Sunset Park is a neighborhood south of the Historic Downtown of Wilmington, in

New Hanover County New Hanover County is one of 100 counties located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 225,702. Though the second-smallest NC county in land area, it is one of the most populous, as its county seat, Wilm ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was designated a national

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2003.

History

"Sunset Park," a name submitted by Montrose Bain, circulation editor of the Wilmington Star, was the winning entry for a new development just south of downtown Wilmington along the Federal Point Road (Carolina Beach Road). The prize for his submission was $10.00. The Fidelity Trust & Development Company purchased the tract on March 9, 1912. The original owner, T.F. Boyd of Hamlet, North Carolina, sold the land for $35,000.00. The Opening Sale of lots in Sunset Park to the public was originally Monday, September 16, 1912. The date was later postponed to Monday, October 7, 1912. Sunset Park was envisioned by the Fidelity Development & Investment Company as a high-class, planned community with views overlooking the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carol ...

and picturesque Greenfield Lake. All the city conveniences and modern improvements would be guaranteed by FD&I. Street car service, electric lights, gas, sewers, sidewalks and tree-lined

Macadam Macadam is a type of road construction, pioneered by Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam around 1820, in which crushed stone is placed in shallow, convex layers and compacted thoroughly. A binding layer of stone dust (crushed stone from the o ...

type roadways and plazas just to name a few. The neighborhood is said to be modeled after that of

Ansley Park Ansley Park is an intown residential district in Atlanta, Georgia, located just east of Midtown and west of Piedmont Park. When developed in 1905-1908, it was the first Atlanta suburban neighborhood designed for automobiles, featuring wide, win ...

and Westland Estates in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Poem

In the October 5, 1912 edition of ''The Evening Dispatch'' was a pen drawing bird's eye view over Sunset Park along with a poem singing its praises.

Beyond the placid waters/Of Greenfield's lovely lake,
There lies as fair a region/As skillful hands can make.

It reaches to the 'Dram Tree',/Made famous long ago;
And many mounds and batt'ries/Its history will show.

Regardless of the prices/It costs to reach the mark,
We'll beautify the landscape/Of lovely Sunset Park.

With granolithic side-walks,/And streets macadamized,
We'll leave all other places/Neglected and despised.

Each man who owns a cottage,/That he can call his own,
Will be a little Monarch/That no one can dethrone.

Each lot will have its sewers,/To take the filth away;
And water-mains to furnish/The folks who come to stay.

The sun will shine in daylight,/Electric lights at dark;
We'll have a Fairy City/At lovely Sunset Park.

To each prospective buyer/We'll offer terms to please,
So that every one may purchase/A home with perfect ease.

No painter can portray it,/His brush would be too dark,
To give the glowing colors/of lovely SUNSET PARK.

Architecture in Sunset Park

The majority of resources were built from the 1910s to the 1960s and incorporate Queen Anne,

Bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...

American Craftsman American Craftsman is an American domestic architectural style, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, which included interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts, beginning in the last years of the 19th century. Its ...

Tudorbethan Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...

Cape Cod (house) A Cape Cod house is a low, broad, single or double-story frame building with a moderately-steep-pitched gabled roof, a large central chimney, and very little ornamentation. Originating in New England in the 17th century, the simple symmetrical de ...

Ranch-style house Ranch (also known as American ranch, California ranch, rambler, or rancher) is a domestic architectural style that originated in the United States. The ranch-style house is noted for its long, close-to-the-ground profile, and wide open layout. ...

, and

Commercial building Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

styles of architecture. The earliest houses are scattered along Northern and Central boulevards; 1940 to 1950s Cape Cod and Ranch houses line the cross streets. Architecturally, the earliest designs are Queen Anne style, dating to the early 1910s. The two-story dwellings have hipped or gabled roofs, wraparound porches, corner towers, bay windows, projecting wings, wood or simulated siding, shingles, decorative brickwork, and a wide range of window types. A large number of homes were built from 1940 to 1943 when the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company expanded its facilities on land intended for Sunset Park homes along the eastern edge of the

. The movie '' Blue Velvet'' had scenes filmed in Sunset Park including the house of Detective John Williams (

George Dickerson George Graf Dickerson, Jr. (July 25, 1933 – January 10, 2015) was an American actor, writer, and poet. Biography Dickerson was born July 25, 1933, in Topeka, Kansas, to George Graf Dickerson, a lawyer, and Elizabeth Dickerson (née Naumann) ...

). Season 9 of ''

Matlock (TV series) ''Matlock'' is an American mystery legal drama television series created by Dean Hargrove, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of criminal defense attorney Ben Matlock. The show, produced by Intermedia Entertainment Company (first season o ...

'' had scenes filmed in Sunset Park including Benjamin L. "Ben" Matlock's (

Andy Griffith Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, southern gospel singer and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characte ...

) house.

Gallery

File:Sp pergola.jpg, Designation sign on Northern Blvd. Pergola File:Sp pendraw.jpg, Pen Drawing of Sunset Park, 1912 File:Ad 1912-planting30k (The Evening Dispatch).jpg, Opening Sale Ad from August 31, 1912 File:Sunset Park Baptist Church.jpg, Sunset Park Baptist Church, 2020 File:D.N. Chadwick House.jpg, D.N. Chadwick House, 2020 File:Mallison House.jpg, Maillison House, 2020 File:George Biddle House.jpg, George Biddle House, 2020

References

External links

Sunset Park Historic District
{{National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Wilmington, North Carolina Geography of New Hanover County, North Carolina Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Queen Anne architecture in North Carolina Tudor Revival architecture in North Carolina Colonial Revival architecture in North Carolina National Register of Historic Places in New Hanover County, North Carolina