Not all neighborhoods like to announce their appearance.
I grew up in the 1980s in a Wilmington suburb off South College Road that everyone called Millbrook, although, unlike the neighborhood that's right next to it, Lansdowne, it's never had a sign, at least not one that I've ever seen.
Other Wilmington neighborhoods, however, know how to make an entrance, or at least how to mark one.
Let's take a look at five historic Wilmington neighborhoods, or areas, that have distinct entranceways, from some of the the town's original suburbs to an area that's known more for its connection to the Civil War.
Sunset Park
This Wilmington neighborhood that's in the National Register
of Historic Places has a brick-columned pergola at one of its entrances, at Southern Boulevard and Carolina Beach Road.
As shown in a picture dating to 1914, however, just a couple of years after the oldest houses in the neighborhood were built, Sunset Park used to have a much grander entrance.
Made of brick with two tall columns, the structure, which might have been at Central Boulevard and Carolina Beach Road, was open in the middle with the name of the neighborhood emblazoned in stone at top.
Forest Hills
The entrance at Market Street and Forest Hills Drive to this historic Wilmington neighborhood, which turned 100 in 2025, is subdued but stately. Just two simple brick columns topped with lights and reading "Forest Hills" inlaid in stone.
Brookwood
The entrance columns to this Wilmington neighborhood right next to Forest Hills (it's in the National Register of Historic Places) are cool yet easy to miss.
Located off a busy and narrow section of Market Street at Brookwood Avenue, a simple brick colum with wooden inlay reading "Brookwood" sits to one side of the sidewalk with a shorter, unadorned brick pillar on the other side.
Fort Fisher
Not a neighborhood, exactly, this area at the southern end of New Hanover County has one of the more distinctive entrances around.
The two large stone pillars flanking the highway, each reading "Fort Fisher," are thought to have been erected in 1932 at the same time the monument to Confederate soldiers was built there by the Daughters of the Confederacy.
Long Leaf Park
Curved metal entrance to this park off South College Road in Wilmington has an arch supported by two brick pillars, with white letters announcing the park's name.
It bears a striking similarity to the original arched metal sign welcoming visitors to Wilmington's Greenfield Park.
That sign no longer serves a welcoming function but is preserved, slightly hidden and easy to miss, in a fenced-in area near the pickleball courts.
John Staton is cultural issues reporter for the StarNews. You can reach him at jstaton@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: These historic Wilmington neighborhoods know how to make an entrance
