Bullington Warehouse
Why it's listed
Built in 1927 on North Duke Street in downtown Durham, the Bullington Warehouse is a three-story brick structure used to age tobacco in hogsheads. It was constructed for the Liggett and Myers company and named for Andrew Johnson Bullington, the company's leaf department manager, who had earlier worked for the American Tobacco Company. The building is the last of a series of brick storage warehouses erected in Durham from 1897, and it is the final one built in the city's downtown tobacco district. Its design uses steel I-beams, maple flooring over thick subflooring, and a sprinkler system to achieve slow-burn fire resistance, a method insurers encouraged. Its corbeled firewalls, shuttered windows and pilasters align with the street. The warehouse is regarded as a visible record of the tobacco boom that shaped Durham in the early twentieth century.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the warehouse illustrates the growth of Durham's tobacco industry and the company-driven design of brick storage buildings meant to project a successful corporate image. It is also presented as an example of slow-burn fire-resistant construction, and its architectural style is described as unique to Durham.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 82003448, listed August 30, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 500 N. Duke St., Durham |
|---|---|
| County | Durham County |
| Listed | August 30, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82003448 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1927 |
| Architectural style | Romanesque (as described in the statement of significance) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The building remains unaltered and until recently was still used for its original function; it has not been used for storage in recent years and the present owner has proposed adaptive reuse as condominiums. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Within district | Bright Leaf Historic District |
| Coordinates | 36.00307, -78.90571 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 82003448.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q19460733
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.