Chapel Hill Street between Market Street and the Five Points intersection is not the most pedestrian-friendly stretch of downtown Durham. The former Herald-Sun building, with its old printing press and historic photos, reminds me of the relics many daily newspapers have become. The monolithic Marriott hotel eclipses the sun; if a garden were planted on this block, the growing season would probably be more hospitable to Swiss chard than tomatoes.
What this street lacks in view, it compensates for in smells. Most mornings, Ninth Street Bakery, which is at Five Points, emits a fragrance of dough. Two or three times a week, I buy a Carrot Megamuffin from Ninth Street—convincing myself that if it has carrots, it must be healthy—and intentionally stroll through the shadows, leaving behind contrails of sugar.
I took this photo on the block as two people cut through a slice of sunshine.
Lisa Sorg is the editor of the INDY. Her blog documents the small moments of life in the Triangle in photographs and stories—as a reminder to why we live here.
