Wilmington's Overlooked Neighborhood 'Anchored By An Artist Collective' Brims With Bars And Bakeries

Growing up near Raleigh, Wilmington has always meant one thing to me: a gateway to North Carolina's greatest seaside town at Wrightsville Beach. Wilmington proper was a place to stock up on groceries and check out the used boards for sale at Hot Wax Surf Shop before getting to the beach. However, downtown Wilmington is starting to demand my attention and stretch out my trips. The town's overlooked boroughs, like the "neighborhood built from cargo containers" and the Brooklyn Arts District, are absolutely worth putting on your next beach trip itinerary.

The Brooklyn Arts District has an intense history. There is no official story behind why a North Carolina neighborhood is called "Brooklyn," but the Wilmington Star-News credits the name to a group of Black soldiers from New York who settled there after the Civil War. The area was a thriving, predominantly Black community until the 1898 Wilmington Massacre, in which white supremacists drove a horse-drawn wagon with a machine gun through the streets of Brooklyn. In an attempt to overturn the results of an election, they opened fire on the neighborhood's Black residents. The New Yorker reported that there was a mass exodus of Black people from Wilmington in the years following, leaving a vacuum in neighborhoods like Brooklyn.

Fueled by local artists, the Brooklyn Arts District of today has repurposed industrial spaces and historic churches into galleries, studios, and some of the city's most creative venues. North Carolina-based publication OurState.com writes that the Brooklyn Arts District is "anchored by an artist collective" based out of Acme Art Studios, which describes itself as "a thriving consortium" of artists. Alongside local businesses and nameless benefactors, this collective has created a walkable district steps away from the (free) Port City Trolley's Padgett Station in downtown Wilmington.

A good day in the Brooklyn Arts District starts sweetly at the Brooklyn Cafe, famous for its donut recipe that dates back more than 100 years. The cafe is close to the restored 1888 St. Andrews Presbyterian Church that hosts the Brooklyn Arts Center. The artist collective is also nearby at the Acme Art Studios, a collection of working studios and in-house galleries open to the public on special occasions.

A short walk from the studios is the 1898 Monument and Memorial Park, a block adorned with six bronze paddles that commemorate the victims of the aforementioned coup d'état. You're also close to another bakery, The Jelly Cabinet, which uses local ingredients to make fresh croissants, cookies, and more. If you're hungry for lunch, you can order a soup flight at The Kitchen Sink. If you're thirsty, grab a pint at Goat & Compass, a local icon which the Wilmington Star-News compared to "drinking at your grandparents' house, if your grandparents were English and had a $5,000 liquor cabinet."

The best time to cruise through the Brooklyn Arts District is on Saturdays, specifically from 12 to 5 p.m. on the first and third Saturday of the month. That time period is known as social district time, and it means you can legally walk around the district with open containers. Arts and music frequently hit the streets at the same time, as 10 blocks of the Brooklyn Arts District become a designated safe space to drink in public. Grab a pint to go from one of several delicious local bars and breweries like Fly Trap Brewing. Fly Trap also holds special events each month, including concerts and trivia nights. If you want even more arts, combine your trip with a visit to the Castle Street District, another trendy Wilmington arts district with farm-to-table fare.