On Thursday, February 5, we’re heading across the street to Durham Arts Council’s PSI Theater (120 Morris Street) and invite you to join us for an evening of conversation and discovery, exploring the origins of one of North Carolina’s most influential innovations, Research Triangle Park.

Beginning at 6:00 p.m., The Early History of RTP: A Fireside Chat, brings together individuals closely connected to Research Triangle Park’s formative years for an intimate discussion of the Park’s beginnings and its evolving relationship with Durham.

Moderating the conversation is Virginia “Ginny” Rand Bowman, managing general partner of Northgate Realty and a longtime Durham business and civic leader. A Durham native, Bowman grew up immersed in commercial real estate through her family’s work and later returned home to help guide the transformation of Northgate Shopping Center through decades of economic and cultural change. Her experience navigating redevelopment, mixed-use spaces, and community-centered planning informed her service on the Research Triangle Foundation board, where she contributed insight as RTP evolved from a traditional research park into a more collaborative, multi-use environment.

Bowman will be joined by panelists whose professional careers intersect directly with the infrastructure, architecture, and economic development that made RTP possible:

• John Atkins, co-founder of O’Brien/Atkins, represents the architectural vision that shaped RTP’s physical landscape. His firm—recognized with more North Carolina AIA design awards than any other in the state and named AIA North Carolina Firm of the Year in 1998—has designed corporate offices, research facilities, and biotech laboratories for many of the Triangle’s most prominent RTP tenants, including Cisco Systems, Glaxo Wellcome, Biogen, and MCI WorldCom. Atkins brings perspective on how design, innovation, and place-making supported RTP’s growth and identity.
• David Beischer is President of Garden View Realty, Inc., a Durham-based real estate development and property management firm. Garden View Realty serves as the master developer of the 1,100-acre Croasdaile Farm residential development, which includes single-family and multi-family luxury homes as well as Croasdaile Village, a 100-acre continuing care retirement community. Beischer is the great-nephew of George Watts Hill, whose landholdings and civic leadership played a significant role in Durham’s growth and the broader story of land stewardship in the region during RTP’s formative years. His perspective highlights how private land ownership, philanthropy, and long-term planning shaped Durham’s development alongside the rise of Research Triangle Park. Beischer also serves as President and a board member of the Fox Family Foundation, which provides philanthropic support to nonprofit organizations across the Triangle.
• Robert “Robb” D. Teer Jr. has spent his career at the intersection of transportation, construction, and economic development. Beginning in the late 1960s with the Durham-based Nello L. Teer Company, he helped build major portions of North Carolina’s interstate system, critical to the accessibility and growth of RTP. Through his later work in real estate development and as founder of Teer Associates, Teer collaborated with major RTP companies including IBM, GlaxoSmithKline, United Therapeutics, and Verizon. He also served more than two decades on the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority, overseeing over $1 billion in projects that strengthened the region’s national and global connectivity.

Together, the panelists will share little-known stories and behind-the-scenes insights into how vision, collaboration, infrastructure, and design shaped Research Triangle Park and influenced its long-standing relationship with Durham.

This program is presented in conjunction with the Museum of Durham History’s current exhibition, Made in the Triangle: The Story of RTP, which explores the people, partnerships, and ideas behind the Park’s creation. The fireside chat expands on the exhibit by centering first-hand experiences and personal reflections, offering audiences a deeper understanding of RTP’s local roots and regional impact.

A reception will immediately follow the program in the Semans Gallery.

Event Details
Date: Thursday, Feb 5, 2026

Time: 6:00 PM
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Location: Durham Arts Council’s PSI Theater, 120 Morris Street, Durham, NC 27701 ( In Downtown Durham)
Reception: Semans Gallery

Site is accessible / ramps and elevator available

This event offers a rare opportunity to hear directly from leaders whose work helped shape RTP and to reflect on how Durham’s past continues to inform the region’s future.

For more information about the event or the exhibition Made in the Triangle: The Story of RTP, visit the Museum of Durham History online at modh.org.