About The Neighborhood
The Watts Hospital-Hillandale Neighborhood is in Durham, NC and lies just west of downtown. Development in the neighborhood started in 1908 with the construction of Watts Hospital at the corner of Club Boulevard (known as E Street) and Broad Street. The neighborhood is composed mostly of Arts and Crafts style homes built from the 1910s through the 1940s.
In 1998, Watts Hospital-Hillandale became a National Historic District. The neighborhood is protected by the City of Durham historic district rules. In 2008, the neighborhood celebrated its centennial.
As a neighborhood, we offer opportunities to throughout the year to gather with friends. See below for summaries of past activities. Additional information can be found on the Events page or the Events Calendar.
Join our Neighborhood Association!
The 2021–2022 association year starts in October. All memberships expire then and we begin rebuilding. For a mere $6 you can be a member of the association. Help by renewing right away. You may fill out the MEMBERSHIP FORM here AND when completed, the form will direct you to our PayPal account. Or send a check to WHHNA PO Box 3115, Durham, NC 27715. If you are using the membership form and sending a check rather than using PayPal, please leave a note in the comments section of the form to tell us that your check is being mailed.
It’s the best $6 investment you’ll make this year! Thank you.
Generaly, the PayPal acount can be found at: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/whhna?locale.x=en_US
Information about 2021 Events
Fourth of July Parade
See all information about the parade (10 AM on 7/4/22 at Oval Park) by clicking the Watts Happening tab and choosing events or more easily by clicking HERE. Once at Oval Park, just follow the crowd and you are in the parade.
NOL 12/19/2021 beginning at dusk
The rain is ending and NOL is ON for 12/19/21.
Our 36th annual Night of Lights (NOL) celebration will be held on Sunday December 19th . Materials to make your luminaria will be on sale on the south side of Oval Park at the picnic table pavilion beginning Saturday 12/18 at noon. Price is $5 for 10. You will also have the opportunity to renew your WHHNA membership at $6 per adult in the household. Bonus: you get 1 extra bag/candle/sand if you are a member. More details about NOL can be found here.
Annual meeting 10/14/2021
This year the annual meeting was held virtually. The slate of nominees for the Board of Directors, and the agenda was posted to the neighborhood listserv and here. Other information such as the presentation regarding the Club Blvd Utility project, the renovations to NCSSM, and the meeting powerpoint can be found on the same page. We hope that neighbors who attended the meeting found the meeting interesting and we thank you for attending. We encourage everyone to join the WHHNA by paying the annual $6 dues. You will also have the opportunity to donate to support the Community Cafe at Urban Ministries fo Durham. Check (made to Community Cafe at UMD) or PayPal can be used for this. Our goal is $5000 for the Community Cafe. Please be generous. Additional information about NOL can be found here.
July 4th Parade
72th Annual Watts-Hillandale Fourth of July parade and Celebration Sunday, July 4th 2021 @10AM begins in Oval Park. Click here for more details.
Information from 2020 Events
Our 35th annual Night of Lights (NOL) celebration will be held on Sunday December 20th .
On Night of Lights we line the streets with luminaries, brightening our neighborhood with the warming glow of candlelight. This year the Watts-Hillandale Mutual Aid group will lead the effort. To comply with COVID protocols and to be extra careful, all luminary orders will be contactless and delivered to your door! Luminary kits will consist of ten white paper bags and ten votive candles. Kits are $5 each. Order as many kits as you’d like (order for a neighbor!) online at https://tinyurl.com/WattsHillandaleLuminaries, or email your order to: asa.eger@gmail.com by Tuesday 12/15. After you submit the form, a PayPal link will appear where you can make your payment. If you would rather pay by check, please make it to “Camille Warren”, and send it to 2107 Sunset Ave.
We have some sand available at 2113 Wilson. We will not include sand this year, to eliminate congregating around the old sand heap. We encourage you to weigh down your bags using your own earth, sand, stones, or bird seed which can become a yummy treat for birds and squirrels. All kits will be delivered to your door on Friday, 12/18 or Saturday 12/19. The rain date for NOL is Wednesday, December 23rd – announcements about postponement due to weather will be posted to the neighborhood listserv and here by that Saturday.
Proceeds from the sale of luminaries will be divided between the Watts-Hillandale Mutual Aid (WHMA) Fund and the Urban Ministries of Durham (UMD) Community Café.
Annual meeting 10/15/2020
This year the annual meeting will be held virtually. A Zoom link, the slate of nominees for the Board of Directors, and the agenda will be posted to the neighborhood listserv and here. We hope that neighbors will attend the meeting and join the WHHNA by paying the annual $6 dues. See you on October 15th!
Highlights of previous events from 2019
ArtWalk 2019
The 17th Annual Watts Hospital Hillandale and Old West Durham ArtWalk was Sunday, November 10, from noon until 5 pm. The map of artists and hosts that participated can also be found at ArtWalk Map 2019.
Annual meeting 10/10/2019
Each year we gather for updates to neighborhood happenings and elect our WHHNA board and, of course, renew our association memberships. This year the meeting was held in the Lecture Hall of the Educational Technology Complex on the NCSSM campus at 7 PM. The power point presentation regarding the West Club Blvd. Corridor Utility Rehabilitation can be found here. The presentation regarding the Ellerbe Creek Sanitary Sewer Outfall Replacement Project can be found here. The presentation regarding the Stormwater Project can be found here . Information about these and other projects of the Durham Water Department can be found here.
Useful Links
Newsletters - PARADE is the quarterly newsletter of the Watts Hospital-Hillandale Neighborhood Association.
Mailing List - The whhna-list is intended for discussion of topics of general interest to residents of the Watts Hospital-Hillandale neighborhood.
updated 12/16/2021 dd
