Discover Market Street

Early History
Market Sreet has been the heart of Wilmington since it was first laid out by Thomas Willing in 1731. The street has evolved with each new ear, as progress and change have supplanted the old with the new. Memory and the built environment are reminders of the past, while vision and construction are the harbinger of the future.

Until the mid-1800's, most of Wilmington's residents worked and lived on lower Market Street. Retailers, craftsman, and taverns served travelers and locals. By the 1840s, manufacturing and industry joined milling as the city's economic base. European immigrants flowed into the city as laborers, consumers and shop owners. The commercial district expanded, then moved north.

Larger structures replaced mix-use Federal townhouses in the later 1800's, as industrialization led to growth in mass merchandising. Stores near 5th and Market, the business hub, sold dry goods and ready-to-wear clothing and boasted colorful window displays. A modern hotel and the spectacular Grand Opera House opened.

Look up, look down... Find it on Market Street.
Discover the locations of these buildings with unusual and surprising architectural details and interesting histories.

1. Where is the building with the decorative "C" on the second floor façade? What does the "C" stand for?

2. What building is the tallest in the city of Wilmington?

3. Look up to find a dormer window and roofline on an 18th century building hidden beneath a 20th century carrera glass storefront. (hint: It's in the 700 block.)

4. How many buildings with Art Deco (1920s-1930s) details can you find on Market Street? (There are at least five)

5. Which building on Market Street once housed a popular candy store this is no longer in business?

6. Which four buildings were moved and reassembled on Market Street from separate locations in the city?

7. This empty lot on the 400 block of Market Street was once the location of what landmark business?

8. Which building has the word "music" embossed on the second floor exterior?

9. Which buildings on Market Street boast a cast-iron façade?

Download the itinerary and take a self-guided tour of Market Street as you find the answers to the questions above. The answers are contained within the download.

Download this
itinerary here.