THE DESTRUCTION OF EAST DURHAM

Thanks for this post. I've been reading your blog for a while now and have been meaning to say this - you're a hero to this city. Keep up the good work, and I hope the satisfaction from your successes make up in some way for the disappointments like you document here.

anon

Wow - thank you. I really appreciate your kind words, although I certainly wouldn't put myself in that category. Thank you so much for reading and caring about the city as well.

GK

I hate to play the libertarian conspiracy kook, but I think one of the reasons HPSD is so reluctant to take on the city is because they are publicly funded.

At HPSD's Lunch and Learn event today (topic: the 21 most endangered Durham properties), there were a paucity of East Durham buildings noted. Instead they showed more mainstream projects such as the King's Daughters Home and the McPherson Hospital to the crowd of elderly and almost entirely white patrons. They even showed a picture of my house on Club Blvd. (which I was quick to point out was *not* endangered, despite my duct-tape-and-baling-wire style repairs).

Although I was at the next table over from Mr. Rollins at the luncheon today, we somehow heard entirely different presentations. There was in fact considerable discussion of East Durham, including several slides that were nearly identical to some of those posted here.

The mention of Mr. Rollins' house on Club Blvd. was made in the context of discussion of pressures exerted on the edges of historic neighborhoods such as those facing Northgate Mall and those adjacent to the Brightleaf area.

I certainly don't see any value in questioning the integrity or efforts of the folks at Preservation Durham. Let's focus our animosity on the slumlords (including Durham City and County) who are neglecting and tearing down these properties.

Dave

Oh, that's not kooky at all. The kooky conspriracy theory would be to wonder if the only reason the city funds non-profit organizations is to try to buy their silence.

I think it's hilarious right off the bat that 3 of the most endangered properties in Durham would be in Trinity Park. As well documented here, I'm an advocate for preservation of McPherson and all of the other great architecture in TP, but c'mon. That's a symptom of the problem - the most endangered properties are the ones no one is paying any attention to, not the ones that have the listservs a-flutter.

I find it utterly hilarious that they mentioned your house. I hope you showed some concern.

I do have to give HPSD credit for going ahead with the purchase of 118 S. Driver St. in East Durham. I don't know what they're going to do with it, but they saved it from a bad fate.


GK

Anonymous

Preservation Durham does not take a public position on the demolition of structures by NIS. I understand why they feel they cannot - it isn't a matter of questioning anyone's integrity. It applies to multiple non-profits in the city who receive non-city agency funds and rely on them in order to survive. But I feel it is a mistake. I've done much, much work for and with Preservation Durham and count many friends in the organization. I don't agree with everything they do and don't address in the city. I may point out where I think they can do better/are falling down and some of them will be unhappy with me, but we'll all still be friends. We recognize that although we disagree on matters (and it's far better to be honest about these things) we all still believe in preservation.

GK

I don’t want to come across as disparaging the good folks at Preservation Durham. We all work within the system to varying degrees, and I give them a fair amount of money in support of their efforts (heck, the E.T. Rollins side of the family is one of their main financial sponsors). It’s kind of like the ACLU – while I’m in vehement disagreement of many of their positions, such as school choice, I still give them money because I think they do good work.

At the same time, regular readers of this website know that PD and Gary diverge on some very important points such as the relative importance of East Durham and the extent to which PD should question the city and the demolition process. NIS and many in city government seem to be in the pocket of development interests, and they don’t always have the best interests of the city in mind (never mind the interests of historic preservation).

I’ve attended the Lunch and Learn events for a few years now, and I’m always struck at the homogenous nature of the audience: mostly elderly and white. There’s not necessarily anything wrong with that; these events are marketed at their membership, and it costs money to join. At some of the events the city’s minority population has been better represented, such as the presentations on “Black Wall Street” and the Hayti neighborhood.

Yesterday’s presentation was among the best I’ve attended. The speaker, Tom Miller, is active in the People’s Alliance, which is certainly left-leaning although I don’t know the extent of their minority support. Like PD, they do good work even though reasonable people may differ on their approach. I think Tom kept the editorializing to a minimum, though there was a fair amount of murmuring at my table about the relative usefulness of non-conforming rehabilitations in the Walltown and West End neighborhoods.

