The "fancy building" on the left at the beginning is the Federal Courthouse (originally the Customs Office), that "water fountain" is a fountain - but was originally made for horses to use (you can see the horse carvings). If you had gone a little east on Market towards 3rd you'd run into the Burgwin-Wright House (Colonial) and just two blocks north the Latimer House (Victorian). A town full of history and great shopping and good food.
Timothy, what a nice video tour of Wilmington, NC's historic downtown! The fully restored/renovated light sandstone Alton Lennon Federal Building and Courthouse (at Water and Market Streets), also known as the Customs House, is a historic federal government building and courthouse that was constructed between 1916 and 1919. Its exterior was used as the outside of the courthouse during seasons 7-9 of Andy Griffith's TV series Matlock that was on ABC. What you thought was a water fountain at Water and Market Streets was actually a horse drinking trough that was taken out of use decades ago. Officially labeled the “Anti-Germ Individual Cup Fountain,” the historic cast-iron structure dates from 1915. It was originally placed on the median at Market and North 14th Streets (directly across from New Hanover High School) but was later moved to Water and Market Streets in the 1940s. There were two more blocks of town center historic buildings and shops beyond the Murchison Building, which includes the historic Cotton Exchange Complex, which is now an interesting shopping mall. Beyond that is the urban campus of Cape Fear Community College. The actively used New Hanover County Courthouse complex is at North 3rd and Princess Streets directly across from historic Thailand Hall/City Hall and around the corner from the Post Office on North Front Street.
Awesome information, Kenneth. You never let us down. Lots of TV and movies shot in the area I imagine. One Tree Hill was one of them. And I did not know about Matlock. Thanks
I watched two of these video’s so far. I love how you show everything so we can get a good feel for what the town is like. We are wanting to move to NC and your videos are helping us to figure out where we want to go.Thank you so much for these!!
I.have never been to north carolina . But for now l only see from.video . Really %100 perfect furthermore north carolina aswell the population more not is crowd . Happy a town . My country turkey from where Greeting ❤❤❤❤
Make sure when you visit Conway you visit a man by the name Jordie Jordan. Usually will be hanging out around Wendys eating chili and drinking a pepsi.
People unfamiliar with Wilmington need to understand that this video only shows the downtown - mostly historic area. There is a huge amount of even that area including old homes not shown, nor the outlying areas where people actually live.
This is true, as it is for all the towns I visit. But I wanted to focus on the town’s centers in this video series. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this beautiful city.
I was born and raised and lived there my whole life for nearly 50 years until 2018. Here is the truth: 1) it’s way over crowded, the roads can’t handle the amount of traffic during the morning and evening rushes. 2) it’s extremely expensive to live there mainly due to the lack of pay wages. Cost of living much higher than what most employers pay. 4) good college and somewhat of a good retirement town if you have the funds and resources. 5) beaches are nearly impossible to visit especially during summer holidays, need to get there no later than 7 am just find parking. 6) great selections of restaurants. There are other things I can mention but I personally don’t miss it.
Every site I look at related to north or South Carolina discusses the crowding and traffic. I live in pinellas county Florida. There is literally not 5 free pieces of land left to buy not to mention if they do squeeze one out they put condos or overpriced apartment buildings up. I’m not sure who can pay 1800 for a 1 bedroom. But it’s terribly expensive here. Can’t be worse than here. There’s a million people on this small county. It’s most populated county per sq Mile in Florida plus we have 20 million visitors a year. So it takes a lot to scare me off. I googled that info so it’s not exaggerated
@NurseSue425 It’s definitely crowded in Florida. And it is getting crowded in some areas of the Carolinas. I’m not sure why a lot of people move to one area like that. If everyone would spread out to all of our towns, each would be nice, and the overcrowding problem may be solved. Huntersville, NC, was a small town outside of Charlotte that blew up like that. I guess someone says it’s the place to be, and everyone flocks there. Thanks for sharing your thoughts 👍
As a 20yr + local, id have to call it average. Most of the homicides and really bad stuff happen in the worst neighborhoods, which is a pretty small segment of the city as a whole.
Nice cleaned up version of the cultural History of Wilmington. But you left out the information about The 1898 Massacres. This City was at one time predominantly African American, until the jealousy came up and a certain demographic of people wanted it for themselves. So they began to lynch blacks, burning down there businesses and running many so called black out of town and claiming rights to the property and that wasn’t rightfully theirs. Yes they cleaned it up a bit by Resurrecting a small area on N. 3rd that is supposed to be a park and Monument as a gesture of an apology for their Ancestors egregious acts towards people of color.They also removed 2 Confederate statues from 3rd and Market Streets. This City has a very dark history. Trust and believe I’m in no way a racist. Just wondering why so many things around the world has been swept under the rug…But if you’re going to talk about the history of a place, give a true and unbiased history of said location. May God bless you in all of your endeavors.
