Live in Northgate Park
A middle-income suburb laid out around a city park on Ellerbe Creek, where 372 of the 2,021 residents of 2020 lived on blocks in the special flood hazard area and the neighborhood's own center is mapped inside it.
Northgate Park is an area the City of Durham draws north of downtown, east of North Duke Street and astride Interstate 85: 2,021 residents in 1,017 housing units on 486 acres at the 2020 census. It grew around the park of the same name, which began in 1938 when O. B. Wagoner conveyed land to the City for $1, and the houses that filled in after the Second World War were built for middle-income buyers rather than the wealthy. Ellerbe Creek runs through the park and the guide: 26.8% of the ground is in the special flood hazard area, 372 residents lived on blocks inside it in 2020, and a state watershed plan of about 2003 said floodwaters usually damaged homes here at least once a year. The tax bill is the plain City address rate, 101.63 cents per $100 for fiscal 2027 on the 2025 revaluation's values, and no historic district or overlay touches the line.
A suburb built around a park, and the park is the creek's
One feature (Northgate Park, OBJECTID 137) of the City of Durham's Neighborhoods layer, published in the Reference map service the City runs for its Cityworks work-order system, which carries no date, no author and no definition of a neighborhood; clipped to the City-County 'City of Durham Boundary' (no part falls outside). It is not an association's territory, a plat or an adopted line. On the City-County street centerlines, North Duke Street runs along the west for about 1.7 km, from West Club Boulevard north past Interstate 85; West Murray Avenue and West Delafield Avenue form the north edge as far as North Roxboro Street; on the east the line runs south just west of North Roxboro Street, along the backs of lots, to Interstate 85; and on the south it follows Interstate 85 west, then short stretches near Washington and Ruffin streets, to West Club Boulevard, which closes it at North Duke Street. Interstate 85 also crosses the west end. Glendale Avenue, Farthing Street, Shenandoah Avenue, Washington Street, Acadia Street, West Lavender Avenue and West Maynard Avenue run through it. The whole guide is in Durham County, Durham Public Schools and the 27704 ZIP code apart from 156 residents in 27701.
Northgate Park, on this page, is an area the City of Durham's own Neighborhoods layer draws north of downtown: 486 acres east of North Duke Street, between West Club Boulevard and West Murray Avenue, reaching east to the backs of the lots on North Roxboro Street, with Interstate 85 cutting across it. The City publishes that layer for its work-order system with no date, no author and no definition of a neighborhood, so it is not an association's territory or a plat, and this guide claims nothing about where residents think Northgate Park ends. Clipped to the city limits, it held 2,021 residents in 1,017 housing units at the 2020 census.
The park came first, and it came cheap. Open Durham, reading the deed books, traces the land to the North Durham Land Company of 1908 and much of it to William Farthing's farm. In February 1938 O. B. Wagoner conveyed part of his holdings to the City for $1, the first piece of the park, and a map of that year is the first to carry the name Northgate. Wagoner and the Barfields gave more in 1940 and 1941, laying lots out along Glendale Avenue. What is unusual, Open Durham argues, is who it was built for: unlike Forest Hills or Hope Valley, Northgate Park filled in during the 1940s with houses for middle-income buyers, and Club Boulevard School followed in 1950.
The creek decides more here than anything else. Ellerbe Creek runs through the park and the guide, and 26.8% of the ground is in the special flood hazard area on the City-County insurance layer, the largest share of any Durham guide. By block, 372 residents of 2020 lived inside it, 92 of them in the floodway, and the point this guide is measured from, in the park, is in zone AE on FEMA's map. That is a neighborhood center, not a house: a block point says nothing about one address. The state's Ellerbe Creek watershed plan of about 2003 recorded tremendous flooding in Hurricane Floyd in 1999, again in the fall of 2002 with Acadia Street under water, and said floodwaters usually damaged homes in Northgate Park at least once a year. The 1930s ranger's house in the park was pulled down after repeated flooding in 2014. Whether the City's stormwater work has changed that record was not read.