This deserves a separate post, but suffice to say that if boarded up houses are repaired with new materials (standard windows, vinyl siding) I think it is perfectly reasonable that the needs of the homeowner and the community are being met. The houses shown may not win any preservation awards, but they have at least kept the front porches, roofline, and stoop. They meet the community’s need for affordable housing, and they are certainly better than teardowns. Even though the houses may be cheap (Mr. Miller implied they were throwaway), the underlying value of the land will be improved as more boarded up houses are replaced by rehabbed homes or even a limited amount of infill development.

In any event, it was certainly not the forum for an extended discussion of PD’s methods. These were one man’s collection of 21 properties, and while there were fewer East Durham buildings than I would have liked, the inclusion of structures such as the Chesterfield Building, McPherson Hospital, the McPherson Nurse’s Quarters, and the King’s Daughters home got a lot of heads nodding in recognition even though in my opinion these structures will never be threatened due to their universal appeal.

Perhaps ‘anonymous’ took better notes than I; I think the list of 21 would make a good entry for this website.

In the interests of disclosure I should also point out I am being proposed for election to the TPNA board of directors at the April meeting as a "pro-development" candidate (the McPherson condos). Regular readers of this website and my other postings on the web should be able to reconcile my pro-preservation and pro-development positions within a libertarian framework.

I was just checking out this blog as East Durham is part of my family's heritage. Both of my parents are from East Durham - well, I am too. They grew up there in the 50s and 60s, witnessing the demise of their parents hard labor to build a decent community.

We were members of the Angier Avenue Baptist, and my uncle owned/ran Lynnette's restaurant at one point in the 1980s. I did not grow up in East Durham, but I've heard so many, many stories from my parents, friends and family about the people who inhabited East Durham and all that. (My parents moved to another part of NC while my grandparents and uncles/aunts/cousins still live there in other parts of Durham - mainly Northern Durham. That mass exodus to a "better" place, I guess.)

Oddly enough, I just posted a small part of a watercolor (done in the 1980s) by my father on my blog earlier this evening. It's a watercolor of the house he grew up in on Angier Avenue.

I look forward to reading more of and following your blog.

EHR

Emily

Thanks so much for your comment - I love getting more stories/info about houses and neighborhoods - and that is a common theme for East Durham. Thanks for mentioning the picture - do you know what the address was (or just what street it is/was on?)

GK

Gary,

I will check with my father for the exact address. Also, my mother grew up in two "newer" homes built by my paternal grandfather on Bingham Street (I think that's right). I do know that my father's childhood home is still there as he told me he rode by recently. He lived almost directly across the street from what used to be "Olive's Grocery". Their home was on the corner next to an Atlantic station on a corner too.

Having studied architecture and design myself at NC State, I was always intrigued by the street alleys that ran along the back of properties like the one where my father grew up. . .

I will say that there's still some bitterness over the "loss" of East Durham. My grandparents and relatives always felt like the government sold them out to public housing (and unfortunately, some of the cultural problems related to that). All they and their friends worked for was disrespected in the 60s and 70s - at least that is how they feel about it.

I'll get back about the address on Angier Avenue.

Emily

I hope these vacant lots aren't replaced with suburban style housing. In Greensboro, they have contracted an architect to ensure that new houses in their historic district maintain architectural details from the adjoining properties. Including no vinyl!!!!

I think Durham is still trying maintain a balance between gentrification and the status quo.

I really hope that people improve the current housing stock before throwing up a new house among 4 or 5 vacant structures. This scenario doesn't work well for the new house in most cases.

haven't lived in Durham in years, I lived in Trinity Park and West Durham (Behind EK Powe school) but had reason to regularly drive through this neighborhood during the 80's and 90's. It was such a beautiful neighborhood. It is such a shame that they are tearing the houses and commercial buildings down instead of using them as seeds for redevelopment.