Digital resources are very important for the Museum of Durham History when it conducts research for exhibits. Over the next few weeks, the Museum will post a scavenger hunt that will guide you through some of the sources we use to help explore Durham’s history.

Open Durham is an online inventory of information about people, places, and history in Durham, NC that started in reaction to the demolition of historic buildings throughout Durham. The site is operated by our friends at Preservation Durham. The Museum uses Open Durham to research the history of locations and to locate images. This scavenger hunt will show you how to utilize the website and what types of information you can learn.

To get started, visit OpenDurham.org. Click on the “Neighborhoods” tab in the red menu bar, then “Downtown Central.” Use the interactive map. On the map, locate the bank building on the northwestern corner of West Main and North Corcoran Streets (200-206 West Main Street).

1. What were the names of the banks located here?

2. What other government building was located here in the early 1900s?

3. When construction started on the new building in 1936, who were the architects and what other buildings had they designed?

4. What is located in the building now?

5. Pick one image of the building and describe it. What does the building look like? What do the buildings around it look like? Are people in the image? What are they doing? What is going on around the building?

Answers

Explore on your own: Can you find buildings in your neighborhood? What is the history of other popular places in Durham?

For guided topic exploration, check out the “Tours” tab in the red menu bar. We recommend the “Durham Green Book Destinations.”