The Cotton Exchange holds a lot of history in its eight 19th-century buildings. Each of the eight…read morebrick buildings originally served a different industrial purpose. For instance, the Sprunt building started as a flour mill and a hominy mill. The structure was renovated in 1919 and became the central trading office for cotton bales, eventually growing into one of the world's largest and busiest cotton-exporting companies. The bales left the Cape Fear River port's docks to be shipped directly to England, Europe, and other parts of the United States, and remained fully operational until 1950. After the shipping port declined, the complex was abandoned and deteriorated to the point that it was scheduled for complete demolition. Fortunately, local developers stepped in to save the buildings, preserving the original architecture, heart pine beams, and exposed brickwork. The marketplace officially opened in 1976. It was the very first successful "adaptive reuse" historic preservation project in the state. Today, the Cotton Exchange is a wonderful, bustling mixture of locally owned restaurants and specialty shops. While exploring the multi-level halls, I really enjoyed viewing the built-in hallway exhibits filled with vintage photographs, educational storyboards, and antique tools tracing the complex's port history. I have since learned of a few treasures I missed while visiting, so I am already planning a return trip to find the rest and explicitly check out the Wilmington Walk of Fame installation out in the courtyards! It is a fantastic destination for exploring downtown, offering a large parking lot where merchants will validate your parking ticket with a purchase.

Didn't really see any shops that interested me here. Of those I did stop into, the people were…read morefriendly, but the prices were a bit overboard. And I was surprise with the lack of local goods (eg olive oil place is all imported but no info on the labels). I parked in their lot because I figured I would easily find something I'd like, support local, and validate my parking. Probably could have enjoyed a light meal here but not my kind of place - too tourist trappy.

This review is for the parking garage, managed by Lanier, on 2nd and Market streets…read more This is one of the cheapest places to park. Very reasonable. In fact, I believe the first 30 minutes is no charge. The deck is significantly cheaper than the private parking lots elsewhere. You have to not like money if you park in the private lots. If you have a big truck like the Tim man, this deck can be challenging when it is near capacity. The spaces are small, or so it seems to me anyway. So this is a deck with multiple levels. It has stairs for the in-shape folks, and elevators for the fat asses like me. The elevators are slower than crap. You get a ticket when you enter, and use that ticket at an unmanned pay station when leaving. Cards only.

It says 7 an hr but it charge me 18 and it's needs the trash pick up after it has signsread more

Even though we only went to a couple of shops here, this town center is super impressive! The sheer…read morenumber of shops is incredible. There seriously is nearly any type of shop you could need. We went to "My Sister's Cottage" and Buckle but there were like a hundred more. This is an outdoor shopping center so it's nice in beautiful weather but when it's raining... bring your umbrella. Parking can be a bit tricky. If you only have ONE or two stores to go to, you're not guaranteed a spot near the store. But maybe you'll get lucky! Highly recommend!

Very big mall- outside walkways. Late in Sept., very hot…read moreOK Lots of stores- didn't see much in way of a deal.

Came across the City of Wilmington thanks to some pictures posted by a Yelp friend. I…read morethought.....what the hell. I'm going to review this sucker. Now if you are not deep in to the Yelp world, you could be surprised that Yelpers will review about anything. It's not just stores, restaurants and the trades, but also cities, parks, downtowns, football stadiums, etc. Hell, I have even read reviews about "the winter snow of 2018" (WTH?), Dogs, Cats, etc.. Yes, it is amazing the crap we will review on here. So reviewing the City of Wilmington isn't as extreme as some of the examples I gave. What I am not exactly sure of with this entry is, is this the city government or the city itself as a whole? Who the hell knows man. I am going to wing it. The downtown area is a slam dunk 5 stars. I am rating this based on similar cities in the South of similar size. Love the history of the city, and the historic homes and businesses, The river walk is great (not as good as Savannah's but still very nice). The restaurant scene is vibrant. At least is was prior to the coronavirus coming along. Hope it comes back strong. Bars are good, with plenty of places to get an adult beverage. Shopping downtown is very good. Highly recommend the Cotton Exchange but don't over look the many other places. Parking is abundant and cheap. I just walk down from the house so screw parking. Outside of downtown is more of a 4 star. Mainly losing a star due to traffic. Good news is they got every store you want in town, east of downtown. Short drive from downtown to get to Wal-Mart, Lowes, clothings stores, etc.. Oh, and the beach. Quick drive from Wilmington to the beach. People are very friendly and have been very welcoming to me and my family. My only compliant is the crime in neighborhoods just outside of downtown. Hate to end on that note. Overall, Wilmington is a great midsize city to visit and live.

