Editing Durham, North Carolina (section)

===1970s–present===
[[File:STRT092 Chesterfield Building DiscoverDurham.jpg|thumb|The renovations of former tobacco buildings are central to the revitalization efforts in downtown Durham]]
In 1970, the Census Bureau reported city's population as 38.8% black and 60.8% white.<ref>{{cite web|title=Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Cities and Other Places: Earliest Census to 1990 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812191959/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |archive-date=August 12, 2012 |df=mdy }}</ref> Durham's growth began to rekindle during the 1970s and 1980s, with the construction of multiple housing developments in the southern part of the city, nearest [[Research Triangle Park]], and the beginnings of downtown revitalization. In 1975, the St. Joseph's Historical Foundation at the [[Hayti Heritage Center]] was incorporated to "preserve the heritage of the old Hayti community, and to promote the understanding of and appreciation for the African American experience and African Americans' contributions to world culture."<ref name=SJHF>{{cite web|url=http://www.hayti.org/sjhf/index.php |title=Welcome to St. Joseph's Historic Foundation at Hayti Heritage Center |access-date=September 16, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060904030558/http://www.hayti.org/sjhf/index.php |archive-date=September 4, 2006 }}</ref>

In 1987, the American Tobacco Factory in Durham closed, leading to an economic downturn and a decline in the city's reputation.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/economic-change-and-traditional-industries| title = Economic Change: From Traditional Industries to the 21st Century Economy| last = Medlin| first = Eric| date = 2020| website = Anchor| publisher = North Carolina Government & Heritage Library| access-date = September 24, 2023}}</ref> A new downtown baseball stadium was constructed for the [[Durham Bulls]] in 1994. The [[Durham Performing Arts Center]] now ranks in the top ten in theater ticket sales in the US according to Pollstar magazine. Many famous people have performed there including [[B.B. King]] and [[Willie Nelson]]. After the departure of the tobacco industry, large-scale renovations of the historic factories into offices, condominiums, and restaurants began to reshape downtown.<ref>{{cite web |date=September 21, 2010 |title=Durham |url=http://www.ourstate.com/articles/durham |url-status=dead |access-date=April 13, 2016 |website=Our State |archive-date=December 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211141353/http://www.ourstate.com/articles/durham/ }}</ref> While these efforts continue, the large majority of Durham's residential and retail growth since 1990 has been along the I-40 corridor in southern Durham County.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lavigne |first=Lora |date=2021-11-23 |title=Officials expect Durham's population to double in the next 25 years |url=https://www.wral.com/officials-expect-durham-s-population-to-double-in-the-next-25-years/19998964/ |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=WRAL News |language=en}}</ref>

Major employers in Durham are Duke University and Duke Medical Center (39,000 employees, 14,000 students), about {{convert|2|mi|km}} west of the original downtown area, and companies in the Research Triangle Park (49,000 employees), about {{convert|10|mi|km}} southeast. These centers are connected by the Durham Freeway ([[North Carolina Highway 147|NC 147]]).