The Leary-Coletta House is the principal example of the Shingle Style in Durham and one of the most notable in the North Carolina Piedmont (Claudia Roberts Brown, “Cleveland Street Historic District,” National Register of Historic Places nomination, 1984). The Durham Globe reported on December 30, 1891 that the “handsome new residence” of Col. S. L. Leary was nearing completion and would be ready for occupancy in February. It evidently took longer to complete than anticipated. It served as a rental house and a boarding house for some years.