The bill is the plain City rate. Every parcel pays Durham County's 57.92 cents and the City's 43.71, 101.63 cents per $100 for fiscal 2027, on values the County set at market as of 1 January 2025 and will not reset until 2029. No historic district, National Register district or Neighborhood Protection Overlay touches the line, so there is no design review. North Carolina has no homestead exemption for an ordinary buyer. Stormwater ($5.70 to $23.64 a month by paved area) comes on the City utility bill. Flood insurance is the cost the tax table omits: the City's Class 7 rating takes 15% off premiums in the hazard area, but premiums were not read. Zillow's typical value for the whole 27704 ZIP, condominiums included, was $305,949 in August 2026, down 4.1% on the year; it is a ZIP model, not a Northgate Park price.
Day to day, it is close in and car-light. No GoDurham stop is inside the line, but Route 4 on North Roxboro Street stops 0.58 km from the park every 15 minutes at midday, and rides are fare-free through June 2027. Duke Regional Hospital is 1.45 km north, the Edison Johnson pool is just across Murray Avenue, and Club Boulevard Elementary is inside the line.
- Query the exact address on FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer; the block counts here are not addresses
- Ask the seller for flood insurance and claim history, and price a policy before you offer
- Any land disturbance in a FEMA floodplain needs a City floodplain development permit, fences and sheds included
- Read the seller's bill: values stay at the 1 January 2025 revaluation until 2029
- Run the address through the Durham School Locator; the district already carries a 2027-28 zone set
How Northgate Park got here
- 1908W. D. Clements, N. F. Thompson, P. I. Edwards and C. D. Edwards form the North Durham Land Company on 25 January and convey about 48 acres beside Ellerbe Creek and the Durham and Roxboro road to it, much of it once William Farthing's land.
- 1937The land J. W. Hutchins had bought from the company, which takes in the southern part of the future park, is sold to O. B. Wagoner after his widow's death.
- 1938Wagoner conveys part of his holdings to the City of Durham for $1, the earliest piece of the park, and a map of that year is the first record of the name Northgate.
- 1940Wagoner and J. F. and Ruby Barfield donate a second piece of the park on 15 October, with lots laid out along Glendale Avenue on the map of Section 2 of the Northgate property; section A follows in April 1941.
- 1950Club Boulevard School is built in response to postwar growth and rapid development in Northgate Park, and the City's Barfield Community Center at the park is dedicated on 20 December.
- 1999Hurricane Floyd brings what the state's Ellerbe Creek watershed plan calls tremendous flooding along the creek; it floods parts of Durham again in the fall of 2002, and the plan pictures Acadia Street under water.
- 2003The watershed plan, presented in March, says floodwaters usually damage homes in Northgate Park at least once a year and lists Northgate and Jaycee Park among its stream restoration recommendations.
- 2014The Lavender House in the park, built in the 1930s for park rangers and the mid-1940s home of the children's museum that became the Museum of Life and Science, is demolished after repeated flooding; its stonework is left.
- 2018FEMA's revised maps for Durham take effect on 19 October; the City adopted them, with its 1% future-conditions floodplain, for development review on 4 September.
- 2025Durham County revalues every parcel to market as of 1 January, and the combined City address rate falls from 139.49 to 99.13 cents per $100. In July Tropical Storm Chantal sends Ellerbe Creek over its banks into Durham Central Park downtown.
- 2026The County raises its rate by 2.5 cents to 57.92 and the City holds 43.71, 101.63 cents in all for fiscal 2027; on 22 August GoDurham puts Routes 4 and 4B on North Roxboro Street every 15 minutes from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Saturday.
Northgate Park is the creek bottom the houses were built around
Northgate Park, 43.8 acres at 300 West Club Boulevard with a playground, holds the low ground along Ellerbe Creek in the middle of the guide; the City built a community center there in 1950 and the museum that became the Museum of Life and Science started in a small building in the park. Glendale Heights Park, 16.8 acres on West Murray Avenue, is also inside the line, and Rock Quarry Park, home of the City's Bimbé festival each May, is just across North Duke Street.
