Preservation Durham

05/26/2026

05/22/2026

We are so excited to kick off summer with a Downtown Durham architecture walking tour! Learn more about many of Durham's most iconic landmarks in the Downtown Durham area. Robert Sotolongo, retired president of DTW Architects, will host the tour, sharing his experiences and firsthand knowledge from his firm's work in the revitalization of Downtown Durham, which includes the Arts Council Building and the Temple Building.

This event is FREE for Preservation Durham members, and $15 for general public tickets! Purchase tickets now at https://www.preservationdurham.org/preservation-durham-downtown-architecture-tour

05/21/2026

05/21/2026

Over 500 people joined us last weekend for the annual Home Tour in Hope Valley. We greatly appreciate the homeowners, volunteers, and sponsors who made this such a successful and enjoyable tour for folks. This amazing community effort was a wonderful way to come together and celebrate Hope Valley Country Club's centennial by touring inside eight homes built almost 100 years ago.

05/13/2026

It's time for our final home tour sneak peek! This is the Cheek-Waller House, designed in 1928 by none other than George Watts Carr.

T. Edgar and Adelaide Cheek were the first owners of the home, owning it from 1928-1934. The Cheeks are one of the oldest families in Durham, and Edgar's grandfather, J.W Cheek, was Durham's first mayor. The Cheeks sold the home to Marguerite and Zebulon Waller, the home's longest occupants, who lived there for nearly 50 years.

The home is clad in skintled, or offset bricks, which was a popular style in the 1920s. Arches are a common theme in the house, prominent in the entrance and living room. The current residents had done intentional updates to the home, balancing the old with the new.

To see this and seven other of Hope Valley's earliest built homes, join us on our 2026 Home Tour on May 16th and 17th. Tickets can be purchased at www.preservationdurham.org/hometour

Special thank you to all who came out to our annual meeting/home tour lecture last night, and a special thank you to Lee Pace and Tad DeBerry for their great presentations on the history of the Hope Valley golf course and neighborhood!

05/11/2026

It's finally home tour week, and we are excited! We have two more beautiful homes for sneak peeks, including the Lickle-Perlzweig house pictured here. This home was built in 1930 and was designed by George Watts Carr Sr. It is a symbol of good luck, as it has faced falling trees, leaks, and even a fire, yet has remained structurally sound.

William Lickle and his wife, Margaret, first owned the home, likely only as a business venture as William was a salesman for the realty development company. They sold the home to Dr. William Perlzweig and Olga Marx, a biochemistry chair and translator/author, respectively.

The current homeowner is the home's longest resident. On why he bought the house, “I just loved the eccentric, eclectic design aspects of the house. Plaster, hardwood floors, and real windows sealed the deal. Upon taking possession, it confirmed my vision of the unseen space.”

To see this and seven other of Hope Valley's earliest built homes, join us on our 2026 Home Tour on May 16th and 17th. Tickets can be purchased at www.preservationdurham.org/hometour

Also, our annual meeting and home tour lecture at the Hope Valley Country Club is TOMORROW! Learn more about Preservation Durham and the history of Hope Valley at this FREE event on May 12th. Register for free at www.preservationdurham.org/hometourlecture

We are almost at our docent goal, but still need a few more volunteers to work 2 or 4-hour shifts on either day of the tour. All volunteers get a free home tour ticket to enjoy the tour themselves! If interested, you can check out the sign-up form here: https://forms.gle/JZD3q8ZQfJHuJhB18

05/08/2026

Only a few home tour sneak peeks left until the big weekend! This is the Beckrath-Orgain home. Built in 1938 by, you guessed it, George Watts Carr, this Colonial-Revival home was commissioned by the Beckerath family.
Herbert and Guelda von Beckerath lived in the home for 5 years. Herbert von Beckerath was a refugee who left Germany due to rising fears of retribution for his criticism of Hi**er. The longest owners of the property were Anne and Dr. Edward Orgain.

Carr's intentional design choices, including the arrangement of the home into three asymmetrical but balanced segments, give an impression of natural growth of the home over time. The home has indeed grown over time, with a significant addition from the Orgains in 1949-1950.

