Watts-Hillandale Historic District

Watts-Hillandale is a residential district of about 178 acres in northwest Durham, shaped like a wide letter U. The former Watts Hospital campus and the Durham Waterworks form its two ends, joined by Club Boulevard and Englewood Avenue. Club Boulevard is the principal street, with tree-lined medians, deep lots, and large houses, while Englewood Avenue is narrower with smaller houses set close to the street. Oval Park lies at the center. The district holds 446 contributing resources, mostly houses with their garages and sheds. Early construction, about 1910 to 1925, brought Colonial-Craftsman houses, Foursquares, Colonial Revival homes, and large bungalows. The 1930s favored smaller brick period houses with Tudor or Elizabethan features, and a few early 1940s Colonial Revival cottages followed. The neighborhood developed mainly as an area of owner-occupants and had largely reached its present appearance by the early 1940s. It was recognized for its architecture and for its role in the planning and development of Durham, with significance running from 1909 to 1945.