114 Main Street

This house stands on a small 3/4 acre tree shaded lot on Durham’s Main Street.

Notable Features

– Eastlake-Style porch supported by turned posts and decoratively sawn brackets
– posts are joined by a decoratively sawn balustrade
– gable peak contains stickwork brackets

Historical or Architectural Importance

This 2 1/2 story, Victorian Stick-Style house stands on a cut sandstone block foundation with its gable end facing the street. Its facade contains a 1 story shed-roofed Eastlake-Style porch supported by turned posts and decoratively sawn brackets. The posts are joined by a decoratively sawn balustrade (which is identical to the balustrade on the Gaylord Newtown house on Maiden Lane). The front door is an original to the house, containing four panels defined by thick projecting moldings. The gable peak is ornamented with sawn and cut and sunk vertical board sheathing and contains stickwork brackets. A five sided bay on the south side of the house may date from its original construction. This feature has been marred by the replacement door, which dates from the mid-twentieth century. Two rear additions date from a 1960 remodeling of the structure. This house was built by Andrew Hull (1825-90) in 1877-78 on land purchased by the Hull family from the Seth Seward Estate. The house remained in the Hull family until 1967, one of a group of three contiguous houses in its possession (110,112,114 Main St.] This house is unquestionable one of the best examples of Victorian architecture in Durham. It is of particular importance because it is one of the few houses which can be definitely associated with a particular builder–Andrew Hull, the man who occupied it. It tells us a great deal about the taste and aspirations of late-nineteenth-century artisans and may prove to be an important key to understanding residential building in Durham during this period.