To see this and seven other of Hope Valley's earliest built homes, join us on our 2026 Home Tour on May 16th and 17th. Tickets can be purchased at www.preservationdurham.org/hometour

We are almost at our docent goal, but still need a few more volunteers to work 2 or 4-hour shifts on either day of the tour. All volunteers get a free home tour ticket to enjoy the tour themselves! If interested, you can check out the sign-up form here: https://forms.gle/JZD3q8ZQfJHuJhB18

Also, in less than a week is our annual meeting and home tour lecture at the Hope Valley Country Club! Learn more about Preservation Durham and the history of Hope Valley at this FREE event on May 12th. Register for free at www.preservationdurham.org/hometourlecture

05/06/2026

Our next sneak peek is the John and Hazel Wily House! The John and Hazel Wily house was built in 1938 by George F. Hackney. The current homeowners still have the original plans for the home, and they will be on display during the tour!

This home has some incredibly fun features, including a trompe l'oeil window, a fake window installed by the homeowners to give an illusion of a matching window in the back of the home. The home also still has a function call button, which indicates the original configuration of the home.

To see this and seven other of Hope Valley's earliest built homes, join us on our 2026 Home Tour on May 16th and 17th. Tickets can be purchased at www.preservationdurham.org/hometour

We are almost at our docent goal, but still need a few more volunteers to work 2 or 4-hour shifts on either day of the tour. All volunteers get a free home tour ticket to enjoy the tour themselves! If interested, you can check out the sign-up form here: https://forms.gle/JZD3q8ZQfJHuJhB18

Also, in less than a week is our annual meeting and home tour lecture at the Hope Valley Country Club! Learn more about Preservation Durham and the history of Hope Valley at this FREE event on May 12th. Register for free at www.preservationdurham.org/hometourlecture

05/04/2026

Up next for our home tour sneak peeks is the Sue and Horace Snow Jr. House! Another George Watts Carr, Tudor-Revival design, this home was built in 1928. The central chimney featured in this photograph was built with stone from the old Hillsborough Quarry, the same source for many of the stones used to build the Gothic-designed buildings on Duke's West Campus.

Six months after the Hope Valley Country Club opened, Sue and Horace Snow Jr. purchased the lot for the home. The Snow and Carr family connections continue, as Horace's mother, Anna Exum Snow Lane, commissioned Carr to design the Snow Building in Downtown Durham, where Viceroy is located today.

To see this and seven other of Hope Valley's earliest built homes, join us on our 2026 Home Tour on May 16th and 17th. Tickets can be purchased at www.preservationdurham.org/hometour

We still need more volunteers to docent in 2 or 4-hour shifts on either day of the tour. All volunteers get a free home tour ticket to enjoy the tour themselves! If interested, you can check out the sign-up form here: https://forms.gle/JZD3q8ZQfJHuJhB18

Also, a week from tomorrow is our annual meeting and home tour lecture at the Hope Valley Country Club! Learn more about Preservation Durham and the history of Hope Valley at this FREE event on May 12th. Register for free at www.preservationdurham.org/hometourlecture

05/01/2026

Our next sneak peek is the William and Katherine Brownell House! The Brownell House was originally built in 1928 as one of the early speculative homes in the neighborhood. The Brownell's were the first occupants of the home. Dr. William Brownell was an educational psychology professor at Duke University. Dr. Brownell's background in education made him a staunch advocate for public schools, speaking out at numerous PTA meetings throughout his life on the subject. Katherine was also an advocate for public schools, demonstrated by her support of the 1948 Durham school supplement levy to increase taxes to aid in funding public schools.

This Tudor-Revival home's clipped-gabled roof is a dashing and unique feature on the home tour. Some interior retained features include the fireplaces, the radiators, and the bathroom hardware.

To see this and seven other of Hope Valley's earliest built homes, join us on our 2026 Home Tour on May 16th and 17th. Tickets can be purchased at www.preservationdurham.org/hometour

We still need more volunteers to docent in 2 or 4-hour shifts on either day of the tour. All volunteers get a free home tour ticket to enjoy the tour themselves! If interested, you can check out the sign-up form here: https://forms.gle/JZD3q8ZQfJHuJhB18

In celebration of this year's home tour, we are also hosting our annual meeting and home tour lecture at the Hope Valley Country Club. Learn more about Preservation Durham and the history of Hope Valley at this FREE event on May 12th. Register for free at www.preservationdurham.org/hometourlecture