Lucky Strike Water Tower rises impressively over the buildings that once housed the American Tobacco Company, which at one time produced 80 percent of the country’s tobacco products. For close to a century, workers gathered here to manufacture brands like Lucky Strike, whose name is emblazoned on the tower and neighboring smokestack. Though cigarette production ended in Durham in 1987, the 100-year history of tobacco in this Piedmont city continues to influence daily life. Today, the American Tobacco Campus has been transformed into a gathering place of another kind, where people come together to live, work, eat, and play, in the historic buildings and on the grassy courtyard. And, at the center of it all, Lucky Strike still makes its mark.
Feature Image: From tobacco icon to local hangout, Lucky Strike Water Tower adapts easily, making it an enduring symbol on a changing skyline.
Why does this Haywood County town have some of the cleanest water in the state? It’s the result of the community’s efforts to keep the forests in its watershed pristine.
The spectacular views in North Carolina’s High Country aren’t just inspiration for writers, painters, and sculptors. Those landscapes — the rugged gray face of Grandfather Mountain, the vibrant fall leaves, the deep green meadows — are brushstrokes on Earth’s own canvas.
The sprawling vineyards and wide-open skies that stretch for miles across seven North Carolina counties offer relaxing getaways — not to mention some of the state’s finest wines — for Sunday drivers aching to escape the rush of city life.
Nothing lasts forever — and that’s what makes many of our cherished moments so special.
