Inside the O'Brien Building
The O'Brien Building, located at 602 West Main Street in Durham, was built in 1898. The building would be repurposed for different uses during it's life as a part of the Liggett & Myers Company campus, and would be connected to it's neighboring buildings with bridges over Main Street and Morgan Street.
In the latter half of the 20th century, tobacco was received and opened in the O'Brien building. The building also housed outlying departments outside of the main Liggett & Myer Cigarette Factory building, and was used for processing tobacco, including creating blends for different brands of cigarettes, and also for storage for tobacco before the drying process took place.
Inside the O'Brien Building
In the latter half of the 20th century, tobacco was received and opened in the O'Brien building. The building also housed outlying departments outside of the main Liggett & Myer Cigarette Factory building, and was used for processing tobacco, including creating blends for different brands of cigarettes, and also for storage for tobacco before the drying process took place.
The traditional tobacco blend used in the United States consists of three types of tobacco: Turkish or Oriental, flue-cured brightleaf, and burley. These types are blended together in different quantities to produce different brands of cigarettes. A bale of Turkish tobacco is pictured here. It has been transferred from the warehouse to the first floor of the 1898 O’Brien Building to be processed. James Nichols is preparing to lift the bale with his forklift.
In the latter half of the 20th century, tobacco was received and opened in the O'Brien building. The building also housed outlying departments outside of the main Liggett & Myer Cigarette Factory building, and was used for processing tobacco, including creating blends for different brands of cigarettes, and also for storage for tobacco before the drying process took place.
Harold Grinstead and James Nichols use a scale to measure the correct amount of Turkish tobacco for the blend.
In the latter half of the 20th century, tobacco was received and opened in the O'Brien building. The building also housed outlying departments outside of the main Liggett & Myer Cigarette Factory building, and was used for processing tobacco, including creating blends for different brands of cigarettes, and also for storage for tobacco before the drying process took place.
Art Collins inspects as sliced Turkish tobacco travels by conveyor belt to the direct conditioning cylinder (DCC), where the tobacco will be heated and moistened.
In the latter half of the 20th century, tobacco was received and opened in the O'Brien building. The building also housed outlying departments outside of the main Liggett & Myer Cigarette Factory building, and was used for processing tobacco, including creating blends for different brands of cigarettes, and also for storage for tobacco before the drying process took place.
Paul Williams stands on the second floor of O’Brien with a large barrel called a hogshead. When fully packed with tobacco, the hogshead could weigh as much as 1,000 pounds. The hogshead was on a jack so Williams could move it from one location to another. It would be filled with tobacco dust, particles too small to use in cigarettes, which would be sent out to make reconstituted tobacco.
In the latter half of the 20th century, tobacco was received and opened in the O'Brien building. The building also housed outlying departments outside of the main Liggett & Myer Cigarette Factory building, and was used for processing tobacco, including creating blends for different brands of cigarettes, and also for storage for tobacco before the drying process took place.
This conveyor belt moved the burley tobacco from the dryer to the tobacco feeder, a large container that distributed tobacco across various devices that processed it.