Originating as a railroad depot in 1853, Durham in North Carolina was founded when a small-town doctor named Bartlett S Durham donated some of his land to the railroad passing from Hillborough to Wilson. Since then the eponymous depot has expanded to become first a center for tobacco production and more recently it was rated as one of the most desirable places to live in the United States. Durham is also home to the reputed Duke University.
Durham is not quite known as a hot tourist destination, but the pleasant city contains a number of cultural attractions nonetheless. Every year Durham’s cultural calendar includes a number of musical concerts and performances in genres as diverse as jazz, blues and classical. Theater is also popular here and puts on an annual documentary film festival, the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.
In other cultural enclaves running counter to the stereotypes of a tobacco town, the town is home to some good museums, some featuring predominantly the works of African-American artists. The city’s cosmopolitan tolerant streak is also in evidence with its Gay and Lesbian Film Festival to complement the Full Frame Documentary Festival, and its Gay Pride parade attracts visitors from across the country.
Highlights
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival: film lovers will greatly enjoy the independent offerings and enlightening insights in the annual collection of doc films.
Gay Pride Parade: it may not be Amsterdam, Berlin, Toronto or San Francisco, but Durham’s Gay Pride Parade is an event attended by visitors from around the country.
American Tobacco Company: visit restaurants and shops in the place that gave Durham a large part of its 20th century prosperity.
Durham Bulls Athletic Park: the baseball franchise featured in the 1988 film, Bull Durham, plays ball at this park south of the city center.