the other night i walked from the federal to joe and jo's. it's only a half-mile or so between the two joints, but i don't think i've ever walked it before.
which is a shame, because it's neat to walk among the old liggett myers tobacco warehouses.
kevin costner walked down these streets in "bull durham". i think about that each time i'm in the area.
when i moved to durham, these buildings still produced tobacco. at certain times in the afternoon the scent of fresh-cut tobacco would hang in the air. it was such a unique smell, and impossible to escape. it didn't take long to learn to love it, though.
these days, the tobacco industry has all but pulled out of durham. the old brick buildings have now been converted to condominiums, restaurants and offices. i'm happy for the revitalization of the area, certainly --it's a lot better than having big brick skeletons downtown-- and i'm equally happy that some of the old memories of what used to be are still so apparent.
Did you know that those very cool plaques were briefly removed ~4 years ago? No announcement. Just one day they were gone. The newspaper mentioned it. Next thing you know, they were back. The white "scars" in the cementwork around the plaques were a result of the de/re-installations.
They really are neat plaques -- very shiny and fancy and big in a way that I associate with old movies like Citizen Kane, or movies like Batman or Dick Tracy that have a retro setting or feel).
Memories of the smells...
Posted by: Phil at June 14, 2006 11:10 PMMy favorite part of the American Tobacco Historic District is this bit of promotional text from its Web site: "But when you experience the American Tobacco Historic District, you'll agree, it's simply *breathtaking!*"
Um, yeah. Rejected slogans: "... it'll make you cough up a bunch of wet brown stuff in the morning!" "... if you try to quit going to it, you'll overeat and snap at your kids!"
Posted by: Jerry at June 15, 2006 01:20 AMI remember the toasty tobacco smell, too! But it was only for a few months after I moved here, and then Ligget & Myers moved to Mebane.
If I make to 90 years old I'm going to start smoking again, 'cause I'll be all like "fugget, I'm 90, beeyotch!" But it will probably be illegal by then ...
Posted by: Lisa B at June 15, 2006 10:08 AMI totally miss the tobacco smell (or I did, when I still lived in Durham). To me, it was part of what made the city unique. And a lot better than, say, the brewery smell that hangs over Edinburgh (you'd think that would be delightful, but it's surprisingly nasty).
Posted by: lady_mactrouser at June 15, 2006 10:41 AMSpeaking of the smells that mark different cities...
When my sister lived in Milwaukee there were three distinct smells, depending on which way the wind was blowing: slaughterhouse, beer or chocolate.
I think that would really affect your mood. "Oh shit, I am dying today!" "Gosh, I want to get wasted" and "Who could have PMS with THAT in the air??"
I remember that wonderful smell from that long weekend I spent with you back in 97.
It was the sweetest nicest smell, I remember that I was surprised that it was stinky old tobacco.
Remember you took me out driving to see tobacco? Who would've imagined two years later I'd be living surrounded by it in Kentucky.