Washout flop. This is a beautiful city and the Riverwalk is a great asset but people who run this…read morecity starting with the Mayor really did a bad job tonight. Earlier today we stopped at the information booth on the Riverwalk and the lady behind the counter was very clear about where and what time the fireworks will be, no smiles but she was clear about the time 9pm and location: right in front of the "battleship". Well we had dinner and were there, right in front of the battleship at 8pm waited until 9:10pm and the fireworks started about ONE mile away on the river, we could barely see it, we could hear the noise but were very dissatisfied and disappointed. We know you are a very popular Mayor but you failed big time on this 249 anniversary of our Independence. That woman that should be told to smile said " fireworks will be visible from any point on the riverwalk" I took a picture of your City Hall and one of the Battleship that will serve as a reminder of your uselessness, you let down thousands of people by changing the location at the last minute

Nice place to walk around, along the river in Wilmington. There are lots of shops and some very…read morepopular restaurants all right there. A couple restaurants right on the water as well. There's public parking (metered) along the roads and free parking for those dining in the restaurants.

From the owner: A unique collection of shops and restaurants located right on the Cape Fear Riverfront!read more

Attended an event that included dinner. The food was terrible. We had a choice between chicken or…read morevegetarian. The chicken was overcooked and the vegetables were soggy. The vegetarian option didnt look very appetizing and most plates were sent back untouched. The rolls and dessert were fine. But for $150 per person it was disappointing

I recently visited the Wilmington Convention Center for a conference. The convention center is…read morepretty decent in size and the food catered there was decent. It appears to be newer as the décor and design is modern and up-to-date. Everything went smooth for the conference. It's also connected to the Embassy Suites, so it's easy to stay there and walk right in to the convention center.

This place is such a scam. Got $150 ticket for parking partially on the curb at our friends house,…read morenot blocking a street or parking space. When I called to get clarity about the rule (as we were parked AT A HOUSE) the man accused me of lying to him, told me had we inched the wheels slightly further into the yard we would have avoided a $150 fine. Lovely bunch of people who my tax dollars pay for.

Absolutely unacceptable experience with parking enforcement at Wrightsville Beach. I paid for my…read moreparking spot as required and still received a $50 ticket. There is no excuse for penalizing people who followed the rules and paid properly. Instead of supporting visitors who contribute to the area, the system appears more focused on handing out fines regardless of proof of payment. Situations like this seriously damage the reputation of Wrightsville Beach and need to be addressed immediately.

I really enjoyed visiting this new store. Everything was nice and neat and displayed very nicely…read more However, it's a small store, with a huge collection of clothes. Not so much in the furniture, home items. Parking is also very limited.

I get that the SA has the right to refuse a donation. It's a great organization and I support it…read morewhenever I can. HOWEVER This location sucks. We tried to donate a wooden bedframe on Saturday. We had broken it down into pieces for easy transport. Once we hauled it up onto their loading dock, piece by piece, without help, the manager came back there and told us to take it back because they don't have enough stuff to put it together. At that point we were so tired of hauling it around that we offered a donation just to be able to leave the bed, or at least put it in one of their roll-off dumpsters if they don't want it, and she refused. So we had to take it back, piece by piece, and load it back into our car. This location, and the manager in particular, has really soured my opinion of the Sally.