What the map does not show: the park is where the floodwater goes. The watershed plan named Northgate and Jaycee Park for stream restoration and a park redesign; whether either was carried out was not read, and neither were the park's hours or programs.
25 places, with real drive times
Road-adjusted distance and drive time from the centre of the community to each destination, nearest first. Filter by category.
Showing 1–12 of 25 places, nearest first.
Method: distances and drive times are computed from OpenStreetMap's Northgate Park place node, inside the park, using straight-line distance multiplied by a road factor and a tiered speed model: honest ranges, not routed times.
Every gym within reach
The nearest exercise is across the street: the City's Edison Johnson Recreation Center and its indoor aquatic center on West Murray Avenue, one of two indoor public pools in Durham, open all year. Walltown Park Recreation Center is about 2 km west. Of the City's two outdoor pools, Hillside opened for 2026 and Forest Hills did not. No private gym was looked up, and hours and fees were not read.
- Edison Johnson Aquatic Center, 500 West Murray Avenue: indoor, all year
- Walltown Park Recreation Center, 1308 West Club Boulevard
- Hillside Pool, 1221 Sawyer Street: outdoor, summer only
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Edison Johnson Aquatic Center open | 500 West Murray Avenue, just north of the line: one of the City's two indoor pools, open all year. Hours and fees were not read. | 2–4 min |
| Edison Johnson Recreation Center open | The City recreation center in the same building on West Murray Avenue. Programs were not read. | 2–4 min |
| Walltown Park Recreation Center open | 1308 West Club Boulevard, west across North Duke Street in Walltown. | 4–6 min |
| Hillside Pool open | 1221 Sawyer Street: the City's outdoor pool that opened for the 2026 summer season. Its hours were not read. | 8–12 min |
| Forest Hills Pool closed | 1639 University Drive: the City's other outdoor pool did not open in 2026, a cut in the fiscal 2027 budget. | 8–12 min |
The free option is the park itself and the walk to Rock Quarry Park.
One zone at the point, with a dual language school inside the line
Durham Public Schools assigns by the base zone of the home. On the district's 2026-27 layer the point is zoned for Club Boulevard Elementary (C for 2024-25, B for 2023-24), inside the line with a dual language immersion program, Brogden Middle (D both years, with growth that exceeded expectations) and Riverside High (C both years), and so were all 2,021 residents of 2020 by block. No school-level 2025-26 grade was in any file read. A family zoned for a magnet program may ask for an opt-out transfer to a traditional school in the Central region.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Club Boulevard Elementary School | Durham Public Schools | The point is zoned for Club Boulevard Elementary on the district's 2026-27 layer, and so were all 2,021 residents of 2020 by block point. It is inside the line at 400 West Club Boulevard, 0.48 km from the point, and the zone's program is dual language immersion; a family zoned for a magnet program may ask for an opt-out transfer to a traditional school in the region. NC School Performance Grades: C (66) for 2024-25, B (72) for 2023-24; no school-level 2025-26 grade was found in any file read. |
| Brogden Middle School | Durham Public Schools | The zone at the point and for every resident, at 1001 Leon Street, 1.16 km away in a straight line, with a dual language immersion program. Graded D (46) for 2024-25 and 2023-24; growth exceeded expectations in 2024-25. |
| Riverside High School | Durham Public Schools | The zone at the point and for every resident, at 3218 Rose of Sharon Road, 6.13 km northwest in a straight line. Graded C (62) for 2024-25 and C (61) for 2023-24. |
| George Watts Elementary School | Durham Public Schools | The Central region's Montessori elementary, one of the application programs open to families at the point; E. K. Powe is the region's IB elementary. Programs fill by application, and a region decides eligibility, not a seat. |
| Durham School of the Arts | Durham Public Schools | A district-wide arts middle and high school by application. The region's other high school options are STEM at Southern, IB at Hillside and four early colleges. |
