Is it possible to build a city within a city? Many local developers are trying.
As a quickly growing metropolitan area, Wilmington has its own identity. It’s known as the Port City, the home of the Azaleas, Hollywood East… and for sports fans its simply the birth place of Michael Jordan. Those are some of the ways the nation sees us.
For locals it becomes a bit more complicated. We divide the city up into a handful of sections: downtown, midtown, Ogden, Monkey Junction. If you’ve lived here for any length of time you know exactly where those areas are and where to eat, or what to do when you get there.
What you may be less familiar with are the so called “districts.” That’s a catch phrase that’s being used more and more to describe zones of commerces- or small cities within a city. Sometimes these districts result from gentrification. Sometimes they start from an old building being abandoned and then repurposed. Sometimes they start because a new neighborhood pops up and the residents need a nearby place to hangout.
By our count there are six official districts within the city of Wilmington:
Historic District
Like many southern cities Wilmington has gone to great effort to preserve its long and rich architectural history This is most apparent in the Historic District which sits adjacent to downtown- in fact for most locals the phrases the “Historic District and Downtown” are synonymous. Technically the Historic District refers to the Victorian and Colonial Antebellum homes that are sprinkled among a handful of buildings, including churches, that are at least one hundred years old. The entire district is protected by the Historical Society.
South Front District
Roughly 20 years ago some local developers decided to purchase an abandoned housing project. As they put it, the area once known as the Nesbitt Court Projects had “good bones.” And so they converted this small community, originally meant to house impoverished people, and turned them into high-end rental townhomes. A short time later a bar featuring live music opened, then came a pizzeria, then a few more restaurants and even an art museum.
Collectively the area is now all known as the South Front District- perhaps Wilmington’s most successful gentrification experiment.
Sites in the South Front District include; Block Taco, Benny’s Big Time Pizzeria, Satellite Bar & Lounge, New Anthem Beer Project, The Second Glass, Tru Blue Butcher and Table, Artworks, and the Harp Irish Restaurant & Pub
Brooklyn Arts District
The Brooklyn Arts District is the home to the creative and artistic side of Wilmington. It is located just north of downtown featuring an array of live music, breweries, art galleries and so much more. The District gets it name because of the Brooklyn Arts Center, an old church building that was originally built in 1888. Today, the fully restored and refurbished building operates as an event venue for concerts, weddings, and art & craft shows.
Sites in the Brooklyn Arts District include Goat and Compass, Flytrap Brewing, Bottega Art & Wine, Edward Teach Brewery, Three 10, and Kitchen Sink.
Castle Street Antiques District
Located just a few blocks from the riverfront, the Castle Street Antiques District is home to a number of locally owned cafés and restaurants. Like many other districts live music is prominently featured here along with local theater and of course several antiques and art stores. The district also includes a barber shop dedicated to Elvis Presley and a funky furniture store called Decades of Decor.
Other sites in the Castle Street Antique District include Jess James + Co, Rx Restaurant & Bar, Jesters Cafe, and Castle Street Kitchen.
Cargo District
The area known as the Cargo District is one of Wilmington’s newest and quickest growing sections of town. It is located off 17th street near Wooster. The area got its name after a residential complex, built from old cargo shipping containers opened. After the people came, the dining and shopping options soon followed.
Sites in the Cargo District include Cheese Smith, Ends of Days Distillery, Salt & Charm, Bottles, Drinx, Fermental, Alcove Beer Garden, Blue Cup Roastery, Bull City Cider, Ruff Draft ILM, Olio Provisions, The Starling, and the Half United headquarters.
Soda Pop District
In the 1930’s, when Coca-Cola was still largely just a southern product, the Atlanta based corporation opened a bottling plant off Princess Street in Wilmington. Over the next few decades other buildings quickly went up in adjacent lots, and the area was booming with foot and car traffic. But it didn’t last. In time, one after another, these businesses closed their doors and the area fell into disarray. That is until 2015 when two local developers bought three square blocks with a vision to do something special.
Like the other business zones mentioned above, the Soda Pop District offers boutiques, breweries and restaurants. But because the 74,000 square foot Coke bottling plant is the hub of this district, it also has the most room for continued growth.
Current sites in the Soda Pop District include Folks Cafe, Hi Wire Brewery, Cugiona Forno Pizza, and is the new home of the annual Cucalorus Film Festival.