Annual Conference Registration
2023 Conference – Wednesday Morning Preservation in Historic Hillsborough Walking Tour
October 04, 202310:00am-11:30am
Join the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough for a behind the scenes look at preservation projects and history as you walk through the Hillsborough Historic District of more than 500 contributing buildings ranging from the late-18th century into the early-20th century. Please wear comfortable shoes and be able to walk about a mile on sometimes uneven sidewalks.
2023 Conference – Wednesday Morning Maplewood Cemetery Walking Tour
October 04, 202310:30am-12:00pm
Learn about Durham history through this guided tour of Old Maplewood Cemetery, perhaps Durham’s loveliest urban open space. Preservation Durham tour guides will take small groups around the cemetery pausing here and there to tell stories of triumph and tragedy, joy and sorrow, wealth and inequity, lives long and short. Learn about funerary traditions and grave art and architecture.
This tour is limited to 30 people maximum.
2023 Conference – Wednesday Morning Durham’s Civil Rights History Walking Tour
October 04, 202310:30am-12:00pm
Preservation Durham tour guides will lead this exciting tour featuring many of the sites in downtown Durham that were important during the 1950s and 60s Civil Rights movement: Durham County Courthouse, the Arts Center (originally Durham High School and later City Hall), the Kress and Woolworth buildings (sites of sit-in protests), and the “Confronting Change” exhibit at the Carolina Theatre. Learn about the contributions of ordinary Durham residents to the struggle for equality, as well as local leaders like Floyd McKissick and national figures like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who brought America’s attention to the campaign for civil rights in the Bull City.
This tour is limited to 25 people maximum.
2023 Conference – Wednesday Educational Sessions
October 04, 20231:30pm-4:00pm
Attend the Preservation Year in Review from 1:30pm-3:00pm followed by Durham: The Last 40 Years from 3:00pm-4:00pm.
2023 NC Preservation Honor Awards Ceremony and Reception – Wednesday Evening
October 04, 20235:30pm-8:30pm
Come celebrate another year of preservation success as we highlight projects, organizations, and individuals from around the state at the 2023 Preservation NC Honor Awards Ceremony. Afterward, mingle with preservation friends for a social reception at Hayti Heritage Center.
2023 Conference – Thursday Morning Geer Street/Rigsbee Corridor Walking Tour
October 05, 202310:00am-11:15am
Durham’s downtown has undergone massive change over the past 15 years. Not only has that change resulted in hundreds of new housing units in downtown’s core, it has also prompted change to nearby neighborhoods. North of downtown, the Geer Street/Rigsbee corridor has been transformed from an auto-centric mélange of dealerships and repair shops to a vibrant hub of entertainment. Some historic buildings have undergone radical change, others have been preserved, still others demolished. What factors influenced those building owners, and their neighbors? Has this area improved? Does it contribute to Durham’s character, or detract from it? Two veterans of Durham’s redevelopment walk you through a changing neighborhood. Wear walking shoes, a sun hat, and bring water. Complete walk is less than 2 miles.
This tour is limited to 20 people maximum.
2023 Conference – Thursday Morning Plain Boards and Cast-Off Bricks: Preserving the Legacy of Pauli Murray and the Memory and the Fitzgerald Family Tour
October 05, 202310:00am-11:30am
This tour will connect participants to the home and landscape in which Pauli Murray was raised in Durham’s historically Black West End neighborhood. Guests will learn about the life and work of Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray; the decades-long effort to preserve their childhood home; and get a behind-the-scenes tour of the home, which is not yet open to the public. During the tour, guests will have the opportunity to explore the stellar preservation work that has occurred in the home and learn about the future of the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice. Registration includes a gift from the Pauli Murray Center.
This tour is limited to 20 people maximum
2023 Conference – Thursday Educational Sessions
October 05, 202310:00am-4:30pm
Attend any one of these 3 concurrent/field sessions from 10:00am-11:30am:
Preserving the Black Masonic History of NC, Resiliency: Preservation for a Changing Climate, or American Tobacco Campus: 20 Years After the Purchase (field session).
Followed by the Marion S. Covington Keynote: Older and Historic Buildings: The Solution to the Affordable Housing Crisis, Not the Cause with Donovan Rypkema from 1:00pm-2:14pm.
Ending with any one of these 3 concurrent sessions from 3:00pm-4:30pm:
Cracks, Mold & Bugs: Solving the Root Cause with Building Science, Disability Access for Historic House Museums (and Non-Museums!), or Mayberry Modernism.
2023 Conference – Thursday Afternoon Plain Boards and Cast-Off Bricks: Preserving the Legacy of Pauli Murray and the Memory and the Fitzgerald Family Tour
October 05, 20233:00pm-4:30pm
This tour will connect participants to the home and landscape in which Pauli Murray was raised in Durham’s historically Black West End neighborhood. Guests will learn about the life and work of Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray; the decades-long effort to preserve their childhood home; and get a behind-the-scenes tour of the home, which is not yet open to the public. During the tour, guests will have the opportunity to explore the stellar preservation work that has occurred in the home, and learn about the future of the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice. Registration includes a gift from the Pauli Murray Center.
This tour is limited to 20 people maximum.
2023 Conference – Thursday Evening Reception: Lakewood Park Historic District
October 05, 20235:30pm-7:30pm
Check-in at Honeysuckle Restaurant to grab a bite and a beer (or glass of wine) then walk across the street to tour several homes (including Myrick’s childhood home) in the Lakewood Park National Register Historic District. Lakewood is a vibrant, early 20th century suburb of modest cottages, bungalows and Craftsman-style homes. Come peek inside the “real” and residential side of historic Durham. You’ll learn more about the neighborhood, its history, and why Lakewood Park was called “The Coney Island of the South.” End your tour back at Honeysuckle to socialize over s’mores.
