Durham, NC: The American Tobacco Campus

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In Search of the American Dream: Puff on a Cigarette

Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

We pick up where we left off, at the Lucky Strike tower. Americans formerly aspired to look sexy smoking cigarettes, the way our movie stars did.  A huge portion of Americans used to smoke.

I read recently that, because of effective anti-smoking campaigns, and because the movie industry helped by drastically reducing the amount of smoking in scripts, the prevalence of teenage tobacco smoking is at an all-time low, less than 15%.

This was a powerful industry at one time, and you can sense it in the height of the tower, the sprawl of the factory buildings.

Ambience added with strings of lights.

Think of all the North Carolina workers who used to spend their effort behind these long windows.

On top: the sign for the American Tobacco Campus. Below, a very small plaque.

The small plaque says, "This is a smoke-free environment." Quite ironic, isn't it?

Another view of the Lucky Strike tower, a symbol of the way tobacco dominated so many lives, and so many painful deaths.

Cafe chairs next to the water feature that runs through the campus.

A croc in the water feature.

With these big windows, it's probably a pleasant place to work inside.

A playful tap outside a restaurant.

Somebody's having fun with the duct work.

Across the street, the baseball stadium.

Indoors, a model of the Tobacco campus. Note how small the people are.

Rent a LimeBike.

A clump of mistletoe in a tree next to the campus.

I love the brickwork. I think the bricklayers took great pride and joy in making their buildings, even factory buildings, more beautiful. How about you? Are you making something more beautiful today? Comment below!