Title Searches

Lynn Harder did some Title searches yesterday. While the information is interesting, it unfortunately did not get me closer to the name I'll attach to the project. "The Radcliffe" might win by default......

Detail for posterity (not interesting, so read at your own risk). I need to research these parties to find anything interesting about them:

• No record of how John Sprunt Hill acquired the property but he did own it. This is interesting because John Sprunt Hill married into the Watts family (American Tobacco family) and built many buildings in Durham/Chapel Hill including the Carolina Inn. His bank later became CCB. This information is exciting to me, but since he owned so many properties, mine is not unique and can't acquire his name.
  
• 17APR 1905 - John Sprunt Hill to E.P. Wharton.
  
• 30JUN 1905 - E.P. Wharton to Southern Real Estate Company
  
• 17MAR 1906 - Southern Real Estate to E.J. Parrish. Might be Parrish of Parrish Street. Interestingly, the property was sold for "that for and in consideration of the sum of ten ($10) dollars and other goods and valuables....".
  
• 24FEB 1912 - E.J. Parrish to H.H. Herring
• 17APR 1918 - H.H. Herring to James S. Perry and devised by said James S. Perry to Mary Susan Perry, now Sudie Barbee Lindsey (whatever that means)
• 27JUN 1956 - Sudie Barbee Lindsey to Trustee for Sudie Barbee Lindsey (The Depositors National Bank of Durham). Perhaps part of a will?
• Then it seems to go into the hands of Alice Lee Barbee Perry because
• 23JUN 1967 - North Carolina National Bank (successor by merger to the Depositors National Bank of Durham) to Alice Lee Barbee Perry. Deed says, "was devised to Alice Lee Barbee Perry by Last Will and Testament", so perhaps Alice Lee got the property some years later when she became an adult?
• 08JAN 1979 - Alice Lee Barbee Perry to George C. Love, Jr.
• 15JAN 1998 - George C. Love, Jr. to Owen D. Wade
• 15JUL 2008 - Owen D. Wade to Barry Radcliffe. This is the date of the Deed filing, closing was actually on 12JUL 2008
  

History of Durham: from 1907 Directory

"Thirty years ago an insignificant village with a population of some five hundred. To-day a city of twenty thousand inhabitants; containing more wealth, larger manufacturing enterprises and greater school facilities than any other city in the State of North Carolina."

I found this Preface from the Durham Directory to be an interesting account of the history of Durham: considering Durham to be a "result" of the Civil War.

Directory accounts are provided by Durham County Library as part of the North Carolina Collection.

Found: First Tenants of 308 West Main

A search of the Durham Directory from 1903 reveals the business listed at 308 West Main to be Standard Mercantile Co. Here is the page from that Directory (click to enlarge). Earlier Directories do not list this address, and instead stop at 302 West Main (the corner of Market and Main). Perhaps the street didn't extend west past Market until 1903.

My research didn't find much about "Installment Houses" other than they appear to be loan companies for personal merchandise; unlike banks who loaned for business reasons. Would like to know more.

Raymond J. Davis was the proprietor of Standard Mercantile Co. and lived at 418 Warren. I tried to find more, but the business was gone from this location by 1905. I found a Raymond J. Davis listed as manager of Masters & Agee Co. of Charlotte, NC., some years later. Perhaps he continued moving south and west?

The 1905 Directory shows William J. Carter, an electrician, to be running a business in my building. Later in 1907, two business owners are listed at 308 West Main: Benjamin T. Tingen, a confectioner whose home was at 111 Jones; and Jacob H. Wheeler, a shoemaker who lived at 209 Morris.

I hope to find someone to run a title search for the land in these early years. That will complete some of these stories.

I DID discover the answer to what comes after "ELLIOTT" on the back of the building. Stay tuned.

Curb Appeal

(click images to expand)

Here is the current design plan for the new storefront. Ideas of interest to me:

• Downstairs storefront extended out to walkway, opposed to recessed in current design
• Symmetrical and clean appeal
• Offers maximum natural light into the downstairs space

Ideas worth exploring:

• Large area of windows may create maintenance challenges
• What awning, window shading is appropriate
• Offers maximum natural light into the downstairs space (is it too much?)

I'm a fan of the old-school awnings that roll out/retrack with a hand crank. Of course, I won't be responsible for that daily task. Would my street level tenants want the flexibility to affect the amount of light, while accepting the responsibility to move the raise/lower the awning as appropriate?

If it takes a village to raise a child, maybe that can apply to my building. I'd like your thoughts on the storefront. Please feel free to use the comment button and provide me yours.......

Contractors Interviewed

Hey mom, I enjoyed our conversation last night and am glad your able to read the blog.

Interviews with the 4 contractors ended yesterday. I met some good folks and feel as if each will bring something unique to the project. Each contractor is scheduled Friday to present their ideas & plans. Soon after we select a contractor, organize permits/dumpsters, and begin demolition. I'm looking forward to Friday. A contractor's experience will bring a needed perspective to our planning and design.

Juggling time off for the building project, plus immersing myself in a new project at work is an art I hope I'm performing with success on both sides.......

2nd Floor Windows

Here's a view of the 2nd floor windows. The window casings and sashes all need replacing. Replicating 100 year old craftsmanship will require some magic, but are worth historical restoration.

This space will be my living room with a view of Main Street and the neighbors across the street.

Meet the Neighbors

I visited the neighbors yesterday to introduce myself, find out about them and briefly discuss the easement/alley and parking. I'll be excited if they consider me a part of their little community.

Self-Help is a community development lender/real estate developer who assists folks underserved by conventional markets. Since 1980, as a non-profit, they have assisted female, rural and minority borrowers to build wealth through ownership of home or business. They were part of the early redevelopment of Asheville, NC. I love Asheville and trust Self-Help's presence in Durham will have similar positive results.

(thus endeth my first commercial interlude)

Self-Help owns every piece of property on the block except for my 308westmain. EVERY other piece. They also own the art-deco'ish building across the street that I will look upon from my front windows. They manage the waste removal since the city doesn't service the block. They own all the parking spaces near and adjoining my building. And they own the structure that currently "impedes" access to a rear portion of my building that is currently slated to become a door (see Easement). Self-Help is my big brother.

I wonder if I should bake them brownies......