{"nrhp_refnum":"85001780","name":"Powe House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1503 W. Pettigrew St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Durham","county":"Durham County","state":"NC","lat":36.00510683600004,"lon":-78.91940869299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-08-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Education","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story frame house at 1503 W. Pettigrew Street in West Durham, Durham, North Carolina, built in 1900 by textile executive Edward Knox Powe in the early Neoclassical Revival style.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the only intact, structurally sound survivor of a group of imposing houses built by Erwin Cotton Mills executives around 1900. It is also tied to Edward Knox Powe, a mill manager known for his benevolence toward the mill workforce, and it is a distinctive example of early Neoclassical Revival architecture.","narrative":"Built in 1900 at 1503 W. Pettigrew Street in Durham, the Powe House is a two-story frame residence with a large hip-roofed core, pedimented wings, a wraparound porch with Ionic columns and a two-story central portico. Edward Knox Powe, general superintendent and later production manager at Erwin Cotton Mills in West Durham, built it for his family. It was one of several large homes erected by mill executives along this street, and it is the only one that survives virtually intact. Others were razed, covered in siding or left badly deteriorated. Powe was known for quietly paying school expenses for mill workers' children and for serving on health and school boards. The house is an early Neoclassical Revival design with Victorian detailing, slate roofing and seven fireplaces. Though its paint is poor and foliage hides it from view, it remains structurally sound. Its owner planned demolition, while a local citizen sought to move it for use as a school.","period_of_significance":"1900","architect_builder":"Unknown (built by Edward Knox Powe)","architectural_style":"Early Neoclassical Revival with lingering Queen Anne tendencies","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Occupied as a rental residence by long-term tenants; structurally sound though badly in need of paint. The owner planned demolition for nursing home additions, and a citizen was trying to move the house.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:49.127448-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/39/7177/47717739/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/85001780.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001780/5928a9749d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001780/5928a9749d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Powe_House_from_northeast.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Powe_House_from_northeast.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47717739","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powe_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19987663"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/durham-county/powe-house-85001780/"}