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coastal towns
Beaufort,
SC
Bluffton, SC
Brunswick
Islands, NC
Charleston &
its Resort Islands, SC
Conway, SC
Currituck, NC
Edisto Island, SC
Georgetown, SC
Hardeeville, SC
Hilton Head
Island, SC
Jasper
County, SC
Mount
Pleasant, SC
North Myrtle
Beach, SC
Myrtle
Beach, SC
Northeast NC: Edenton, New Bern, Elizabeth City, Hertford
Ocean Isle Beach, NC
Outer Banks, NC
Pawleys
Island/Litchfield, SC
Savannah,
GA
Southport, NC
Summerville, SC
Walterboro, SC
Washington, NC
Whiteville, NC
Wilmington, NC
Books About The
Carolinas
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Water culture.
You can’t escape H2O in Wilmington. The Cape Fear River drew the earliest settlers, and it’s where the USS North Carolina Battleship is moored. You can tour this important WWII vessel and catch a patriotic concert. The river flows into the Atlantic, home of white beaches and lively regattas.
Photos courtesy of Cape Fear Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau
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Timeless pursuit.
Ancient and global, the art and sport of fishing is practiced routinely on the beaches near Wilmington. Aim for flounder, tarpon, wahoo, and blue marlin in the milder months. In winter,
you’ll catch king mackerel, tuna, and sea bass.
Photo courtesy of Cape Fear Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau
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Girls, get your glass slippers.
Enchantment doesn’t disappear at midnight along North Carolina’s Crystal Coast. Antebellum mansions and horse-drawn carriages are part of the scenery in Wilmington. Meanwhile, magic of the seafaring awaits on Kure and Wrightsville beaches.
Photo courtesy of Cape Fear Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau
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Wilmington Pop.:
91,207
New Hanover
County Pop.:
182,591 |
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WILMINGTON, NC
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION:
interesting insights
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t was the nature of the coastal geography of North Carolina that first made Wilmington a viable settlement, and later, the largest city in the eastern portion of the state, as it remains.
Today, in addition to its other industries, it is the temperate, sunny climate that has built Wilmington’s reputation as “Hollywood East.”
Not surprisingly, perhaps, that combination of river and ocean waterfronts with year-round pleasant weather has also made it a desirable destination for working folks and retirees alike. We spoke with several Wilmington area newcomers, to discover what drove their choices.
“The climate is ideal, in my estimation,” says Thomas Davis. “No shoveling of snow, no scraping off of car windows, and you don’t have to buy any special tires for the winter,” comments Greg Darrow. “We think our community really has a Floridian feel,” says Wendy Gilbert.
In the early days of European settlement, though, it wasn’t so much the climate as the wide Cape Fear River and a reasonably safe passage from the Atlantic Ocean that made Wilmington a viable coastal town. Up river just far enough to provide safe docking, Wilmington became a port city when most of the east coast of the state was either blocked by ever-shifting barrier islands or by the often-swirling waters that separated the islands. |
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till an active port city today, Wilmington has taken advantage of its Cape Fear River frontage with a long Riverwalk, a hotel, shops, tour boats and several very pleasant restaurants, all with a view of the majestic, moored USS North Carolina Battleship on the opposite shore.
The temperate, sunny climate has also drawn a new industry. In 1984, a little movie called “Firestarter,” starring the very young Drew Barrymore, became the first feature-length movie shot in Eastern North Carolina. Since then, in addition to a working studio for “Dawson’s Creek” and then “One Tree Hill,” numerous movies, TV programs and commercials have been shot in and around Wilmington, gaining it the “Hollywood East” nickname.
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In addition to the weather, Wilmington also has a business-friendly climate, which has brought a number of other companies to the area, including BASF, Corning, DuPont, General Electric, International Paper, National Gypsum and Terex, as well as several pharmaceutical and other large employers with lesser-known names.
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Another large area employer is also one of the reasons many young people – and their parents – come to the area for the first time (and often stay). The University of North Carolina at Wilmington, which has a well-rounded curriculum that not coincidentally includes a major in filmmaking, has introduced Wilmington to quite a few youngsters who mostly knew the campus wasn’t far from a beach.
Wendy and Jason Gilbert, residents of Waterford of the Carolinas, in Leland, are a good example. They’ve lived in the Cape Fear region for 12 years, since coming there – in Wendy’s case, from Winston-Salem, N.C. – to attend UNCW. They lived in Ogden for most of the time, but came to Waterford when Wendy was expecting their first child.
“We were seeking a good community, but also one convenient to our workplaces,” she says. “We each have about a twenty-minute commute. But we really like Waterford for its quality of life, the ready beach access, the riverfront and the friendly people. It’s an inside joke for us, but we call it ‘the resort’ now that we’ve been here for a while.”
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For Greg and Marilyn Darrow and Thomas Davis, UNCW also played a
role – but in both cases, it was daughters attending the university that introduced them to the area.
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For Thomas Davis, a lawyer who retired in 2002, home had been in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. But when his daughter came south for school, he bought a condominium for her at Carolina Beach and started spending the occasional getaway in the area. After retirement, he began to use that getaway about half of each year, until he moved in full-time in 2004.
Now, the daughter has headed inland to Charlotte and he is moving to Bannerman Station in downtown Wilmington.
“The beach has been nice, but living in town allows me to be close to where the action is,” Mr. Davis says.
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“There’s always something going on with Thalian Hall, the restaurants, the Riverwalk and everything else.
It will be nice to be able to walk to all of them.”
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Mr. and Mrs. Darrow also bought a condominium for their daughter, at Marshes at River’s Edge, when she was in school. She recently graduated and will stay put, but the Darrows are building their own place at Brunswick Forest.
