500 WATTS

500 Watts, northeast, 1926


500 Watts, northeast, 07.25.10

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36.00569,-78.91087

DUKE-WANNAMAKER HOUSE / RHINE INSTITUTE / DUKE CATHOLIC CENTER

Duke-Wannamaker House, 1980.

A house with a rather unique history sits at 402 N. Buchanan Blvd.

Per the historic inventory, BN Duke had this house built for the use of Trinity College at some point prior to 1920. It was used as a boarding house for professors and, during the Women's College years, a women's dormitory before being purchased by WH Wannamaker.

The house seems to appear in the city directories in 1919, occupied by WH Wannamaker. It seems likely that Wannamaker either built or occupied the house when his house on Faculty Row (which he was living in as of 1915) was moved to W. Trinity Ave. in 1916. Wannamaker was a professor of German, Dean of Trinity College, and a Vice Chancellor of Duke. He also was editor of the South Atlantic Quarterly

Wannamaker appears to have been no longer living in the house by 1934, at which point it was occupied by Rev. George Matthis. By 1940, it was occupied by Albert Kenyon. By 1944, Rev. Dwight M. Chalmers. By 1950, the house had been converted into apartments.

It remained apartments until 1965, when it was donated by "Mrs. Avery" per the historic inventory to the no-longer-so-welcome-on-campus Rhine Institute - i.e. the Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man, i.e. the former Duke Parapsychology Laboratory, which had been housed in the West Duke Building on East Campus since 1927, when it was founded by William McDougall and Joseph Rhine. The FRNM was housed at 402 N. Buchanan from 1965-2002, where its denizens studied psychics using


"modern techniques that allow more subtle measurements of psi, such as by looking at the physiological changes or bioenergy characteristics of psychics and healers, or by measuring the telepathic awareness of emotional targets in a simulated dream-like situation. Efforts are made to detect clues that come directly from the psi experiencers themselves, whether they are healers, intuitives, or simply ordinary people who have these extraordinary experiences."

In 2002, the FRNM moved to a new building on Campus Walk Avenue. With the institute so exorcised (you have no idea how long I've been waiting to use this line) the building was claimed by the Duke Catholic Center, who renovated the house with an abundance of vinyl siding and windows; they continue to occupy the house today.


402 N. Buchanan, 03.13.10

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36.005768,-78.912131

FLOWERS-SPEARS HOUSE

Flowers-Spears House, 1980

Per the historic inventory, WW Flowers, president of the Liggett and Myers Tobacco Company commissioned well-known Charlotte architecture firm CC Hook to design the house at 501 Watts St. for his father, George Washington Flowers in the early 1910s.


Rear of the Flowers-Spears House, 06.19.57

The contractor was John T. Salmon, who lived nearby at 512 Watts. St. Flowers evidently attached stipulations to the deed that the house always serve as a family gathering place. By the 1970s, it was occupied by Estelle Flowers Spears, WW Flowers' sister. It remains in the Spears family.



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36.005786,-78.911547

WEST TRINITY AND FOSTER - EAST

West Trinity Ave. from Foster St., May 1938.
(Courtesy Duke Forest Collection)


West Trinity Ave. from Foster St., 3.13.10
(Copyright Endangered Durham)

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36.005502,-78.901344

TRINITY AVENUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Trinity Ave. Presbyterian, 1926

Trinity Avenue Presbyterian had its origins in the Pearl Cotton Mill, which opened its doors in 1892. In 1894, the Rev. L.B. Turnbull, Minister of First Presbyterian Church was instrumental in opening a mission at the mill.

The congregation met in a cottage on Washington St., but sometime prior to 1898 built a frame church on the southeast corner of North Duke St. and West Trinity Ave., on mill property. The church and congregation were referred to as the Pearl Mill Chapel; between 1902 and 1903, the name of the church was changed to the Second Presbyterian Church, although it appears that the building may have still been referred to as the Pearl Mill Chapel.

