|
About
Brightleaf Square:
The
Duke Services Effectiveness Research Program is located in Brightleaf
Square, at the corner of Gregson and Main Streets in downtown Durham,
two blocks from Duke University's East Campus.
Brightleaf Square are two
renovated tobacco warehouses built between 1900 and 1904 by the
American Tobacco Company for storing and curing "brightleaf"
and other types of local tobacco used to make cigarettes. American
Tobacco, founded by the legendary entrepreneur Washington Duke,
and later led by his son, James Duke, at one time controlled 90
percent of the world's cigarette business. Following a 1911 U.S.
Supreme Court ruling that divided American Tobacco into three smaller
companies, the Durham warehouses were sold to the Liggett &
Myers Tobacco Company, which used them for their original purpose
until 1970.
|
For the better part of the 20th century,
these warehouses stood as symbols of the central role that tobacco
played in the economic and cultural life of Durham. The handsome
buildings, separated by a courtyard, were built with local brick
and heart of pine and included a number of remarkable architectural
features. For example, the two buildings have 72 elaborately designed
chimneys, but only 10 were used as vents; the rest were purely decorative.
In 1980, the warehouses were bought by private
developers, who carefully preserved the buildings' architectural
integrity while adapting them for commercial use. Brightleaf Square
was opened in 1981.
The street address for Brightleaf Sqaure is 905
W. Main Street. SERP is housed in suite 23A, is located at the end
of the hall, on the second floor in the South Building. Visitor
parking is located in the gated lot across Gregson Street, and may
be validated by the staff of the Services Effectiveness Research
Program.
|
