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home of distinction
Cottage Van Leuven-Whitesides
The circa 1925 Van Leuven-
Whitesides Cottage, designated by the
Wrightsville Beach Historic Landmark
Commission in 2002, was the subject of
research conducted by architectural his-torian
Beth Keane. The research is part
of the commission’s application process
and the documents are public record.
Keane’s research reveals that Eleanor
Emerson Van Leuven purchased the
property at 14 West Oxford Street on
September 28, 1929. At the time of the
purchase, the property was restricted
for residential purposes only. A vacant
lot to the west was acquired by the Van
Leuvens in 1935.
To date, the Van Leuvens owned the
property the longest, 31 years, and dur-ing
that time provided for service staff
with ground-level quarters for a cook
who doubled as a laundress, and a but-ler
who was also a gardener. This ground
floor area was flooded by Hurricane
Fran in 1996, three weeks after the
Whitesides moved permanently to West
Oxford Street. The garage walls have the
watermarks to prove the flood waters
reached between three and four feet.
During the renovation, that area had
to be gutted to meet town code. It now
provides storage behind garage doors
that duplicate the design of garage
doors that Arland Whitesides discovered
on another local historic landmark.
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WBM