Golden Belt Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Also known as: See Also:Golden Belt Historic District
Why it's listed
Brick commercial block of three storefronts at the northwest corner of East Main and North Elm streets in Durham, built in the early twentieth century in the Commercial Style. Its units step down the sloping site toward the corner, divided by brick piers, with brick parapets, terra cotta copings and plate-glass display windows set over deep transoms. The interior has plaster walls, wooden floors and simple wooden details. The East Main Street commercial corridor began developing around 1901 and grew for three decades, housing groceries, drug stores, barber shops and billiard halls. The building's storefronts once held a shop, a beauty parlor and the original McDonald's Drug Store, which moved to the Ninth Street commercial district around 1940. When neighboring houses were cleared in the early 1980s, this commercial building was kept, and a 1987 neighborhood plan recommended its restoration as part of revitalizing the Main Street corridor.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building retains early twentieth-century commercial characteristics that echo the adjacent historic district. It is associated with the development of the East Main Street commercial corridor around 1901 onward, including the original location of McDonald's Drug Store. Its survival also preserved a corner that was otherwise slated for demolition in the early 1980s.
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 96000816, listed July 30, 1996. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1000--1004 E. Main St., Durham |
|---|---|
| County | Durham County |
| Listed | July 30, 1996 |
| Reference number | 96000816 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1930 |
| Architectural style | Commercial Style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The building is vacant and boarded up, and some of its glass windows have been vandalized. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 35.98892, -78.89077 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary: it recognises significance and does not restrict what a private owner may do without federal money or permits. It unlocks the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit for income-producing buildings, state credits in many states, and Section 106 review when federal agencies are involved. See what listing means in practice.
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 96000816.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q19462017
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.