The history on the church website is confusing in reference to what is available in public records. It states:

"It was fifteen minutes after twelve noon on June 29, 1914, when the called meeting of the Directors of Pearl Cotton Mill came to order in the office of the Erwin Cotton Mill in West Durham. It was moved that the officials of the Corporation be instructed to deed a parcel of land situated at the northwest corner of the intersection of Duke and Trinity Avenue to the Second Presbyterian Church, for a church site. Another motion was made requesting that the Secretary-Treasurer be instructed to donate to the church the sum of $100.00 towards the expense of moving the building.

In 1917 the church was moved to a double lot on the south side of Trinity Avenue."

It's unclear to me if the church building was moved from the southeast corner of Trinity and Duke to the northwest corner, then to the southwest corner. The city directories simply say "Trinity cor Duke" throughout this period, so they aren't very helpful.

The church website states:

"From 1919 through 1920 the church’s financial situation became so weak and workers so scarce that Presbytery dissolved the Second Presbyterian Church. The work of the church was carried on by means of Sunday School and prayer meetings. On May 16, 1921 a revival service led 70 people to desire to be united as members and the church was reorganized as Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church. Mr. George L. Cooper was called as the first full-time minister. Mr. Cooper put an extra effort into a membership drive in 1923. Once again the church’s financial situation had reached a dangerous point. He visited the Big Brother’s Men’s Bible Class at First Presbyterian Church, and as a result of prayer and a passionate plea, a delegation of 38 members, followed the next week by 16 more, moved their membership to Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church."

"On December 10, 1924, the church decided to borrow money for a new sanctuary located on the corner of Trinity and Gregson Streets. The approximate cost of the new building in 1927 was $77,800."

The church remained at Trinity and Duke (whichever corner) until ~1926-27, when the sanctuary designed by local architects Rose and Rose was completed.

An education wing was built in the early 1950s, directly to the east of the original sanctuary.


Trinity Ave. Presbyterian, 1950s - education wing is to the left, and the 1926 sanctuary is to the right.
(Courtesy The Herald-Sun Newspaper)

On January 15, 1966, this education wing suffered a significant fire.


Trinity Ave. Presbyterian fire, 01.15.66
(Courtesy The Herald-Sun Newspaper)


Trinity Ave. Presbyterian fire, 01.15.66
(Courtesy The Herald-Sun Newspaper)

The wing was reconstructed/repaired immediately thereafter.

A second education wing was constructed to the east of the first in 2004.


Trinity Avenue Presbyterian, 05.08.10

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36.005229,-78.907887

BASSETT HOUSE

1902 Trinity College map.
(Courtesy Duke Archives / Digitized by Digital Durham)

One of the four (out of an original five) surviving houses from Trinity College's 'Faculty Row', the house currently located at 1017 West Trinity Avenue is most well known as the house of John Spencer Bassett, a Trinity College History professor. Bassett, in turn, is most well known for what became known as the 'Bassett Affair' of 1903.


1913 overlay on present day satellite photo.

Bassett was born in 1867 and graduated from Trinity College (in Randolph County) in 1886; he taught "public school in Durham" (presumably at the City Graded School in the old Wright Factory on West Main) before leaving to complete a PhD in History from Johns Hopkins.

Bassett joined the faculty at Trinity College . Among local history geeks, he is known for his efforts (and that of his students so tasked) to gather local oral histories - many of the stories and information we have about places like Pinhook are as a result of their efforts. Bassett became a driving force behind the Trinity Historical Society (founded by Stephen B. Weeks, another early NC historian and 'grandson-in-law' Senator Willie P. Mangum who is buried in the cemetery at the Walnut Hall site) and mobilized the entire community to collect and archive items important to Southern history.

I'll quote from Bassett's history page on the Duke Archives website:

Students, administrators, and alumni combed their attics donating Confederate money, Indian relics, travel souvenirs, and political memorabilia as well as volumes of books, pamphlets, religious and secular newspapers, maps, and manuscripts. After a few years Bassett proudly reported to Adams [Bassett's mentor and professor at Hopkins] that over 2,000 documents had been collected for use in primary research. Soon "manager of the library" was added to his varied duties.

