Though it’s surrounded by the usual miles of highway sprawl, the downtown business district of Wilmington (pop. 75,838) is unusually attractive and well-preserved, its many blocks of historic buildings stepping up from the Cape Fear River waterfront. The largest city on the North Carolina coast, Wilmington was of vital importance to the Confederate cause during the Civil War, when it was the only southern port able to continue exporting income-earning cotton, mostly to England, in the face of the Union blockade. Wilmington also played an important role before and during the Revolution, first as a center of colonial resistance, and later as headquarters for British Gen. Cornwallis.
Despite its lengthy and involved military history, Wilmington itself has survived relatively unscathed and now possesses one of the country’s more engaging small-town streetscapes. Cobblestoned wharves and brick warehouses line the Cape Fear River, which also provides moorage for the massive 35,000-ton battleship USS North Carolina (daily; $9), across the river. A couple of the warehouses, like the Cotton Exchange at the north end, have been converted to house boutiques and restaurants. A block inland, Front Street is the lively heart of town, a franchise-free stretch of book and record stores, cafés, and other businesses that’s often used by film crews attempting to re-create a typically American “Main Street” scene. Films like Blue Velvet, and TV’s teenage soap opera Dawson’s Creek, were shot at Wilmington’s massive Screen Gems studio and in surrounding locales.
Thanks in large part to its significant TV and movie-making business, Wilmington has a number of excellent places to eat, like the comfortable Caffé Phoenix (910/343-1395) at 9 S. Front Street, an excellent Italian bistro serving fresh pasta dishes and pizzas. Within stumbling distance are bars like the rough-hewn Barbary Coast, 116 S. Front Street.
Rates at Wilmington’s many chain motels and hotels are refreshingly low; try the riverfront Hilton ($90 and up; 910/763-5900).
For more information on visiting the Wilmington area, contact the Cape Fear Convention & Visitor Bureau (910/341-4030 or 800/222-4757), in the 100-year-old courthouse at 24 N. 3rd Street.
The Outer Banks
