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Louis T. Moore Collection
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Wrightsville Beach.
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Wrightsville Beach.
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Description
Title
Wrightsville
Beach
.
Subject
Wrightsville
Beach
,
Beaches
,
Lumina
,
Lumina
Pavilion
Description
A
large
gathering
on the
beach
in
front
of
Lumina
.
Note
movie
screen
on
left
.
Wrightsville
Beach
was
named
for
Joshua
Grainger
Wright
(1758-1811)
who
owned
a
vast
amount
of
acreage
along
the
sounds
and the
coast
. The
beach
is
a
part
of the
North
Carolina
Banks
, a
chain
of
barrier
islands
,
which
spans
almost
all
of the
North
Carolina
coast
from
Virginia
to
South
Carolina
.
Until
the
latter
half
of the
nineteenth
century
,
development
along
the
immediate
coast
was
hindered
by an
inadequate
transportation
system
. In the
1870s
, the
Shell
Road
(or
Wilmington
Turnpike)
was
built
from
Wilmington
to
Wrightsville
Sound
,
making
the
area
more
accessible
. In
1888
, a
railway
was
constructed
from
downtown
Wilmington
to the
Hammocks
(Harbor
Island)
. The
same
year
, the
Sea
View
Railroad
was
built
from the
Hammocks
to the
beach
,
opening
up
the
beach's
southern
extension
to
development
. The
Town
of
Wrightsville
Beach
was
incorporated
in
1899
. In
1901
, the
beach
car
line
from
Wilmington
to
Wrightsville
Beach
was
sold
by the
Wilmington
and
Seacoast
Railroad
to the
Consolidated
Railways
,
Light
and
Power
Company
(later
the
Tidewater
Power
Co.)
and
shortly
thereafter
, the
line
was
converted
from
steam
to an
electric
line
. At the
line's
southern
terminus
on the
beach
, the
electric
company
constructed
a
large
dance
and
amusement
pavilion
,
Lumina
. The
name
was a
manufactured
name
,
derived
from the
Latin
word
for
light
,
which
was
appropriate
since
the
exterior
of the
building
was
outlined
by
over
six
hundred
incandescent
lights
.
Opened
June
3
,
1905
,
Lumina
quickly
became
the "
fun
spot
of the
south.
"
Nationally
known
bands
played
each
summer
in the
orchestra
shell
in the
famous
ballroom
.
Until
about
1930
,
silent
movies
were
shown
on a
screen
,
which
was
built
in the
ocean
breakers
.
Lumina
was a
popular
tourist
attraction
for
most
of the
next
six
decades
.
It
was
razed
in
1973
.
Source
Louis T. Moore Collection 327
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