The fate of the house where famed civil rights photographer Alex Rivera lived and worked will be decided sometime today, reports the Herald-Sun.
The house at 1712 Fayetville St. has caused a tiff between North Carolina Central University and members of the surrounding community. The school wants Rivera’s former home demolished to make room for its expansion projects, while some activists see it as a linchpin for the Fayeteville Street Historic District.
Rivera, a former NCCU publicist, sold the 96-year-old house to the school before his death earlier this year. The state of North Carolina declared it a house of “statewide historical significance” last April, despite his insistence that it does not.
Durham’s Historic Preservation Commission can decide to approve a request to demolish the house, or delay its razing for up to one year.