Durham Sites

B. N. Duke Auditorium at North Carolina Central University, a historically black college, was constructed as part of a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project during the Great Depression. The building is located on the east side of Fayetteville Road just south of E. Lawson St. The building has since been expanded. It retrains its perfectly preserved art deco interior. A National Register of Historic Places nomination form states: "Completed 1937 as part of the Public Works Administration building campaign. The focal point of the flat-roofed building with English bond brick elevations is the two-story frame portico supported by stream-lined Corinthian columns that shelters...

"In the early 1930s, though, Duke Park became one of several Durham parks that were redeveloped by the Civil Works Administration and Emergency Relief Administration of North Carolina as agents for the Federal Works Progress administration."

A former armory quartering the Durham National Guard, what is now the central civic center in downtown Durham, North Carolina  was constructed between 1935 and 1937 by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) It was converted to a civic center circa 1954.

Durham, North Carolina's Long Meadow Pool (located at Long Meadow Park) was constructed with federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds in 1937.

North Carolina Central University, in Durham, North Carolina, was dramatically expanded as five new buildings were constructed on the campus as part of a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project during the Great Depression. B. N. Duke Auditorium, the Robinson Science Building, the old Albert Lewis Turner Hall, the Angus W. McLean Men’s Dormitory, and the Ruth G. Rush Women’s Dormitory were all constructed with PWA funds The New York Times reported in 1939 that the PWA and WPA had provided financial resources and labor for a plethora of construction and improvement projects at North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC, then...

Ruth G. Rush Residence Hall, constructed as a women's dormitory at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina, was built as part of a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project during the Great Depression. A National Register of Historic Places nomination form states that the building bears a plaque stating that the building was "designed by Federal Works Agency architect John M. Carmody."

"As matured, the 250-acre enclave, which was divided into about 40 blocks, was notable for having a high concentration of the city’s most stylish apartments, as well as stately new churches and schools. An oak canopy shaded the streets, thanks to a 1930s Works Progress Administration planting project." (trinitypark.org)

The William H. Robinson Science Building at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina, was constructed as part of a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project during the Great Depression. A National Register of Historic Places nomination form states that the building bears a plaque stating that the building was "designed by Federal Works Agency architect John M. Carmody."

William Jones Building, formerly Albert Lewis Turner Hall, at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina, was constructed as part of a federal Public Works Administration (PWA) project during the Great Depression. The building has since been expanded. A National Register of Historic Places nomination form states: "Completed in December, 1937, this tall T-shaped and hip-roofed one-story building with a mezzanine and a raised basement is part of the campus building campaign sponsored by the Public Works Administration. Brick elevations in English bond are punctuated by tall windows with splayed brick lintels and limestone keystones. Limestone also is used for the...