Scott & Roberts
Known Name(s)
Scott & Roberts
Address
702 Fayetteville St. Durham, NC
Establishment Type(s)
Tailor
Detailed History
Scott & Robert's Tailor This shop is listed in the Green Book at 702 Fayetteville Street, Durham, though the student report focused its attention instead on another Scott & Robert's business at 733 Foster Street, because "[t]he discrepancy in address remains unexplained."In fact, the Fayetteville Street branch, whose location is shown on the 1950 Sanborn map and is listed in the 1948 City Directory, predates the Foster Street site by seven or eight years. This is confirmed by the 2012 National Register nomination of the Foster Street building. While that building is extant, the Green Book-listed Fayetteville Street building is no longer standing. This poses an important question, though: for what purpose are we mapping the Green Book entries? Are we to map only the buildings that housed these establishments, or are we to map the businesses themselves, that provided the services necessary for African American travellers in the middle of the 20th century? If, at a future time, historic plaques are created for exant buildings, similar plaques could be created for businesses that were once listed in the Green Books – at demolished locations – but that have also continued to serve their communities from new properties. —Andrew S. Edmonds
