of affluence. In the 1930s, the island's 

 electric cable car system was replaced 

 by a state-maintained highway and 

 more common folks invaded the 

 Wrightsville domain. Yet, through the 

 years, the wealthy have found a place 

 of refuge on the island. 



The story of Carolina Beach isn't 

 glamorous. Carolina was developed 

 primarily by Wilmingtonians who 

 desired a place at the beach away from 

 the exclusive lifestyle at Wrightsville. 



For decades, the best route to 

 Carolina Beach was via one of Captain 

 John Harper's famous Cape Fear River 

 taxi boats. By the 1920s, state-main- 

 tained roads were built and the commu- 

 nity blossomed as a resort. 



For the average family with limited 

 vacation funds, Carolina Beach's 

 primary attraction has been its board- 

 walk, a long train of restaurants, 

 amusement centers and gift shops. 



Today, Wrightsville and Carolina 

 beaches still offer their own styles of 

 coastal life. 



"Wrightsville is more of a family 

 vacation type beach," says Jane Peter- 

 son, executive director of the Cape Fear 

 Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau. 



Though parking is limited on this 

 island of 5,000 permanent residents, 

 several access points open the door to 

 the public beaches for day trippers and 

 college students from the University of 

 North Carolina at Wilmington. 



"And Carolina is a fun beach with 



fishing and lots of things to do," 

 Peterson says. "It has a great feeling of 

 nostalgia." 



The differences in the two beaches 

 are emphasized in her office's promo- 

 tional material, Peterson says. 



"But both of the beaches realize 

 how unique they are on the whole East 

 Coast," she says. "Having seen beaches 

 from Maine to Florida, I can say that 

 ours are great." 



Unique enough, she says, to foster 

 lots of economic imput from local 

 governments who have become 

 accustomed to a steady stream of 

 tourist dollars. 



At Wrightsville, a S2 million, four- 

 year beach renourishment program 

 guarantees that the 25 to 30 feet of 

 shoreline eaten annually by Mother 

 Nature will be replaced. This gives 

 visitors and permanent residents all the 

 sand they want and assures the town's 



fathers a juicy tax base. 



And, at Carolina, old and unsightly 

 beach cottages have been renovated or 

 torn down and replaced by more 

 modern structures. Beach renourish- 

 ment and a recently completed facelift 

 on the town's once sagging boardwalk 

 attract new and return vacationers. 



"There are some really great things 

 happening on our beaches right now," 

 Peterson says. "There are chambers of 

 commerce at both Wrightsville and 

 Carolina Beach. The businesses are 

 organizing to promote things there." 



Their efforts have created what 

 Peterson calls "a real spruce-up and a 

 tourism feeling. 



"We've even got someone who's 

 sponsoring a water taxi out to 

 Masonboro Island," she says. 



Recent completion of Interstate 40 

 into Wilmington can't hurt the flow of 

 dollars from the pockets of beachgoing 

 tourists either. 



But, Peterson says, a new super- 

 highway doesn't automatically open the 

 floodgates of tourism. So far, 1-40 

 hasn't been the economic pie-in-the-sky 

 Wilmingtonians have longed for. 



"I don't think 1-40 has made a big 

 difference in the amount of traffic itself 

 coming to the beaches," Peterson says. 

 "But it has made it more convenient for 

 those who do come." 



She sees the new highway more 

 as a tool. "You see, it helps us market 

 what we do have," she says. "Now 

 it's up to us to get out there and 

 market it."® 



Photo by C. R. Edgerton 



