Cape Fear River Reverses

Beyond downtown to the north, a number of industrial plants are located on the river, and people dining along the river or strolling on the Riverwalk will occasionally see oceangoing freighters or barge tows slowly moving upriver to those facilities. If you also notice the river flowing upstream, it isn’t that margarita you’re sipping - the flow of the river actually reverses when the ocean approaches high tide.

The south side of downtown offers an eclectic mix of shops, antiques dealers, restaurants, art galleries, attractions, condos and other businesses; some are new, but many are in restored old buildings.

Extending from Water Street to Front Street, the Old Wilmington City Market, originally a vegetable market during the 1870s, has been charmingly restored and houses a number of unusual shops. A few blocks further south on Water Street, you’ll enjoy exploring the Chandler’s Wharf area, another historical treasure with outstanding restaurants and shops.

Residential Space Grows

Perhaps key to the resurgence of downtown Wilmington is our expanding availability of residential space. Unlike many city downtown areas, we don’t roll up the sidewalks in Wilmington when the business people go home to the suburbs at the end of the day. Condominium developments and town homes along with many residential accommodations above businesses help to keep the city vibrant and alive 24 hours a day.

Port Of Wilmington Improvements

A short distance south of downtown, the bustling Port of Wilmington loads and unloads ships from all over the world. The river channel has been deepened recently and four new 100 foot-gauge container cranes were added in 2007 to enable the port to handle much larger container vessels. With these changes, the Port of Wilmington can accommodate the largest ships that can come through the Panama Canal. Growth is anticipated at a double-digit rate annually.

In response to an anticipated doubling of international trade by 2020, the North Carolina Port Authority has acquired 600 acres of land on the west side of the river for a new International Port to handle the enormous container ships being built today. The addition will catapult North Carolina into the ranks of major East Coast ports.