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Financial Support

 Downtown Improvements

​As the Nineties began, ROW continued its downtown improvement efforts by giving money to other major preservation or restoration projects:​

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  • Thalian Hall Restoration - about 1991 - ROW helped pay for new curtains. In 2010, ROW contributed display cases for Thalian Hall renovation.

  • Bellamy Mansion Renovation - ROW's donations helped pay for carpets.

  • Landscaping and improvement of the 200 block of Market Street. - ROW's donation of $37,000 in 1991 transformed an ugly, empty block with parking in the median to one with a landscaped median bordered by trees with brick cross walks and buried utilities.

  • The Urban Park Project by the downtown library - ROW donated nearly $2,700 in 1992 to help convert a vacant gas station into the park that fills the corner formed by the library, Chestnut Street and the new county parking deck.

  • Street brickwork Restoration - Most of Wilmington's brick streets were put in 100 years ago and in the 1970s were still quite serviceable.  The City, in the 1980s, argued that it was too expensive to replace or repair brickwork, and City maintenance crews shifted to an asphalt patching or covering program when doing street repairs.  (In one episode in the late 1970s, ROW members, in an act of defiance, raked up the asphalt being laid over bricks at the corner of Fourth and Orange Streets.)  In the early 1990s, ROW members - led by Ben Jacks - personally surveyed and determined how many blocks of brick streets remained in Wilmington, what types of bricks were needed to repair them and where these brick could be obtained.  ROW teamed up with the Historic Wilmington Foundation to pay the $1,000 needed to hire a noted brick consultant, who came to the city, held a workshop for residents and city employees, and demonstrated on one block of South 2nd Street how to replace asphalt with bricks.  ROW's efforts created a turnaround in policy and the patches are slowly being replaced with bricks.  The efforts have extended into 2016 when ROW and WHF advocated that brick streets be maintained and that asphalt be removed from more downtown streets. In 2019, three downtown streets are in the process if having the asphalt removed, exposing the bricks.

 

Tileston School -

  • In 1981, ROW raised money through raffles and rummage sales to help restore the brick walls around Tileston School.  (The school at the time was surrounded by a hole-filled cyclone fence.)  Muriel Piver and her mother, Dolly Pearson, helped in this fund-raising effort by donating Mrs. Pearson's hand-made quilts to the effort.  The restoration of the brick wall was an attempt by ROW to keep Tileston open as a public school.  At the time, it was the oldest public school still open in North Carolina. Despite ROW's efforts lobbying the school board, the school was closed and taken over by the City, with the idea that it would become a community arts center.  Two years later this idea failed to attract supporters and the school building required $18,000 in roofing repairs.  ROW donated $8,000 and worked with St. Mary Catholic Church to assist it in taking over the school from the City.  In return, ROW was promised the use of a meeting room in Tileston School for perpetuity.

Continuing Financial Support

​Row has made donations to the efforts listed below. A full list of financial contributions is displayed on the About Row page.

  • The Railroad Museum and to the Downtown Community Watch.

  • ROW members contributed or raised several thousand dollars per year for the City's Tree Program.  The City matches our donations at $75.00 per tree and we usually get about 15-20 trees planted each year.

  • In 2003, ROW Past-Mayor Catherine Ackiss organized an instantly popular bed and breakfast tour.  It was held on the second Sunday in September and raised approximately $5,000 for Wilmington beautification projects - beginning with the "adopt an alley" program then planned by the City's Parks and Recreation Division.​

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The financial success of the BDKT re-energized ROW's ability to financially support downtown projects and organizations. Between 2004 and 2009, ROW provided over $17,000 in financial support for these projects and organizations:

  • The Wilmington Children's Museum

  • St. Mary's/ Tileston

  • The Wilmington Railroad Museum

  • Wilmington Downtown Inc.

  • Celebrate the Arts

  • The Family and Neighborhood Institute

  • Wilmington Area Rebuilding Ministry

  • The Historic Wilmington Foundation

  • Pedestrian Art

  • Bailey Park tree planters

  • Bellamy Mansion Art of the Table

  • Bellamy Mansion Slave Quarters renovation

  • 1898 Memorial

  • WPD Segway

  • “Peacemaker” ship sponsorship

  • Pedestrian Crosswalk at Ann and Third Streets


 

Support for the Arts
In 2009, ROW made a seed contribution to the Hannah Block Historic USO Community Arts Center for the purchase of chairs for its newly renovated theater.  The Center is now a cornerstone for the arts downtown.  ROW also made a second substantial advance of seed money for the Center to acquire projection equipment. 
ROW's most prominent contribution in recent years has been the acquisition of the sculpture “Southern Hospitality” from local artist Paul Hill.  ROW acquired the 15 foot depiction of the native Venus Flytrap and gifted it to the City of Wilmington in 2010.  Through ROW's leadership, the piece was located at the corner of Market and Water streets at the Riverwalk.  


Support for Nature Through Tree Replanting

Many of the type of oak trees in our beautiful community are victim to “heart rot” that requires they be cut down.  ROW recognized the need to address this long term issue by supporting tree replanting.  Initially in 2010, ROW made a contribution of $3900 to plant 39 trees throughout the community.  In 2011, the City's Tree Commission proposed a comprehensive reforestation program along the length of Fifth Avenue.  ROW has committed to financially supporting this replanting throughout its membership area – about 30% of the length of the project.  The long term result should be the creation of an allee of Live Oaks, resistant to heart rot, for future generations to enjoy.

 

The Future
ROW is a crucial force for life downtown. Its future is secure because of the energy and initiative of its members. This story will continue to unfold as ROW members, who care deeply about Wilmington and its future, engage the problems and opportunities that growth, time and human nature constantly create.

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Last Updated:  January 2022 by Mary-Grace DentonCompiled by Alan Smith with help from Mary Bellamy, Sue Boney Ives, Langdon Anderson, Larry Hovis and Robert Warren. Revised and updated in 2009 and 2011 by  Kevin O'Grady. Edited 2017 by Beverly Grasley.

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