2023 Conference – Friday Educational Sessions
October 06, 20239:30am-12:30pm
Attend either one of these 2 concurrent sessions from 9:30am-11:00am:
There’s More Going on in Moore County or Changing Tides and Shifting Perspectives: Documenting the coastal and Civil Rights History of Northeast North Carolina
Followed by the Closing Plenary from 11:15am-12:30pm:
Buying Time for Heritage: Showcasing 45 Years of Preservation with Myrick Howard
2023 Conference – Friday Dean Ruedrich Traditional Trades Workshop: Introduction to Cemetery Monument Maintenance
October 06, 20231:30pm-4:30pm
Led by Michael Verville and held in historic Geer Cemetery, this workshop will include a lecture on best practices, proper materials, identification of typical stones, and common damages and repairs. Michael will demonstrate a variety of techniques to include cleaning, straightening, and leveling of small monuments. He will also discuss common causes and appropriate repairs that he sees in cemeteries throughout piedmont and eastern North Carolina. This is a hands-on workshop, so participants will also clean monuments under the supervision of Michael and his team and, time permitting, reset a couple of small unbroken monuments. Workshop will last approximately 3-4 hours. We will provide tools and materials, bottled water, and bug spray. Workshop participants need to bring their own gloves and wear comfortable, close toed shoes.
This workshop is limited to 15 people maximum.
2023 Conference – Friday Afternoon Plain Boards and Cast-Off Bricks: Preserving the Legacy of Pauli Murray and the Memory and the Fitzgerald Family Tour
October 06, 20232:00pm-3:30pm
This tour will connect participants to the home and landscape in which Pauli Murray was raised in Durham’s historically Black West End neighborhood. Guests will learn about the life and work of Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray; the decades-long effort to preserve their childhood home; and get a behind-the-scenes tour of the home, which is not yet open to the public. During the tour, guests will have the opportunity to explore the stellar preservation work that has occurred in the home, and learn about the future of the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice. Registration includes a gift from the Pauli Murray Center.
This tour is limited to 20 people maximum.
2023 Conference – Friday Afternoon Architectural & Urban Landscape Tour
October 06, 20232:00pm-3:00pm
Learn how Downtown Durham has transformed itself from an industrial center to the City of Medicine. Preservation Durham tour guides will describe the history of many of the landmark buildings that make up the Downtown Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1977. Featured on the guided walking tour are the 1915 First National Bank, the 1921 Mechanics and Farmers Bank Building, and Preservation Durham’s one-time home, the Snow Building, built in 1933. Built by the successful entrepreneurs of early 20th-century Durham, many buildings were designed by nationally known architects like Milburn and Heister, Bertrand E. Taylor, Edward F. Sibbert, and Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon, as well as by local companies Rose and Rose, George Watts Carr, Hill C. Linthicum, and Atwood and Weeks. There are fine examples of many architectural styles popular in the 20th century, including Art Deco, Italianate, Neo-Classical, and post-World War II Modern. Many of downtown’s older buildings have recently changed their functions, turning from tobacco factories and textile mills into hip urban lofts, stores, and offices.
This tour is limited to 25 people maximum.
2023 Conference – Friday Afternoon Beechwood Cemetery Tour
October 06, 20232:00pm-3:00pm
Join Preservation Durham tour guides for a walk through Beechwood Cemetery to explore the road from slavery to opportunity, Black Durham’s community relations and familial ties, and the rich legacy of leadership and fortitude. After two decades of advocacy by Durham’s African-American leadership, a city cemetery for its Black citizens was established in the late 1920s. Trailblazers in business and education, champions of civil rights, leaders in politics, the arts, and the church are memorialized here. These are the people who, in the words of W. E. B. DuBois, “upbuilt” Durham, and we are excited for our tour guides to share their stories.
This tour is limited to 30 people maximum.
2023 Conference – Friday Afternoon William C. Coker House and Gardens Tour
October 06, 20232:00pm-3:00pm
*Please note that you may only register for this tour if you are attending the conference*
The William C. Coker house and garden is the centerpiece of Chapel Hill’s Franklin-Rosemary Historic District. Built in 1908 by the Father of Botany in the Southeastern U.S., this estate remains a fascinating fusion of distinctive architecture and a botanically rich landscape. Designed applying the early 20th century principles of Frank Lloyd Wright for residential architecture, Coker created a magnificent house that connects beautifully to the enduring landscape, including magnificent 100+ year old trees planted by Coker. The property is protected by Preservation North Carolina.
This tour is limited to 20 people maximum.
2023 Conference – Friday Preservation in Historic Hillsborough Walking Tour
October 06, 20232:00pm-3:30pm
Join the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough for a behind the scenes look at preservation projects and history as you walk through the National Register Historic District of more than 500 contributing buildings ranging from the late-18th century into the early-20th century. Please wear comfortable shoes and be able to walk about a mile on sometimes uneven sidewalks.
This tour is limited to 20 people maximum.
2023 Conference – Thursday Morning PAN Coffee
October 05, 20238:30-9:30
Enjoy coffee and conversation with Preservation NC’s Professional Associates Network (PAN) members at the American Underground Rooftop. Must be a current PAN member to register and attend (free). Join or renew your PAN membership today.
Sponsored by Foss and Company.