blending Queen Anne, Federal and Georgian architectural elements, Forest Hills minted an architectural style rooted in the overarching Colonial Revival. “They thought that by looking back and taking some of these archi-tectural styles from the 19th century and bringing those forward with a modern twist that they would capitalize on this sense of Americanism,” Edwards says. Other home designs embraced the Cape Cod style, rooted in British country cottage idioms that eventually eclipsed the Arts and Crafts style bungalow of Wilmington’s streetcar era and the more formal Tudor Revival homes that were built in Forest Hills until the 1990s. First homebuyers included successful independent business owners, and corporate and government officials: Thomas B. Lilly, owner of City Optical Company; Vernon Avery, owner of a paint company; George Bailey, owner of the Royal, Victoria and Bailey theaters; Benjamin Hatch, an Atlantic Coastline Railroad paymaster; J.W. Grise, principal of Tileston School; Jacob Swart, florist and owner of the North Carolina Bulb Company; Charles Harrington, manager of a local machinery and mill supply company; and John Hamilton, health officer. In the first phase of development spanning 1925-1929, spec homes and custom-built homes sprang up near Market Street along Forest Hills Drive, Guilford Avenue and Colonial Drive. Plans for the second phase from Forest Hills Drive to Wrightsville Avenue were completed in 1927. All lots were located within walking distance of the community’s nucleus, Forest Hills Elementary School, designed by Leslie N. Boney, built in 1926. The school, say Forest Hills’ volunteer walking tour guides Elaine Henson and Marty Rice, was a big factor in the neighborhood’s success. Rice and Henson take their walking tour duties seriously, spend-ing time in the New Hanover County Library’s North Carolina Room to find answers to frequently asked questions about original dates of construction. When the seasonal tours resume in April, they will lead groups of visitors through the neighborhood using printed reference materials compiled by the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Department of Public History for the Historic Wilmington Foundation’s walking tour of Forest Hills, which state: The ideas for the development of a neighborhood like Forest Hills sprung from the fervor of national pride following America’s centennial celebration in 1876. The residents of the Wilmington community, reacting to what they saw as the break-down The 1926 Colonial Revival Bailey home at 102 Forest Hills Drive was built for a successful theatre entrepreneur and automobile owner. Note the engaged porte-cochère, far right, and the circular driveway. of traditional American values in the early half of the 20th century, sought to hearken back to their forefathers’ values with homes that expressed a connection to the wealthy builders of Georgian and Federal styles houses of the late 18th and early 19th century. Legendary architectural historian and walking tour guide Ed Turberg explains, many of these stylistic ideas came from international exhibitions hosted in American cities: the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition (British, French and Asian), the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair (Neoclassical The 1933 Tudor Revival Block House at 317 Forest Hills Drive was built by clothing manufacturer Charles and civic activist Hannah Block. 44 WBM april 2014
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