As you drive down Market Street headed downtown it is hard not to notice the two huge houses just a few blocks up from the riverfront. They both have UNCW signs displayed proudly on the roadside, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never had a class scheduled in either the Kenan or the Wise house, and so I was wondering…if not for the students, what are they for?
After a quick bit of research around the UNCW website I found my answer. The first of the two houses, the Kenan house, is the residence provided for the UNCW Chancellor. House is hardly what I would call the historic Wilmington Mansion situated just below the 17th street intersection. The bottom floor of the home is used primarily for meet-and-greets and parties for the board of trustees and important school benefactors, while the upper floor remains private for Chancellor DePaolo and her family.
According to a school press release about some tours recently given of the home it is a “neoclassical Revival dwelling constructed in 1911,that was initially built and occupied by Atlantic Coast Line Railroad executives.” The 7,500 square-foot Kenan house was donated to UNCW back when it was still Wilmington College by James Graham Kenan, nephew of the homes first family owner, Sarah Kenan. It is filled with pieces from the UNCW permanent art collection, as well as several on-loan pieces from various U.S. art museums.
The other UNCW house on Market Street is known as the Wise Alumni House. The 7,484-square-foot mansion was originally built by Delgado Cotton Mills President Edwin C. Holt and his wife, but was later purchased by Jessie Hargrave Kenan Wise, sister of Sarah Kenan, so that she could live just down the street from her sister. The home was donated to UNCW by the Wise grandchildren in 1968 when Mrs. Wise passed away with the original intention of furthering the schools educational and charitable programs. However, due to scarce funding the university was unable to realize the true potential of the space until 1993, when the UNCW Alumni Association took on the responsibility of restoring the home for their own purposes.
Next time you’re headed downtown with your friends taking the historic homes for granted, don’t forget to notice the two sponsored by UNCW. As an alumni or benefactor you might just find yourself being hosted there in the next ten years!
And the university owns many more properties as well, called “hospitality houses”: http://www.uncw.edu/ba/hospitality_properties/index.htm