Old West Durham, around the Ninth Street shops, is in ZIP code 27705 and zoned for E.K. Powe Elementary, Brogden Middle and Riverside High.
Last checked Oct. 12, 2026. Sources: the City of Durham’s planning GIS data, Durham Public Schools’ 2026-27 attendance zones, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s 2025-26 accountability data, NCDOT’s highway exit data, OpenStreetMap and Zillow Research.
Old West Durham is the neighborhood around the Ninth Street shops, between Duke University’s East Campus and its West Campus. OpenStreetMap names it as a place, and the city has its own boundary for it: the Old West neighborhood protection overlay, a zoning overlay adopted May 7, 2018, in case Z18-02, according to the city’s planning data. The overlay covers about 0.17 square mile, all in ZIP code 27705.
What this means for you
- Zoned high school: Riverside High, 47.5% of state tests at grade level in 2025-26. Check an address with the city’s school locator.
- Home value: $467,307 in ZIP code 27705 in August 2026, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.
- Nearest freeway exit: Durham Freeway (N.C. 147) Exit 14, Swift Avenue, or Exit 15A, Elba Street and Trent Drive, each about 1.5 miles by road.
Part of our Durham neighborhoods guide.
Where it is
The overlay takes in the blocks around Ninth Street north of Duke’s East Campus, with E.K. Powe Elementary on Ninth Street inside it and Oval Drive Park at its north edge. The older commercial blocks of Ninth Street are part of the West Durham Historic District, an “early 20th c. mixed use district” of about 137 acres listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, according to the city’s historic district data.
The city’s Place Type Map marks most of the overlay as Established Residential and part of it as a Transit Opportunity Area, which the city’s comprehensive plan describes as places “at the junction of major transit stops with development that supports the use of transit as a primary mode of transportation.”
Schools
Old West Durham is in Durham Public Schools. We checked 384 points across the overlay against the district’s 2026-27 attendance zones; every one was zoned for the same three schools. E.K. Powe Elementary is on Ninth Street, inside the neighborhood.
| Level | School | At grade level | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elementary | E.K. Powe Elementary, 913 Ninth St. | 54.2% | Not met |
| Middle | Brogden Middle, 1001 Leon St. | 44.6% | Exceeded |
| High | Riverside High, 3218 Rose of Sharon Road | 47.5% | Met |
“At grade level” is the share of state tests at grade level or above in 2025-26, from the state’s accountability data; the district figure was 53.2%. Check your own address in the school locator or call the Office of Student Assignment at 919-560-2059. More in our schools guide.
Home values
Zillow publishes no figure for Old West Durham alone. The Zillow Home Value Index is a modeled typical value for the middle third of homes, not a sale price.
| Area | August 2026 | August 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZIP code 27705 | $467,307 | $474,034 | -1.4% |
| City of Durham, for comparison | $389,634 | $403,339 | -3.4% |
Trends are on our home prices page.
Parks and trails
From the city’s park data and Durham Parks and Recreation:
- Oval Drive Park, 2200 W. Club Blvd., 3.4 acres with a playground, at the north edge.
- Crest Street Park, 2503 Crest St., 6.7 acres, about 0.3 mile west.
- Walltown Park, 1308 W. Club Blvd., about 0.4 mile east.
- Indian Trail Park, 2309 Indian Trail, 8.6 acres with a trail, about half a mile north.
More in our parks and trails guide.
Getting around
- Durham Freeway (N.C. 147): Exit 14 (Swift Avenue, Duke University East Campus) and Exit 15A (Elba Street, Trent Drive) are each about 1.5 miles by road from the middle of the overlay; Exit 15B (Hillandale Road, Fulton Street) is about 1.9 miles. Exit names are NCDOT’s.
- City Hall (101 City Hall Plaza): about 2.3 miles by road.
- Raleigh-Durham International Airport: about 16.6 miles by road.
- Buses: GoDurham Routes 11 and 11B stop on Green Street at Iredell Street and on Hillsborough Road at Carolina Avenue, according to the city’s bus stop data. See GoDurham.
Distances were measured with the OSRM routing engine on OpenStreetMap roads from a point in the middle of the area. They are distances, not drive times. More in our getting around guide.
Groceries and everyday stores
OpenStreetMap lists these within about half a mile:
- Supermarkets: Harris Teeter, 2107 Hillsborough Road; Food Lion, 2922 W. Main St.; Whole Foods Market, 621 Broad St.
- Shopping: the Ninth Street shops, at the south edge of the neighborhood.
How we built this page
The area is the Old West neighborhood protection overlay in the city’s planning data; OpenStreetMap names the neighborhood Old West Durham, and the National Register’s West Durham Historic District covers the Ninth Street blocks. School zones come from the district’s 2026-27 attendance zones, checked at 384 points; a home near a zone line can differ. We found no city or county registry of homeowners associations for Old West Durham, so this page does not describe them.
Frequently asked questions
What schools is Old West Durham zoned for?
All of the Old West Durham overlay area is zoned for E.K. Powe Elementary, Brogden Middle and Riverside High in Durham Public Schools’ 2026-27 attendance zones.
What ZIP code is Old West Durham?
Old West Durham is in ZIP code 27705. Zillow’s Home Value Index for 27705 was $467,307 in August 2026, down 1.4% from August 2025.
What is the Old West Durham neighborhood protection overlay?
It is a zoning overlay the city adopted for the neighborhood on May 7, 2018, in zoning case Z18-02, according to the city’s planning data. It covers about 0.17 square mile around Ninth Street.
How far is Old West Durham from downtown Durham?
About 2.3 miles by road from the middle of the neighborhood to City Hall, measured on OpenStreetMap roads.
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