In 1906 an analysis of society meetings revealed that historical presentations had been made by 53 students, 38 faculty and 6 visiting scholars. Following the Hopkins example of a series of published research, Bassett began an annual publication of historical papers of the Trinity society in 1897. At first a cheaply reproduced set of reprints of student articles from the campus magazine, The Archive, the series became more sophisticated and widely distributed when the administration enthusiastically endorsed it. Some noteworthy early articles were on the Ku Klux Klan, the North Carolina Manumission Society, and the North Carolina Governor during Reconstruction, William W. Holden. Bassett proudly wrote Adams, "So far as I know, this is but one of three [academic] historical publications in the South. It is the only one in North Carolina."

The society also sponsored an annual patriotic town-gown civic rally intentionally set on February 22, the birth of George Washington, and not on a date commemorating a Confederate hero. Of the historical society a respected historian later wrote, "There is reason to believe no local historical association ever succeeded better than the Society at Trinity College in effecting its program." In yet another corollary to his passion for learning, Bassett launched a secret student honor society based on academic distinction and service. Named 9019, presumably because nineteen qualifying members had averages of above ninety, the society was a precursor to Phi Beta Kappa which was chartered in 1919.

Surprisingly these extracurricular endeavors were carried on despite a teaching load of fifteen and sometimes eighteen hours a semester. Growing slowly in its early years in Durham, Trinity did not have the means to support more than a single faculty member per discipline. Having to teach history courses far afield of his primary interests, Bassett once privately lamented over the continuance of a "troublesome" French class. Intermittently he introduced new courses such as a senior seminar in Contemporary History which emphasized class reports with special attention to Southern development. Another course, the History of North Carolina, offered students a chance "to learn methods of original research and to gain an impetus to historical writing and the collection of historical materials."

Extremely popular on campus and confident in his ability which was earning accolades in the region and nation, Bassett, nevertheless, had periodic misgivings about life at Trinity and in his native South. He believed his salary to be inadequate for growing family responsibilities and the teaching load constantly interfered with time for research and writing. He also became exasperated at the slow pace of change in the region. Seeking a wider audience than a single college campus, he successfully launched a journal of thought and action, The South Atlantic Quarterly, in 1902.

Bassett also made significant contributions to methods of study, archiving, and thought within the field of history - as further detailed on this Duke archives page.

The South Atlantic Quarterly would soon become a well-known and reputable academic journal, which is still published today. Interestingly, William Wannamaker, whose house sat and sits next door to Bassett's would become later become editor of the SAQ.

His efforts within Trinity and Durham, and in founding the SAQ would give Bassett a memorable place in the history of the college and town, but he is remembered by a broader audience for what would become known as the "Bassett Affair."

Bassett had begun writing on the topic of race and the South from the earliest issues of the SAQ. He published an article entitled "Two Negro Leaders" in which he gave an insightful analysis of the philosophies of WEB DuBois and Booker T. Washington, comparing and contrasting the two schools of thought. It's important to place this in context - North Carolina in 1902 was 4 years removed from the 1898 Wilmington riot and massacre of African-Americans, and fully in the throes of the re-entrenchment of Southern white power following reconstruction. For a white male to write an article in the south treating WEB DuBois and Booker T. Washington as not only worthwhile of consideration, but philsophers in their own right was, to say the least, against the grain. While this article did not gain significant recognition, Bassett showed that his desire was to directly challenge the Southern orthodoxy, and that he would not be ignored in that effort. In October 1903, Bassett published an article in the SAQ called "Stirring Up the Fires of Race Antipathy," which would ignite significant controversy and become a seminal moment in the development of the concept of academic freedom. Again, from the Duke Archives:

To gain attention, Bassett later admitted to doing a very unprofessional thing. With galley proofs of an editorial in hand, he inserted a sentence praising the life of Booker T. Washington and ranking him second in comparison to Robert E. Lee of Southerners born in a hundred years. [ "...Booker T. Washington [is] the greatest man, save General Lee, born in the South in a hundred years..."] Such a sentiment invited controversy at a time when race baiting was commonplace due to the revival of bitter partisan politics with the division of the Democratic Party and the rise of the Populist third party and revival of the Republican Party. State Democratic leaders in nearby Raleigh who were also represented on the Trinity College Board of Trustees demanded that Professor Bassett be fired. When the attack spread to the college and parents were urged to withdraw their children from school and churchmen were encouraged not to recommend the college to prospective students, Bassett offered his resignation. Lines clearly were drawn between a partisan Democratic press that blatantly referred to the historian as "Professor bASSett" who threatened the accepted "southern way of life" and between proponents of the then developing concept of academic freedom. On December 2, 1903, at about 3:00 a. m., the Trinity Board of Trustees voted 18 to 7 not to accept the resignation of Bassett. Jubilant students who had been listening to the debate through sky lights and heating registers built bonfires and celebrated until dawn. It was later revealed that President Kilgo and the college faculty were prepared to resign if the trustees had voted to dismiss Bassett. A year later President Theodore Roosevelt spoke in Durham extolling Trinity's courageous stand for academic freedom.


