90-year-old Bull City time capsule on display at Duke
DURHAM (WTVD) -- After 90 years, a time capsule in Durham finally sees the light of day.
Although the Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club is a prominent fixture at Duke University, its original home was in the center of downtown Durham on the corner of what's now the CCB Plaza.
"The original Washington Duke hotel in downtown Durham was built in 1924 and they held a ceremony dedicating the building and put a time capsule in the cornerstone of the hotel," says Sheena Cooper, the marketing manager at the inn.
The box was handmade out of old, brass printing plates. It stayed at the site until the hotel was shut down and imploded in 1975.
Cooper says an anonymous person retrieved it and held onto it until the new location opened. But after the opening, the time capsule was forgotten again, tucked away in a drawer.
When Cooper took her job at the inn, she learned about the box and decided to do something with it and put the items on display.
"I thought it was way too special to just sit around in this box and was surprised at how well preserved it was," she said.
Inside were items that speak to the thriving tobacco industry, including rolling papers, loose tobacco bags, old packages of cigarettes, and information on the hotel.
Also included are a big talker among Duke students - socks. The socks were made at the Durham Hosiery Mill which was also a booming business in the 1920s.
The display is at the Rubenstein Library at Duke and is open to the public through mid-July.
