The Elizabeth Cotten Mural honors the Blues legend. Scott Nurkin painted the mural as part of the…read moreNorth Carolina Musicians Mural Trail. This mural grabbed my attention right away. I see Cotten and her guitar, but the closer I look I see how remarkable this mural is with all the windows and the window AC units. This mural was not on a solid wall so that was likely more challenging. So who is Elizabeth Cotten? She was born in Chapel Hill back in 1893. She taught herself how to sing and play her brother's banjo. She was left-handed, and the guitar was for someone right-handed, so she learned to play the guitar upside down. The distinct sound of the guitar playing became her trademark, known as "Cotten Picking" She wrote "Freight Train" back when she was 11 or 12 years old as she could see and hear the railroad from her home. Her musical talents were not discovered until the 1940s when she was living in Washington, DC. Mike Seegar recorded some of her songs, and she started singing her own. She released her first album at age 65 back in 1958. Her songs are about her early life in NC. In 1984, she won a Grammy Award at 91 years of age for her album "Elizabeth Cotten Live!". She was inducted into the North Carolina Musical Hall of Fame in 2019 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, both posthumously. It is a shame they didn't do this while she was alive, but at least she got the recognition she deserved..

The Floyd Council Mural was the hardest of the 25 murals to find as there is not a list of all the…read moremurals or addresses for all of the NC Musicians Mural Project. I've been adding them to Google as I go so others don't have as much trouble. This mural is located on the side of Franklin Motors and it just happens to be on the side with a paid parking lot so parking was very convenient. Floyd Council is the "Floyd" of Pink Floyd. Pink Anderson is the other blues musician in that group's name. Syd Barrett liked those two musicians and used part of their names to name his group. This mural pays tribute to that with the pink color for Floyd. Floyd Council was known as "Dipper Boy". He was a Piedmont Blues singer and guitarist who had his own intricate fingerpicking style. He was in a group called the Chapel Hillbillies, then met and played with Fulton Allen aka Blind Boy Fuller. Council's style was serious and soulful as he sang about his struggles. He released just 8 singles and only recorded 27 songs so his music is hard to find. Council suffered a stroke and couldn't really play or sing after that. But he sure did inspire other musicians.

I didn't know how much fun a social district could be until my friend and I spend an afternoon…read morewandering around Downtown Durham with a beer in hand and no bartender yelling at us to chug it before leaving. The Bullpen is Durham's official social district, and it went into effect in 2022 after the North Carolina General Assembly approved the idea of walkable drinking zones back in September 2021. The city signed off on it in October 2022 as a way to boost downtown businesses, and honestly? Mission accomplished. The district covers a defined area of downtown where you can buy a drink from any participating ABC‑permitted business and carry it outside in the official cup. It runs seven days a week from 11 am to 10 pm and the boundaries include a big chunk of central Durham. Enough to make a proper walking tour without ever feeling like you're skirting the edge. For our self‑directed food and drink crawl, we started at Bull City Burger and Brewery, then wandered over to Little Bull, Liberty & Plenty, Geer Street Garden, and finally up the hill to DSSOLVR. Every stop was inside the district, and every time I had a few ounces of beer left, I just took it with me because it's completely legal here. That tiny detail along makes the whole experience feel relaxed and fun instead of rushed. Durham built this district to encourage exploration and it works. you can bounce between breweries, restaurants, bottle shops and bars without losing momentum. Window clings mark the participating businesses so you always know where you can grab your next drink and keep moving. If you're in Durham and want a walkable afternoon that mixes food, drinks, and a little urban wandering, The Bullpen is one of the best ways to do it. It's simple, it's smart, and it makes downtown feel alive in a way that more cities should copy. [Review 1077 of 2026 - 4783 in North Carolina - 26256 overall]

The American Tobacco Campus was established in 1890 as an industrial center. When the tobacco…read moreindustry left, the campus had to change. The Durham Bulls Athletic Park and the Durham Center for Performing Arts brought new life to the campus. The Old Bull Building is where Lucky Strike was made. Tobacco was a large employer in Durham so when it shut down in 1987 the property started to fall apart and people moved away. Capitol Broadcasting decided in 2004 to purchase the campus and turn these historic buildings into something unique and special. The ATC has offices, apartments, shops and restaurants. There is a courtyard, water features, outside seating and even a train car. It is an easy place to visit with three parking garages nearby and street parking. Then it is fun to walk around and see the remnants of what used to be there.

The limited number of shops and restaurants might not be a bad thing considering how commercial and…read moregeneric many of them felt. Rather than showcasing Durham's unique personality, much of the campus seemed geared toward being a polished mixed-use development that could exist almost anywhere. The bright spots were the nearby home of the Durham Bulls and the iconic Lucky Strike smokestack and water tower, both of which provide a strong sense of place and serve as reminders of the site's history. They were far more memorable than anything I found inside the campus itself. Overall, I found the American Tobacco Campus more interesting as a piece of architecture and historic preservation than as a destination. It's worth a brief stroll to admire the buildings and snap a few photos, but I wouldn't go out of my way to spend much time here.

The Danny Mason Mural was painted by Scott Nurkin and is in Chapel Hill. I don't think this one is…read morepart of the Mural Trail. It is located off Granham Street on the side of Lapin Bleu and behind Local 506. This mural is another done in color rather than black and white. This mural is also different in that there are three in the mural and Dex and Sara Romweber are in black and white but Danny Mason is in color. I'm not sure what the connection is between Danny Mason and the Romweber Duo. Mason was a Chapel Hill legend. He played the drums, guitar and piano. It was hard to find any details about Danny Mason or his music.

Can you find these three public art exhibits in Durham? We did! They were designed by artist Mary…read moreCarter Taub after she was chosen from 27 applicants for a city sponsored art project. It's a blend of Art Deco and Pop Art inspired by Rice Krispies! Parking was a major challenge to take pictures at each location but we didn't get any tickets! Just be bold and be safe! The locations are at the corner of Blackwell and Vivian, near the Marriott City Center and The Bull Statue, and at the Durham Central Park on Foster Street. Life is good with unique local art!

This is not named after the rice crispy treats. This is the snap crackle and pop public art…read moredisplay. We are walking around and I came across this and thought it was pretty cool.

Where can you find a well-concealed sculpture garden in the woods of the Duke campus? Hidden behind…read morethe college of law! The parking lot required a pass of some kind that I did not possess. But, I can't be stopped! I parked out on the street and just walked to the back of the building and found my way! The labeled sculptures are found along a circular path that meanders in a vague circle through the woods. Each is definitely unique and worth seeing! Life is good with a unique sculpture garden in the woods!

This is a statue of Wallace Wade. We came across it and found it while we were in North Carolina…read more I'm not really sure who Wallace is. I have not looked him up, but he has his own statue.