North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company Building | |
Location | 114-116 W. Parrish St., Durham, North Carolina |
---|---|
Coordinates | 35°59′45.4″N78°54′2.8″W / 35.995944°N 78.900778°W |
Built | 1921 |
Architect | Calvin E. Lightner |
NRHP reference No. | 75001258 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | May 15, 1975 [1] |
Designated NHL | May 15, 1975 [2] |
The Old North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company Building, also known as the Mechanics and Farmers Bank Building, is an office building at 114-116 West Parrish Street in downtown Durham, North Carolina. It formerly served as the headquarters for the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, which was formerly one of the nation's largest companies founded and owned by African-Americans. The building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1975. [2] [3]
The former North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company building is located in downtown Durham, on the northside of West Parrish Street in the area known as Black Wall Street. It is a six-story brick building, three bays wide, with a flat roof. The ground floor bays are sheltered by a marquee that extends over the sidewalk, with plate glass windows in the outer bays and the main entrance recessed in the center bay. Above the marquee there are blind arches that form an arcade between the first and second floors. Pilasters rise between and outside the first floor bays to a stone course in which the words "Merchants and Farmers Bank" are incised. The five floors above have paired sash windows in each bay; the bays of the upper two floors are articulated by paneled pilasters. There are two balustraded concrete balconies projecting from the center bays of the third and fifth floors. [3]
The North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company was founded in 1898 by a group of seven African-American men, of whom two, John Merrick and Dr. Aaron Moore, survived in the business after one year. Moore's nephew, Charles Clinton Spaulding, took charge of the business in 1900, and it thereafter grew rapidly, becoming by 1910 the nation's largest firm owned by African-Americans. The company had this building constructed in 1921 as its second headquarters. At that time, it was the second-tallest building in Durham, and described by Durham's Morning Herald as an "architectural gem". [3] It was designed by Calvin E. Lightner. [4] The first floor of the building housed the operations of the Mechanics and Farmers Bank. [5]
The Sweet Auburn Historic District is a historic African-American neighborhood along and surrounding Auburn Avenue, east of downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The name Sweet Auburn was coined by John Wesley Dobbs, referring to the "richest Negro street in the world," one of the largest concentrations of African-American businesses in the United States.
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Aaron McDuffie Moore, M.D. was a medical doctor, medical director, and officer at a bank, hospital, pharmacy, university and insurer serving African Americans in North Carolina. He was born in Whiteville, North Carolina. He lived in Durham, North Carolina.
NC Mutual was an American life insurance company located in downtown Durham, North Carolina and one of the most influential African-American businesses in United States history. Founded in 1898 by local black social leaders, its business increased from less than a thousand dollars in income in 1899 to a quarter of a million dollars in 1910. The company specialized in "industrial insurance," which was basically burial insurance. The company hired salesmen whose main job was to collect small payments to cover the insured person for the next week. If the person died while insured, the company immediately paid benefits of about 100 dollars. This covered the cost of a suitable funeral, which was a high prestige item in the black community. It began operations in the new tobacco manufacturing city of Durham, North Carolina, and moved north into Virginia and Maryland, then to major northern black urban centers, and then to the rest of the urban South.
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Black Wall Street was the hub of African-American businesses and financial services in Durham, North Carolina, during the late 1800s and early 1900s. It is located on Parrish Street. It was home to Mechanics and Farmers Bank and North Carolina Mutually
North Carolina Mutual Building, also known as the Blue Palace Tea Shop and Barber Shop, is a historic commercial building located at Columbia, South Carolina. It was built in 1909 by the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, and is a three-story, rectangular, brick commercial block. The building housed African-American businesses, professionals, and institutions during the years of Jim Crow segregation. It is located in the Washington Street business district, the city's black downtown.
Downtown Durham Historic District is a national historic district located at Durham, Durham County, North Carolina. The district encompasses 97 contributing buildings and 1 contributing structure in the central business district of Durham. The buildings primarily date from the first four decades of the 20th century and include notable examples of Colonial Revival, Italianate, and Art Deco architecture. Notable buildings include the St. Philip's Episcopal Church (1907), Durham Arts Council Building (1906), First Presbyterian Church (1916), Trinity United Methodist Church (1880-1881), First Baptist Church (1926-1927), Durham County Courthouse (1916), Carolina Theatre of Durham, (1920s), Tempest Building, National Guard Armory (1934-1937), United States Post Office (1934), Trust Building (1904), First National Bank Building (1913-1915), Mechanics and Farmers Bank (1921), Johnson Motor Company showroom (1927), Hill Building (1935), Snow Building (1933), and S. H. Kress store.
Mutual Tower is a 252k-square foot, 14-story skyscraper located in Durham, North Carolina. Built in 1968, the building was previously called the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company Building, Legacy Tower and The Tower at Mutual Plaza. It was designed by M.A. Ham Associates and Welton Becket and Associates. From 1968 to 1987 this building was Durham's tallest.
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The Mechanics and Farmers Bank is an American bank owned by M&F Bancorp, Inc based in Durham, North Carolina. It served as one of the most influential African-American businesses in North Carolina in the 20th century.
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