Roosevelt speaking from his open train platform - looking northwest from West Pettigrew St. (north of the later Smith Warehouse) across the railroad tracks towards the main entrance to Trinity College on West Main St. The main building (the Washington Duke Building) is in the background. Note also the stopped streetcars on West Main St. with people sitting on the roofs.
(Courtesy Duke Archives)

Despite predictions of the demise of Trinity College following the support for Bassett, enrollment grew, and the 'Affair' became known as a brave stand that gave strength to the ethic of academic freedom nationally.

Bassett began construction of a new house on Guess Road, now 410 N. Buchanan Blvd. in 1905. I'm unsure as to whether he ever lived in the house, as he accepted an offer to teach at Smith College and moved to Northampton, MA in 1906. Per the Duke Archives:

Bassett never commented publicly on his move but he alluded to several reasons in private correspondence. There was no question that he welcomed a reduced teaching load with increased time for research and writing. He also looked forward to living in New England. He confided to his Trinity colleague, William K. Boyd, that the South was too used to antiquarianism and arousement instead of history and scholarly thinking , a state, he believed, any cultured community ought to have long passed. He also tired of the tension he felt between his role as a scholar and the pull to be a reformer in a region he cared very much about. He concluded that he could not write history and direct public sentiment at the same time. His decided first choice was to write history. Bassett corresponded with numerous friends in the South throughout his life and he worked diligently to get southern topics included in meetings of professional associations. Living until 1928, he never lost his love for his native region, although he never regretted his move north either.

Bassett's Faculty Row house was moved with the other Faculty Row houses in 1916, when Guess Road was widened and the wall around Trinity College was built. It was relocated to 1017 West Trinity Avenue, where it still stands.


Bassett House, 02.21.10

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36.005289,-78.909677

CRANFORD-WANNAMAKER HOUSE

Cranford-Wannamaker house from Faculty Row, 1890s
(Courtesy Duke Archives.

Another of the four remaining of the five original five Faculty Row houses on the campus of Trinity College now sits at 1019 West Trinity Avenue. Built contemporaneously with the original college in 1891, the house was built according to plans of an unknown New York architect, and was perhaps the most elaborate of the five. The present crenelated tower originally supported an onion-shaped dome at its peak, which was removed around 1900.


1902 Map of Trinity College.
(Courtesy Duke Rare Book and Manuscript Collection. Scanned by Digital Durham)


1913 Sanborn overlay on present-day satellite imagery.

As with all of the Faculty Row houses, this one provided housing for several professors during its tenure on the college campus. The first was William Cranford, a professor of Greek and later a Dean of the College. The most renowned occupant was William H. Wannamaker, who held multiple administrative posts at the college, helped build the athletics program at the college, and became editor of the South Atlantic Quarterly

The house was moved to 1019 West Trinity Avenue in 1916 when Guess Road (Buchanan Blvd.) was widened and the stone wall was built around the Trinity College campus. It still stands at this location.


1019 W. Trinity, 02.21.10

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36.005347,-78.909954

410 WATTS STREET / TRINITY PARK

410 Watts St. ~1950.
(Courtesy Adrienne Baroff)

The house at 410 Watts St. appears to have been built in ~1906-7 by James B Warren, who is listed variably as a "manager" at 107 1/2 East Main St. later as vice president of Merchants Bank with an office at the same address. There are various JB Warrens in the city directories prior to that date who are listed only as living in West Durham or Caswell Hill/Heights with some association with the Banner Warehouse or the Globe Warehouse. Warren later served as both a county commissioner and city councilman.

