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 100th birthday.
As a neighborhood, we offer opportunities to throughout the year to gather with friends. See below for some current 2018 activities and some things we did in 2017. Additional information can be found in the Events menu under the Watt’s Happening tab
Fourth of July 2018 Celebration 10 AM – Everyone Welcome
On Wednesday, July 4, at 10 a.m. at Oval Park, our neighborhood will host the 69th annual Watts Hospital-Hillandale Fourth of July Parade and Celebration. It is Durham’s oldest Fourth of July celebration, beginning in 1950 with six children riding their bikes down the block. It is our neighborhood’s great convocation and our gift to the whole Durham community.
If you haven’t participated in our parade, it’s a sight to behold. We often have escorts of police motorcycles, bicycles or cars, and a fire truck. The procession of decorated bicycles, tricycles, wagons, strollers, and people on foot follows the time-honored route from the corner of Oakland Avenue and Club Boulevard, down Club to Alabama, right on Alabama, right on Woodrow, and into Oval Park to enjoy a Coke and sing patriotic songs.
In addition, this year we will collect food for the pantry at Urban Ministries. They have additional need now that school is out. Look for collection bins near the tee shirt sales in Oval Park at parade time. There will also be the opportunity to make cash donations, if you prefer. Most needed items include: canned meat, pasta, tomato sauce, cereal, canned pasta, mac and cheese, peanut butter, hamburger helper, and instant mashed potatoes.
Additional information about the parade and a history of the celebration can be found on the Fourth of July page – see the Watt’s Happening tab, then hover on Events and choose 4th of July Parade. See you on 7/4 in Oval Park!
Some 2017 Activities
Night of Lights 2017
Night of Lights is December 17th, starting at Dusk! Luminaries will be on sale from Noon to 5 PM December 16th and 17th at the Picnic Shelter at Oval Park. On the outside chance that it rains on 12/17, the make up date will be on Thursday 12/21, Winter Solstice. For more details see the event tab under Watt’s Happening.
As part of Night of Lights the neighborhood supports the Community Cafe at Urban Ministries of Durham (umdurham.org) with donations of cash and/or canned food when purchasing luminaries. There also is a special opportunity for up to 75 people attend a party at Watts Grocery on 12/10 – for a $25 donation you can participate. Information about this party and to sign up go to: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0c45aca728a4f85-community.
ArtWalk 2017
The 15th Annual Watts Hospital-Hillandale/Old West Durham and Friends ArtWalk is Sunday, November 12th, 2017, from noon to 5 pm.
Neighbors hosts artists in the Watts Hospital-Hillandale and Old West Durham Neighborhoods. The event is free to attend and features a wide variety of hand-crafted art available for sale.
Additional information about ArtWalk can be found on the ArtWalk page – see the Watt’s Happening tab, then hover on Events and choose ArtWalk. See you on November 12th!
WHHNA Annual Meeting 2017
Please join us on Tuesday, October 17th, at 7 PM in the Fellowship Room at Mosaic Church.
We encourage all neighbors to come, renew their WHHNA memberships, and participate. There will be a presentation from the City of Durham on some upcoming major water and sewer projects affecting Club Boulevard and Oakland Drive. In addition, we will review some major stories of the past year. We will share information about a likely upcoming rezoning case in the north section of our neighborhood, and the ongoing bike and pedestrian infrastructure project on Hillandale. There will be a report from the treasurer followed by a vote on the slate of candidates for the officers and board of directors for the coming year. Additional information about the meeting can be found on the annual meeting page – see the Watt’s Happening tab, then hover on Events and choose Annual meeting. See you on October 17th!
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 6/23/18 dd
