Scott and Roberts Dry Cleaning Plant, Office, and Store
Why it's listed
Built in 1947 at 733 Foster Street in Durham, this single-story brick building housed a dry cleaning plant at the back with offices and a retail store up front. It was constructed for Scott and Roberts, a local dry cleaning business founded in 1922, after the company was reorganized following the death of Charles "Buck" Roberts. The street facade shows the Streamline Moderne style through a slightly projecting center bay with rounded corners, curved plate-glass windows, header-bond brick, wide cast-stone bands and glass block around the entrance. Side and rear walls are plainer red brick with industrial steel-sash windows, and a sawtooth skylight lights the plant interior. The building changed little over the decades and served as a dry cleaner into the early twenty-first century. A 2011 rehabilitation restored the original facade. It was listed for its architecture because it is regarded as Durham's most intact example of a style once prominent in the city but now uncommon, especially after the demolition of a notable Moderne bus station in 1998.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is one of Durham's best and most intact surviving examples of Streamline Moderne architecture, a style that has become rare locally through demolition and alteration. Its rounded center bay, curved plate glass, header-bond brick, cast-stone banding and glass block express the style. It is judged locally significant under Criterion C in Architecture.
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 12000345, listed June 20, 2012. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 733 Foster St., Durham |
|---|---|
| County | Durham County |
| Listed | June 20, 2012 |
| Reference number | 12000345 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1947 |
| Architectural style | Modern Movement: Moderne (Streamline Moderne) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Dry cleaning operations continued until the early twenty-first century; the building was bought in 2011 for redevelopment, and a 2011 rehabilitation returned the facade to its original configuration. Equipment and fixtures have been removed. Current function is listed as work in progress. |
| Acreage | 0.4 |
| Within district | Foster and West Geer Streets Historic District |
| Coordinates | 36.00696, -78.90144 (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.
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 12000345.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q21016167
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.