Durham, Duke, and the World of the 1920s-1930s
“To make Durham a worthy place for a great university is a part of Durham’s problem, and not only a part of Durham’s problem, but also a part of the problem that confronts Duke University itself.”
-Swan, Herbert S. “The Durham Plan.” Durham, NC: City Planning Commission,1927, page 16.
“A Worthy Place”: Durham, Duke, and the World of the 1920s-1930s situates Duke spatially and temporally in 1920s and 30s in Durham, which saw great changes leading up to, during, and after the university’s construction. This exhibition explores the complex connections and conflicts between the university and the city as they reimagined their physical and cultural landscapes and as the project of building Duke intervened in the life of the city and its inhabitants. It examines the disconnects between the planning of the city and of the university and the lived experiences of both Durham residents and the Duke community, presents the complex diversity of life in the city in the 1920s and 30s, and provokes conversations about Duke’s role in the emergence of Durham on the regional, national, and world stages. This exhibit was curated by members of the 2023-2024 Bass Connections project team World Building at Duke in an Emerging Durham: 1924-1932.
Image: Duke University Under Construction from Duke University Construction Progress Photographs, 1925-1932, Duke Digital Collections, Duke University Progress Pictures collection.
