Bull Durham Athletic Ballpark

The "Old Bull Building" at Pettigrew and Blackwell streets is the oldest part of the American Tobacco complex. The W.T. Blackwell Tobacco Co. built it in 1874 was testimony to the success of its trademark Bull Durham brand of smoking tobacco. At the time, Blackwell's was the largest tobacco factory in the world.

It was built on the site of John Ruffin Green's tobacco factory and warehouse. Green began manufacturing smoking tobacco in Durham in 1862, and adopted the bull emblem for his brand. Green died in 1868, and his partner W.T. Blackwell acquired controlling interest in the company.

The Blackwell Co. became part of the American Tobacco Co. in 1899, then part of a new American Tobacco after the Supreme Court broke the original firm into five separate firms in a 1911 anti-trust decision. The new American's signature brand was Lucky Strike. The factory manufactured cigarettes until it closed in 1987. The Old Bull Building was renovated into residential apartments in the early 2000s.
Streets
Corporation StreetBlackwell Street