1964
The idea of “Durham Center,” a public-private hotel and civic center, first surfaced in 1964. Revitalizing a decaying city and bringing life and investment back to Durham was the primary goal. City officials, along with the community, held intense debates for the next few years regarding whether or not to build the massive infrastructure.
“Voters will have an opportunity to vote next month on a bond issue to finance a new main library, a facility that could serve as a community meeting place as well as provide traditional library services. Downtown Durham has already proved that it is the ideal location for community wide events like street celebrations, parades and festivals. Only the future will tell whether it will become more than a place of those one-day events and a government and business center,” read the Durham Morning Herald (Herald-Sun) on urban renewal in 1976.
Photo was taken by Ralph Rogers around 1986, right before the civic center and hotel were built. The arrow shows where the convention center sits now. Courtesy Durham County Library
Courtesy Durham County Library
Courtesy Durham County Library
1980’s
With a promising outlook, downtown members, including Duke University President Terry Sanford, got together and created the ‘Durham Progress Group.’ The group’s aimed to strategize for Durham’s revitalization. Within a few months of its inception, the progress group was able to convince city officials to establish the Downtown Development Corporation (DDC). Their focus was to put together a developer and hotel package, obtain a sense of cost, and develop how the project would look and function.
Shortly after, the group disappeared underground, feverishly working to develop a plan. They resurfaced in January of 1982 with sketches of the venue, name of a developer (Dobson and Johnson of Nashville), and hotel manager (the Sheraton Corp). Whichard, a member of the DDC, held a speech in April of 1982 to discuss the plans for a hotel and civic center complex in downtown. At the time, he proposed a $10.5 million bond for construction, with the total cost being $13.5 million.
The bond passed, but it would be many years before the convention center would be built. Acquiring land for the project proved difficult as business owners refused to sell their land to the city. Another issue arose with the developer, who demanded they be paid for services rendered.
Despite those issues, ground broke on the new hotel and convention center around 1988.
In 1989, the two buildings were completed and Phase I of the city revitalization project was completed. The next phase for the city began shortly after, and the Carolina Theatre received a much needed face lift.
2009
Officials decided to rename the Civic Center to the Convention Center as a way to drive more events to the area in 2009. During the same year, the city put $3 million into renovations hoping to boost the appeal.
Courtesy Durham County Library
Courtesy Durham County Library
Courtesy of Open Durham, 2006
2019
In 2019, we celebrated the 150th anniversary of Durham and the 30th anniversary of the convention center. Two plaques were installed at the entrance to recognize those who made the Durham Convention Center possible.
