Mary Duke Biddle Estate

Mary Duke Biddle Estate, also known as the James O. Cobb House, is a historic home and estate located at Durham, Durham County, North Carolina. The main house "Pinecrest" is a Tudor Revival style dwelling built in 1927, with additions and interior renovations made between 1935 and 1958. These additions and renovations included Colonial Revival, French Eclectic, Oriental, Art Moderne, and Art Deco elements. The estate property includes an additional three contributing outbuildings and nine contributing structures. They are The Cottage, a gasoline pump, iron picket fence with two ornamental gates, two large brick arches, stone-lined grottoes, bathhouse, tennis court, a swimming pool, a stone fireplace, pergola, a gardener's cottage with an attached greenhouse, and a storage garage. The estate was the home of philanthropist Mary Duke Biddle from 1935 until her death in 1960.^[2]

Mary Duke Biddle Estate
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Mary Duke Biddle Estate, March 2007
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Location	1044 & 1050 W. Forest Hills Blvd., Durham, North Carolina
Coordinates	35°58′59″N 78°55′09″W
Area	8.562 acres (3.465 ha)
Built	1927 (1927), 1935-1958
Architect	Carr, George Watts, Sr.; Bock, Karl
Architectural style	Tudor Revival, Modern Movement, Moderne, Classical Revival, French Eclectic
NRHP reference No.	12001157[1]
Added to NRHP	August 5, 2011

After Mary Duke Biddle's death, the house was owned by noted philanthropist Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans and her husband, James H. Semans, who gave the house to their son, James D.B.T. Semans in 1976.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.^[1] Pinecrest and some of the contributing resources are included in the Forest Hills Historic District.^[3]

In July 2023, the house located at 1415 Bivins St. was burned down as part of a training exercise by the Durham Fire Department, to make room for a proposed housing development.^[4]

References

1. "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 1/07/13 through 1/11/13. National Park Service. January 18, 2013.
2. Betsy Gohdes-Baten (February 2012). "Mary Duke Biddle Estate" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
3. "Developer, residents disagree over proposed housing in affluent Durham neighborhood". WRAL.com. November 6, 2017.
4. "Home on Duke heiress's Durham estate to burn down Friday. Here's why". newsobserver.com. July 14, 2023. Archived from the original on July 14, 2023.