time, this cluster was known as 'North Campus' - an appellation it appears to have shed at this point.

Southgate Cabin

From Ella Rose / Helen Heusner Kappa Sigma fraternity at Southgate Cabin, prior to 1914 (with James H. Southgate at center.) (Courtesy Duke Yearlook.) From Ella Rose / Helen Heusner From Ella Rose / Helen Heusner From Ella Rose / Helen Heusner From Ella Rose / Helen Heusner From Ella Rose / Helen Heusner From Ella Rose / Helen Heusner From Ella...

Poplar Apartments

1960 Durham City Directory (DCL) The southern half of these apartments were demolished ~2001 to make way for the Erwin Terrace development. The northern half appears to have been renovated and rebranded as "Poplar Manor."

Statler Hilton Inn

"Roof Top Restaurant, Hawaiian Garden Plunge Pool, Coffee Shop, Club Lounge. Located just minutes away are the Beautiful Duke Chapel, Duke Gardens, Morehead Planetarium, Cigarette Factories, and Championship Golf Courses." The hotel later became the Brownstone Inn - I remember staying there in 1988 during a college visit. (It was a popular place...

4512 Erwin Road

4424 Erwin Road

From one correspondent: The mother of Howard Blalock (handled concessions for Duke mid 60s, I sold drinks for him during the HeraldSun golf tourney at Duke Golf Course) had a store on Erwin road about a 1/2 mile up from Gooch's store. The brick house on the north side of the road. 35° 59' 34" N 78° 58' 49" W. She had a store inside by the garage...