COURTESY OF PBC DESIGN + BUILD
The red brick Pearsall Memorial Presbyterian
Church on the south side of Market Street
flourished when Rev. Dr. B. Frank Hall was the pastor
from 1949-1977. Hall was a theologian known for his
eloquence in the pulpit and in his local newspaper articles.
He had deep Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach roots, the
family maintaining a cottage on East Oxford Street and a home
on Chestnut Street until after his death and that of his wife,
Adelaide.
Dr. Hall was also the head of the philosophy and religion
department at then Wilmington College, now University of
North Carolina Wilmington. He was a charismatic orator who
was friends with President Harry Truman.
As Hall neared retirement, the church added a 4,000 square-foot
fellowship hall for youth programs and church gatherings.
It was built in the early 1970s and designed by Leslie Boney, Jr.
of Boney Architects.
The last service was held in June of 2019 and the church
and property was put up for sale in 2020. Enter PBC Design +
Build, which is celebrating 25 years in business under founder
Dave Spetrino, who got his start with a seven-figure renovation
of the 12,000-square-foot Graystone Inn.
The original 4,000 square foot fellowship hall of the historic Pearsall Memorial Presbyterian Church on Market Street was designed by
Leslie Boney, Jr. of Boney Architects and dates to the early 1970s. Its concrete precast arched windows reflect mid-century style. A key
architectural change to the building during renovation was the addition of a clerestory along the ridgeline designed by Mark Wilson of
Kersting Architecture to bring in natural light.
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WBM
ALLISON POTTER
BEFORE
AFTER