Durham, NC: Manufacturing Power Subverted to Ambience

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Historic American Tobacco Campus

by Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

Just remember, as you peruse these photos, that every brick was put into place to process tobacco and make cigarettes, which have caused so much disease, suffering and early death. 

But this factory campus has been turned into a marvelous rabbit warren of shops, businesses, restaurants and coffee shops. There's a radio station here, too.

Here's a bit more spectacular brickwork from Brightleaf Square. The windows are reflecting the blue sky beautifully.

Now we're at the American Tobacco Campus, a huge former cigarette and tobacco processing complex that's been made into shops, restaurants, and relaxation space. Above, the chess set, which uses the Lucky Strike tower as the pawns.

You can sit and watch people play the game of kings.

Fantastic brickwork here, too.

The tobacco processing required lots of water. A huge water feature meanders through the entire complex. Here you can cross it via stepping stones.

More of the water feature.

A conveyor belt became part of the ambience.

Conveyor belts, brick chimneys: raw American manufacturing power--and cancer-inducing power-- turned into a feature for ambience.

Here's the Lucky Strike cigarette tower, almost a symbol of the city of Durham.