Illustration courtesy of Riverwalk Improvements Plan 



Wilmington 's plans include a riverwalk 



area between 3rd and 6th streets. Using state and 

 local funds, the city has put in new sidewalks, added 

 parking spaces, put in a new lighting system and land- 

 scaped the area. The efforts have met with the ap- 

 proval and assistance of Morehead City's famous 

 restaurant row, Dixon says. 



In the second phase, Dixon says the city will center 

 its efforts between 6th and 10th streets if funding is 

 available. In addition to city plans, two private con- 

 dominium projects are planned for the waterfront. 



Washington — Washington has combined revital- 

 ization and restoration into a formula that has 

 increased its population and attracted tourists. Using 

 urban renewal money, the city of Washington tore 

 down the warehouses that lined its waterfront and 

 replaced them with a driving parkway along the 

 Pamlico River in the 1960s. Since then, the city has 

 worked with downtown businesses and residents 

 located near the waterfront to restore the town's 

 historic character, says Louis Taylor, director of plan- 

 ning and development. New plans call for the conver- 

 sion of the Old Seaboard Coastline Station and 

 warehouse into a civic center. 



Edenton — Edenton, once a busy port, has settled 

 into a peaceful town brimming with history. To- 

 day, instead of wharfs bustling with river traffic, 

 visitors can find tranquility in one of the town's 

 waterfront parks or a glimpse of history on a guided 

 walking tour of some of the town's restored homes. 



— Kathy Hart 



Pride whips town into shipshape 



About 25 years ago, an alarm soun- 

 ded in the sleepy little town of 

 Beaufort. No one can remember its 

 sound, but it opened residents' eyes. 

 What they saw was a dying village. 

 What they did was resuscitate it. 



Town officials sought federal funds 

 and raised local monies to spiff up its 

 holdings on the waterfront. Mean- 

 while, private organizations spurred 

 restoration and preservation on the 

 homefront. The result? A thriving 

 town that tastefully combines restora- 

 tion and revitalization. 



Kathryn Cloud, a member of the 

 local historic association, thinks it was 

 magic. Her co-worker Betty Shannon 

 says it was hard work and love. Yet 

 most of Beaufort's residents know it 

 was 20 years of community effort and 

 lots of money that changed their 

 dilapidated town into a prosperous 

 seaport. 



In the 1950s, North Carolina's third 

 oldest town looked its age. It had lost 

 most of its charm to the Depression 

 and bigger cities. The town was like a 

 rusty antique clock stashed in the attic 

 and forgotten. 



Beaufort native Piggy Potter was 

 mayor of the town then. He tells a 

 story that describes the town's state: 

 "We put up street lights on Front 

 Street and somebody asked me why," 

 says Potter. "I told them, 'So you can 

 see the rats running across the 

 street.' " 



Photo by Sarah Friday 



A.C. Blankenship 



Empty stores lined the harbor, 200- 

 year-old houses and historical 

 landmarks sat in disrepair and people 

 moved away. At the docks, natives 

 saw only half a dozen ships. 



"The whole town was deterio- 

 rating," says A.C. Blankenship, town 

 administrator and a resident of 

 Beaufort for about 40 years. "The 

 business district had deteriorated. The 

 tax base had dwindled away . . . The 

 town went for years and couldn't pay 

 their debts." In 1963, Beaufort was 

 $10 million in debt. 



But a small group of concerned 

 citizens recognized the value of their 

 prized clock and set about removing it 

 from storage, buying it new parts and 

 shining it up a bit. The group, now the 

 Beaufort Historical Association, 

 realized something needed to be done if 

 the town's unique history were to be 

 preserved and if their children were to 

 stay there, says Mayor Joyce P. 

 Fulford. 



The Beaufort Historical Association 

 began its efforts during the town's 

 250th anniversary. For the celebra- 

 Continued on next page 



