Holloway Street District
Why it's listed
Holloway Street District is a tree-shaded residential area east of downtown Durham, made up of twenty-six buildings along Holloway Street and nearby Dillard Street. Nearly all are one- to two-and-one-half-story frame houses from the 1880s to the 1920s, along with one brick commercial building from the late 1910s. Vernacular Queen Anne houses with irregular rooflines, sawn bargeboard and three-sided bays predominate, mixed with Neoclassical and Colonial Revival designs such as the Thomas House with its curved Ionic portico. The district is one of the few surviving parts of Durham's earliest prestigious neighborhood, which grew in the 1860s and 1870s as the tobacco industry brought wealth to the city. Members of pioneering families sold lots to industrialists, bankers, merchants and professionals who built their homes here. Much of the original neighborhood was lost to commercial growth, urban renewal and road projects. Today the remaining houses are largely intact but deteriorated, and many have been converted to apartments.
Significance in brief: The district is one of the few surviving portions of Durham's most fashionable late nineteenth-century neighborhood, which grew from the city's early tobacco wealth. Pioneering families developed it, and leading industrialists, financiers, merchants and professionals built houses there. It contains notable examples of vernacular Queen Anne and classically derived revival styles.
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 85002437, listed September 20, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by Holloway, Railroad & Liberty Sts., Peachtree Pl. & Dillard St., Durham |
|---|---|
| County | Durham County |
| Listed | September 20, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85002437 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1880s - 1920s |
| Architect / builder | See individual inventory entries (no single architect or builder named in the portion provided) |
| Architectural style | Vernacular Queen Anne, with early Neoclassical Revival and Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as largely intact but deteriorated; many houses are divided into apartments, some are owner-occupied, and a few have been vacant and vandalized. |
| Acreage | 12 |
| Coordinates | 35.99533, -78.89138 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 85002437.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q19462366
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.