Hollywood's talent is creating a lasting impression on the character and design of the new center campus at the American Tobacco Historic District.

Les St. Leon studied sculpture and painting in Florida. That led him to become one of the major artists working with concrete and metal to create the scenery in Jurassic Park at Universal Studios. Those talents with concrete have now been enlisted for creating an "aged" look to the new concrete-lined streambed that will flow from the old coal shed south all the way to the Fowler courtyard.

The concrete finishers left their work smooth and handsome as they were trained to do. Les and his crew of artists came to town and began to chisel away, chip by chip, at these finished surfaces. Appling a variety of coloring agents, they gave character to the smooth concrete that makes it seem as though the concrete is as old as the Bull Building, built in 1874.

Though Les is a hands-on artist, he also stands back and directs others while he takes in the whole picture. His attention to detail might be focused at one moment on small cracks in a defined area, while the next moment his gaze will be on the scene as a whole. This is only natural for an artist with a background in painting.

The recruitment of people with the talent of Les St. Leon is characteristic of the vision of this entire project. This endeavor was not conceived as a plan to simply fix up some old buildings for modern use.

This vision, from the start, encompassed talent from near and far to save such a significant piece of history for Downtown Durham and all of North Carolina ... and to save it in a fashion that would give it new life for generations to come, a new life that would appreciate its heritage.

Les St. Leon will fly away from the Raleigh-Durham area on June 16, 2004. Thankfully his work will remain as one more unifying characteristic of the restoration in the American Tobacco Historic District.