After four former inmates sued Durham County over alleged hazardous conditions in the jail that occupied the top floor of the Judicial Building on Main Street, the county constructed a high-rise "Detention Center" at Pettigrew and Mangum streets.

The location has been a source of some embarrassment to local boosters, because the 290,000-square foot, five-story, monolithic white building dominates the view of downtown Durham from the Durham Freeway. The 11-story Justice Center under construction immediately south of the jail will block that view.