Sunset Park Historic District

Sunset Park is a planned residential neighborhood about one mile south of downtown Wilmington, covering roughly 227 acres. The Fidelity Trust and Development Company laid it out in August 1912 on a grid of wide boulevards and narrower cross streets named for early United States presidents. Twin brick and wood pergolas at the eastern end of Northern Boulevard were built in 1912 to mark the entrance and once served as a waiting area for the trolley to Greenfield Lake and downtown. The earliest houses, on Northern and Central boulevards, include Queen Anne, Craftsman, Tudor Revival and Colonial Revival designs, while Cape Cod, minimal traditional and ranch houses fill the cross streets. Many modest homes were built for shipyard workers and their families during World War II. Two Colonial Revival churches from 1950 and 1953 also stand here. Despite siding and window replacements, the district keeps its historic character, and about 90 percent of its resources contribute to its significance.