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.