“We came from a very tight neighborhood in Rochester, N.Y., and used to caravan through this area on group trips to Myrtle Beach,” Mr. Darrow notes, “but when I retired from Kodak after 32 years of service and six years of downsizing, we liked the area and the fact that our property taxes dropped significantly. We’re already working on enticing friends from Rochester, and our 25-year-old son is getting a little tempted after making visits here.”
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Sandy and Don Salsbery, who are living in the D.C. suburbs in Maryland for two more years before retirement to Wilmington, came to the town through a different means: an extended and thorough search that covered ground from North Carolina south to Florida. Wilmington came up the winner.
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“We’ve been in the D.C. area for a long time now, and it’s large, expensive and cold,” says Mrs. Salsbery. “We wanted a place with a proximity to the mountains and the water, but with an emphasis on the water. But in Wilmington, we fell in love with the people, too. They’re gracious, open and friendly. We wanted an active community, including a college, and we love the appeal of what we see as a mini-Washington environment – but warmer.”
“We met Sean and Keith of Premier Builders when they were working on Westport,” she continues. “We were too late for that community, but when they moved on to Brunswick Forest, we reconnected. For now, the house is our vacation getaway, but in a couple of years, it will be our permanent home.”
These are strong
recommendations for a
growing community (for a
time during the 1990s,
Wilmington was the
second-fastest-growing
city in the country).
But, given the climate
and the economic
activity, it’s easy to
see why folks are still
flocking to this
riverfront city near the
sea.
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What to do & What to see
USS North Carolina Battleship
The most-decorated U.S. battleship of World War II is moored up just across the Cape Fear from downtown. Eagles Island.
910.251-5797 • www.battleshipnc.com
Burgwin-Wright House
Dating from 1770-71, home of the colony’s treasurer and early port businessman.
224 Market Street • 910.762.0570 www.wilmingtontoday.com/attractions/Mansions/BurgwinWright.html
Latimer House
Built in 1852, this Victorian family home is also the Lower Cape Fear Historical Society’s home base.
126 South Third Street • 910.762.0492 • www.latimerhouse.org
Bellamy Mansion Museum
From 1859-1861, this grand home also served as the Union military headquarters at the end of the Civil War.
Corner, Fifth & Market Streets • 910.251.3700 • www.bellamymansion.org
Cameron Art Museum
North Carolina and American art from the 18th Century to the present.
3201 S. 17th Street (corner of Independence Blvd.) • 910.395.5999 • www.cameronartmuseum.com
Cape Fear Museum of History & Science
One of the state’s oldest history museums,
focusing on the southeastern coast.
814 Market Street • 910.341.4350 • www.capefearmuseum.com
Children’s Museum of Wilmington
A hands-on learning center for the kids.
Corner, Second and Orange Streets • 910.254.3534 • www.playwilmington.org
Screen Gems Studios
Tours of the site of many a movie and TV show filmings, on weekends
– call for scheduled tour times.
1223 N. 23rd Street • 910.343.3433 • www.screengemsstudios.com
Of interest nearby: Fort Fisher State Historic Site and Civil War Museum and N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher (Kure Beach);
Wrightsville Beach Museum of History (Wrightsville Beach).
Spend the Night
Hilton Wilmington Riverside & Riverview Suites
Right on the Riverwalk and within an easy stroll of downtown activities.
301 N. Water Street • 910.763.5900 • www.wilmingtonhilton.com
Graystone Inn
One of several charming house inns in the historic district. Nine rooms.
100 S. Third Street • 910.763.2000 • www.graystoneinn.com
Front Street Inn
215 S. Front Street • 910.762.6442 • www.frontstreetinn.com
The Verandas
A beautiful eight-room bed & breakfast.
202 Nun Street • 910.251.2212 • www.verandas.com
The Hoge-Wood House B&B
Three well-kept rooms on historic Third Street near downtown.
407 S. Third Street • 910.762.5299 • www.hogewoodhouse.com
Food, Glorious Food
Pilot House and Elijah’s
Two different menus, but the same delightful riverfront setting.
2 Ann Street • 910.343.0200 or 910.343.1448 • www.pilothouserest.com or www.elijahs.com
Deluxe
Well-made and well-served New American cuisine with an eclectic wine list.
114 Market Street • 910.251.0333 • www.deluxenc.com
Port Land Grille
The focus here is on progressive regional American food and wine.
Suite 111, Lumina Station, Eastwood Road • 910.256.6056 • www.portlandgrille.com
Indochine
The favored destination for Thai and Vietnamese flavorings.
7 Wayne Drive • 910.251.9229 • www.indochinewilmington.com
Front Street Brewery
For beer enthusiasts, good meals mixed with delicious local brews.
9 N. Front Street • 910.251.1935 • www.frontstreetbrewery.com
Oceanic
703 S. Lumina Ave., Wrightsville Beach • 910.256.5551 • www.oceanicrestaurant.com
Bluewater
An American Grill
4 Marin St., Wrightsville Beach (Intercoastal) • 910.256.8500 • www.bluewaterdining.com
Jack Mackeral’s Island Grill
113 K Ave., Kure Beach • 910.458.7668
Also worth a look. . .
Caffe Phoenix, Circa 1922
and Henry’s.
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Bill Cissna lives in Kernersville, N.C., just east of Winston-Salem and west of Greensboro. He relocated to North Carolina in 1986 from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he attended junior and senior high school. A graduate of Allegheny College, he has worked in advertising and public relations positions, as well as freelance writing for 12 years, a career to which he returned in May 2004.
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