2602 Broad Street, Durham, NC 27704

Have a crush on affordable Modernist architecture? Modernist ranch built in 1976 by George Birmingham sits close to downtown Durham, just north of I-85, south of Stadium Dr. Roof replaced 2025. Natural gas Furnace/HVAC replaced 2026. Wood siding exterior.

Fresh paint inside and out, including smooth ceilings. Copper pipes. Vapor barrier in crawlspace. 1133 sf 3 BR, 1.5 BA one level features open eat-in kitchen with paneled wall accent, subway tile backsplash, quartz countertops. Luxury Vinyl throughout plus attractive original linoleum in the kitchen and bathrooms.

Also quartz countertops dress up both bathroom vanities. Bio on George Birmingham from follows: "Birmingham was born in Durham. He served in the Navy (SeaBees) during WWII, building the airstrip in Guam that launched the US nuclear attack on Japan. After the war, he went into the construction business with his father, but they parted ways amicably after a while.

From then on, Birmingham built dozens of small, mostly cinder block houses with design touches generally found in larger homes in Durham and managed them as rentals, especially a group of houses on Ashley that would become known as Birmingham Woods. He built numerous more traditional homes for prominent Durham citizens all over Durham, many designed by local architects of the period.

During the 1980's, Birmingham exposed incompetence by the City Inspections Department which was subsequently verified and resulted in the resignation of the department head. He led classes for the public on homebuilding and appeared in a 1991 NC Public Television documentary on residential building.

In 1986, he turned the construction company over to his son Andy. During the late 1980's and 1990's, he was locally famous as a private building inspector. If you were the buyer, you wanted George on your team. He was known for finding hidden problems in houses that were (usually unintentionally) covered up by present or past owners. He served as expert witness in several lawsuits, one winning $930,000 in damages."