Zones are moving: the district already publishes a 2027-28 set. Run the exact address through the Durham School Locator before you commit. The Central region's application programs include George Watts Montessori and E. K. Powe IB.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel: the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- Highs near 11.1 °C and lows near -0.1 °C at Raleigh-Durham International on the 1991 to 2020 normals, with 18 nights at or below freezing, the most of any month
- 6.6 cm of snow on the normal, half of a year that averages about 13 cm; ice on the roads matters more than depth
- Values stay at the 1 January 2025 revaluation until 2029: a buyer's bill follows the seller's assessment, not the price
- Highs near 13.2 °C, 13.8 freezing nights and 3.6 cm of snow on the normal
- The Durham Farmers' Market keeps its winter hours downtown, Saturdays 9 a.m. to noon
- With the trees bare, walk the creek banks in the park and see how close the houses on Acadia Street sit to the water
- Highs near 17.4 °C and 104 mm of rain on the normal, the wettest month before summer
- Ellerbe Creek drains some of the most paved ground in the county; check an address on FEMA's map before the spring rains, not after
- 7.8 freezing nights on the normal, the last real run of frost
- Highs near 22.6 °C and 1.1 freezing nights on the normal
- The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival runs downtown from 1 to 4 April 2027, its 28th year
- The Farmers' Market goes to 8 a.m. on Saturdays and adds its Wednesday afternoon market from 15 April
- Highs near 26.7 °C and 2.8 days at or above 32 °C on the normal
- The City's Bimbé Cultural Arts Festival, honoring African and African American heritage, is held at Rock Quarry Park, about 1 km west; the 56th ran on 16 May 2026 and the 2027 date was not posted
- 86 mm of rain on the normal
- Highs near 30.8 °C and 12.1 days at or above 32 °C on the normal
- The County and the City adopt the next year's rates: in 2026 the County on 8 June and the City on 15 June
- Hillside, the City's outdoor pool, opened for the 2026 season on 10 June; Forest Hills stayed shut
- The hottest month, highs near 32.7 °C and 18.6 days at or above 32 °C, with 128 mm of rain in thunderstorms
- On 6 and 7 July 2025 Tropical Storm Chantal put Ellerbe Creek over its banks into Durham Central Park downstream of downtown's edge
- The City's stormwater fee, by roof and paving area, runs from 1 July: $5.70, $11.80 or $23.64 a month on the utility bill
- Highs near 31.5 °C and 120 mm of rain on the normal
- Since 22 August 2026 Routes 4 and 4B on North Roxboro Street run every 15 minutes from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Saturday
- Durham Public Schools opens the year; confirm the zone for the address, because the district already carries a 2027-28 zone set
- 131 mm of rain on the normal, the wettest month at the airport, with highs near 28.1 °C
- Hurricane Floyd's flooding along Ellerbe Creek came in September 1999, and Helene put part of Durham Central Park under water on 27 September 2024
- CenterFest fills downtown for a weekend; the 2026 festival ran on 19 and 20 September and the 2027 dates were not posted
- Highs near 22.8 °C and 86 mm of rain on the normal
- GoDurham's Route 45 runs a shuttle to the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh, 15 to 25 October 2026
- The Wednesday Farmers' Market ends on 15 October
- Highs near 17.2 °C and 7.8 freezing nights on the normal
- The leaves come off the park's creek corridor; the yard waste cart is $7.50 a month on the City utility bill for households that sign up
- 84 mm of rain on the normal
- Highs near 12.6 °C, 15.4 freezing nights and 2 cm of snow on the normal
- The Durham Holiday Parade goes down Main Street downtown on Saturday 12 December 2026 at 10 a.m., rain or shine
- The Barfield Community Center at the park was dedicated on 20 December 1950
7 more photographs of Durham and the region
Drawn from the site's shared, freely licensed Durham photo library, not photographs of Northgate Park itself. Filter by category.
Showing 1–7 of 7 photographs.
About these photographs. Openly licensed images from the site's shared Durham library, found on Wikimedia Commons and served from there with full attribution. None of them is presented as a photograph of Northgate Park.