In 1983, the last theater in downtown Wilmington started marketing for a more mature audience.
According to a story in the Aug. 30, 1983, Wilmington Morning Star, the city attorney determined the Manor Theater was violating a 1979 ordinance by showing X-rated movies.
The attorney sent letters to the local manager and theater owner asking the X-rated shows to stop.
The ordinance restricted "adult entertainment" businesses from sites within 1,000 feet of any existing "adult entertainment," within 330 feet of a residential zone or within 660 feet of any school, public park or church.
City surveyors later determined the distance from the Manor at 208 Market St. to St. James Episcopal Church at Third and Market streets was 312 feet.
uncertain for historic Wilmington venue after 'notice of condemnation'
The Manor started running X-rated features around a month earlier at midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and at noon Monday through Thursday.
By 1985, the Manor had closed. It was renamed Jacob's Run (named for the mysterious system of underground tunnels beneath downtown Wilmington) and repackaged for entertainment and dining. It showed foreign and independent films and hosted musicians such as Doc Watson and Wynton Marsalis.
It later became known more for music as Ziggy's by the Sea and the Blue-Eyed Muse. By 2017, it was closed again and in 2023 ownership was served a condemnation notice. The building was mostly torn down in January 2024.
Owen Hassell is the local news editor for the StarNews. You can reach him at ohassell@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: From the archives: Downtown Wilmington theater gets X-rated
