City: Durham, NC

Category: Tours & Attractions

Address: 318 Blackwell St.

Description: The most impressive of downtown Durham’s revitalization projects, the American Tobacco Campus was once part of the Duke family’s cigarette empire, founded in the late 1800s. The soaring water tower painted with the Lucky Strike logo remains the iconic symbol of the complex, but today the elegantly aged brick bays are home to an advertising agency, a YMCA, software companies, five restaurants, loft apartments, and studios of public radio station WUNC. A man-made stream gurgles and falls through the middle of the complex, creating the feel of a natural oasis. Free concerts are presented on the lawn beneath the water tower during warm months and the annual lighting of the Lucky Strike tower in December has become a holiday tradition. Across Blackwell Street is the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which means American Tobacco eateries like Mellow Mushroom and Tyler’s Tap Room fill up before and after games. It’s a lovely place to have a meal and marvel at the powers of restoration. Admission to the complex is free.