Inside the Cobb Building

The Cobb building was built one year after the O'Brien building in 1899, both meant to serve as warehouses for the former W. Duke and Sons Tobacco Company and both were built with an ornate Italiente-style. Over the years, two stories were added to the building. 

During the latter half of the 20th century, Cobb and O'Brien were used mainly as as storage for the Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company, with a carpentry shop on the first floor of the building. Tobacco stems were also processed here.

Today, Cobb is part of the West Village complex in Downtown Durham, housing apartments, retail and office space.