HAMLIN DRUGS - RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA

Pictured is the newly completed Hamlin Drugs at 126 East Hargett Street in Raleigh shortly after its grand opening, 4 August 1963.

Shaw University graduate and Spanish American War veteran Captain James E. Hamlin opened Peoples Pharmacy at 13 East Hargett Street in 1904, later placing his name on the business in 1910.

Around 1920 Hamlin moved his pharmacy to the Lightner Arcade on East Hargett where it thrived for decades. In 1957, John M. Johnson and Clarence Coleman purchased the business--a short while later building the store seen here.

Hamlin Drugs closed in 2017 upon Johnson’s retirement after nearly 60 years behind the counter at 128 East Hargett. At the time of its closing, it was the longest running Black owned business on East Hargett Street.

The building, with its Mid-century Modern Style façade, remains remarkably intact. As of this writing, it is still owned by the Johnson family and sits vacant.
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Image and narrative source: NO.63.8.1 - From the N&O Negative Collection, State Archives of North Carolina.