Preservation Durham

08/28/2026

Durham architect and builder Richard Harkrader and his wife Lonna built and leased homes and apartments near downtown Durham from 1994-2007. Each home is custom built to fit into its landscape, using passive solar design principles and inviting a connection with nature.

Last year, Harkrader came out of retirement to design one last home for his daughter, Carson (photos above). This home, along with original buildings including the Harkrader's longtime home on Shepherd St, will be open for a special one-day tour on October 10th.

Come out to experience this unique local architecture and learn about the design principles that allow Harkrader homes to live in harmony with the environment.

Tickets are $10, at https://www.ncmodernist.org/harkradertour.htm

For free tickets, volunteer to be a docent for half the tour! Sign up here: https://forms.gle/vTK1RtJzodFGBERJ9

08/25/2026

We are excited to announce our nine Preservation Durham 2026 award winners!

We continue to be blown away by the incredible nominations we receive each year, indicative of the amazing historic preservation and education work happening here in Durham.

Join us on November 17th, 2026, from 5:30-7:30 pm at the Rickhouse for this free event. There will be appetizers, drinks, and fun all around. Registration is required, with a suggested donation of $50/group of attendees.

We can't wait to celebrate these amazing award winners in November and look forward to seeing the community come out to celebrate them and preservation in Durham. You can register now for this event at www.preservationdurham.org/2026awards

08/11/2026

Preservation Durham and Hayti Promise CDC are excited to work with Whistle Stop Tours to present Hymns for Salted Bones: A Re-membering of Hayti Walking Tour.

Prepare for an immersive storytelling experience centering community testimonies brought to life through performance art. A funeral and a revival, a ritual and a living procession, the tour gathers witnesses to honor Black spaces as sites of care, achievement, displacement, and resilience. Together we will preserve dignity, confront loss, embrace belonging, and invite collective responsibility.

There will be eight tours throughout September and November. All eight tours will be available to the public for FREE, funded through the ARPA grant as part of the Fayetteville Street Corridor Project.

The dates are as follows:
September 12th
September 19th
September 26th
October 3rd
October 17th
November 7th
November 14th
November 21st

All tours are from 2-3:30 pm on these dates.

You can register now at www.preservationdurham.org/haytiwalkingtour

08/07/2026

08/01/2026

The August Beadboard from Preservation Durham - https://mailchi.mp/424fd1f9c366/the-beadboard-from-preservation-durham-17306221

07/31/2026

Preservation (ACHP) drafted new language for Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Their proposed language creates major setbacks for the prevention of demolition of historic structures and cultural heritage throughout the United States.

Section 106 is a critical part of the National Historic Preservation Act, ensuring that agencies are required to work with local communities to find a solution to development and other actions that isn't at the expense of local historic structures and cultural heritage. With the new proposed language, the ACHP will have jurisdiction to determine what is and isn't historic, consultation with communities will be optional, and agencies will not be required to implement any community feedback.

This is incredibly dangerous and undoes 60 years of precedent in the protection of historic preservation in the United States. It impacts triable, state, and local preservation entities and our ability to work with agencies to ensure our historic resources are protected.

The National Trust for Historic Places, in partnership with numerous other National Preservation entities, has created resources and calls to action that we can all take part in to protest the proposed language. To learn more about this proposed language and what you can do to help, visit https://www.preservationdurham.org/federal-threats-to-national-historic-preservation-act-section-106

07/31/2026

Today is the last day to get nominations in for this year's awards! We are so excited by the nominations we have received so far and can't wait to honor so many incredible people, projects, and organizations in the fall.

You still have time to get in your nomination here: www.preservationdurham.org/awards

07/24/2026

Only one more week until our 2026 Preservation Durham nominations close! Our annual awards are an opportunity to celebrate and honor people, projects, and organizations with great preservation and historic education in the Durham community.

Submit nominations and get inspired by the 2025 Award Winner videos at: www.preservationdurham.org/awards

Winners will be announced late August, and the awards ceremony will be in November. We look forward to celebrating with you all then!