Warren appears to have lived in the house until his death in 1913, after which it was occupied by William Patrick Farthing, who worked as a "timekeeper" early in the 20th century, and later served as manager of Lakewood Amusement Park. Farthing had previously lived at 311 Watts St., and prior to that, at 401 McMannen St.

By the 1930s, the house appears to have been converted into apartments. I'm not sure of the ownership during this period, but the house may have passed to Farthing's children, who married into the Teer family.

In 1952, the house was demolished, and the lot sat vacant for many years. Given that it was owned by a builder, and the fact that many apartment buildings were constructed in Trinity Park after the 1920s, I would guess that the intent was, from the time of demolition, to replace the structure with an apartment building. But that's only a supposition.


1959 aerial showing the vacant lot.

Per the Trinity Park neighborhood website, in July 1980, residents purchased the site, which was "slated for a multifamily dwelling" from Teer Industries and created a playground. "Today, our park features a wonderful gazebo, a gated play area with new equipment, as well as spacious grassy areas with benches and shade trees. It is the hub of annual activities, concerts, and festivals."

While the loss of the Warren-Farthing house is lamentable, the park serves as the focal point of the neighborhood, and integrates with the neighborhood as a small urban park far better than many other green spaces in Durham. The scale of the park and surrounding neighborhood provide the park with a perimeter definition that is missing from most of Durham's parks, many of which, in my opinion, exist in a awkward 'tweener' zone of tiny natural/woodland spaces - which, to me, feel too ill-defined to be enjoyable green space in the urban realm and too small to hike and explore and feel like you've gotten away from it all.

Perhaps it's just my preference, but, as an adult, small parks work better as more formal City Beautiful-type spaces than the tiny hilly grove of pine trees and some play equipment that seem to typify many of the neighborhood/smaller parks in Durham.


Trinity Park / 410 Watts, 10.03.09

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36.005224,-78.910705

ERWIN APARTMENTS

Erwin Apartments from W. Trinity Ave. - 01.03.56
Courtesy The Herald-Sun Newspaper)

Although Trinity Park has some wonderful early-mid 20th century detached houses, I remain most intrigued by its relative abundance of early 20th century apartment buildings. Of those still standing, the Erwin Apartments are my favorite. The relative elegance of early 20th century apartment buildings when compared to the junky sameness that characterizes most apartment 'complexes' built from the 1950s to present is a relief. (I always think of the development process for most contemporary apartment complexes as such: developer buys raw land; developer hires engineer to lay out parking lots; developer hires architect to lay out the most number of units that can fit in the interstitial spaces around the parking lots.) It's refreshing when people figure out how to build at this scale again - like Scott Harmon's Mangum 506 (condos, not apartments, but that's irrelevant to the point.)

Designed by Durham architect RR Markley, and built in 1930 on the vacant southeast corner of West Trinity and N. Guess (Buchanan Blvd.) the four-story building is described by the historic inventory as "Modernistic":

"The sharply incised windows and the flat walls, occasionally broken by a projecting or receding plane, contribute to the austerity of the design. Decoration is reserved for the cornices, water table, and entrances, which feature a bronze fanlight grille and a cartouche at each side of the door. Large casement windows, a stone flower box, and a cartouche in the cornice mark the slightly projecting entrance bay."


Erwin Apartments, ~1980
(Courtesy Steve Gaddis)

I find austere a bit too harsh of a word to use to describe the design - perhaps only with respect to the contrast between the modernistic style and the Art Nouveau style that preceded it (although never in great abundance in the US.)

Perhaps it betrays my urban leanings, but the Erwin Apartments seem like they would fit in well in some northeastern metropolis, where similar apartment buildings would line the street (if not replaced or atomized for a parking lot.)

I haven't been in the building since 1993, when I remember being enamored of its ancient elevator (even in helping friend bring a washing machine to the fourth floor.) I make no commentary on whether the property management is great, terrible, or somewhere in-between. (My pre-emptive disclaimer for the long comment from someone with a beef about their security deposit or similar.) But I love its appearance from the exterior, and the still-active (I believe) commercial space at the northeast corner of the building completes my affection for this structure.


Erwin Apartments, 10.21.09


Erwin Apartments, 10.21.09

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36.00533,-78.912064