{"nrhp_refnum":"78001945","name":"Hill, John Sprunt, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"900 S. Duke St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Durham","county":"Durham County","state":"NC","lat":35.98848781600006,"lon":-78.90978445040457,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-01-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Spanish Colonial Revival mansion at 900 South Duke Street in Durham, North Carolina, designed by the Boston firm Kendall and Taylor in 1910 and built in 1911 for John Sprunt Hill.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it both an architectural and historical landmark. It is one of three mansions remaining from Durham's second boom period, with a stuccoed exterior rich in Iberian ornament and interiors with carved woodwork by Irving and Casson of Boston. It also reflects the life of John Sprunt Hill, a lawyer, banker, legislator and philanthropist of statewide influence.","narrative":"Built in 1911 on South Duke Street in Durham, this white stuccoed Spanish Colonial Revival mansion sits on a landscaped city block. Boston architects Kendall and Taylor designed it for John Sprunt Hill and his wife, Laura Watts Hill, whose father was a partner in the Duke tobacco firm. A high red tile roof with deep, bracketed eaves, curvilinear frontispieces and baroque ornament give the exterior its Iberian flavor. Inside, Boston's Irving and Casson carved much of the woodwork, including a grand hall fireplace, a Georgian music room and a mahogany library and dining room. Only three mansions from Durham's second boom period remain, and this is one of them. Hill was a lawyer, banker, state senator and philanthropist who supported the University of North Carolina and Durham's parks and libraries. After his death in 1961 the house passed to the Annie Watts Hill Foundation, and it now serves as the Junior League of Durham's headquarters.","period_of_significance":"1910","architect_builder":"Kendall and Taylor of Boston (architects); Norman Underwood of Durham (general contractor); Irving and Casson of Boston (woodwork)","architectural_style":"Spanish Colonial Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as impeccably maintained and in excellent condition; occupied and used by the Junior League of Durham as its headquarters and owned by the Annie Watts Hill Foundation.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:57.684146-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/52/7200/47720052/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/78001945.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001945/5689777287-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001945/5689777287-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jerrye &amp; Roy Klotz, MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JOHN_SPRUNT_HILL_HOUSE,_DURHAM_COUNTY.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Jerrye &amp;amp; Roy Klotz, MD</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JOHN_SPRUNT_HILL_HOUSE,_DURHAM_COUNTY.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47720052","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sprunt_Hill_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6258714"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/durham-county/hill-john-sprunt-house-78001945/"}