Durham's century-old pink building gets a creative makeover

Flashback: The 100-year-old pink building on the north side of downtown once was a grocery store with rooms for rent upstairs.

What to expect: The ground floor is now a gallery containing paintings, sculptures and photographs. The work currently on display comes from the collections of the owners and 12 other local art collectors.

• They dug out and soundproofed the basement to create a recording studio where Ammons, a musician, tinkers and rehearses. The studio is also planned for meditative sound baths, album listening parties and recording music, podcasts and audiobooks.
• The couple converted the second-floor boarding rooms into private studios rented to architects, artists and other creatives.
• There's also a kitchen — they plan to eventually sell coffee and alcohol — as well as outdoor gathering spaces overlooking the future Durham Rail Trail.

What they're saying: "We made the space that we wanted to be in," Ritchie tells Axios. "It was so far out of our comfort zone. Are we developers? No. But figuring out how to preserve this story and how to make these spaces function was fun."

• "We want people to feel like they can experiment and collaborate across mediums," Ammons says, adding that she's enjoying putting down roots and moving into a chapter of her career where she can "ignite it for other people."

The latest: After a September open house, Boardinghouse is now opening its gallery to the public.

📍 If you go: 703 W. Trinity Ave.

• Gallery hours are 11am-5pm Wednesday through Friday and 2pm-5pm on Saturday. Or make an appointment.
• Check Instagram for events.