Alumni, family, and friends celebrated the 100th birthday of the Wise Alumni House on Saturday, November 7. The centennial celebration began with a private, VIP reception honoring those who helped to restore the house. Rob McInturf, Executive Director of the Alumni Association, introduced Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo who proudly spoke about the beauty and symbolism of the Wise Alumni House as it brings together UNCW Seahawks of the past, present, and future. Mayor Bill Saffo, Class of ’83, then recited the Proclamation declaring November 7, 2009 Wise Alumni House day. The climax of the event was the centennial plaque dedication and unveiling performed by George Edwards, Executive Director of The Historic Wilmington Foundation, followed by a champagne toast by Centennial Celebration Committee Chairperson Norm Melton, Class of ’74. The plaque will be displayed on the front of the Wise Alumni House. After the program, guests continued to tour the house and reminisce about their own experiences with the house and UNCW.
The celebration ended with a public reception and open house. For two hours, members of the community were welcomed in to the Wise Alumni House to tour and enjoy the history. Student Ambassadors were stationed throughout the first floor of the house to share the history of each room with visitors. The second floor, which now houses the offices of the UNCW Alumni Association, was also open for guests to view. Students, alumni, faculty, staff, and the community came together to honor and celebrate a house that symbolizes the relationship between the past, present, and future of UNCW. Photos of the Wise Alumni House.
View a multimedia gallery of the newest renovations to the
Wise Alumni House!
Unveiling the new portrait of Jessie Kenan Wise on October 14, 2008.
Photo credit UNCW/Jamie Moncrief
Wise Alumni House
The home of University of North Carolina Wilmington Alumni
With its soaring Ionic columns and Neoclassical Revival flair, UNCW's Wise Alumni House embodies the architectural symmetry and grandeur popular at the turn of the century. It is one of the four cornerstones of Wilmington's historic mansion district.
Designed by renowned architect Burett H. Stephens, this 7,484-square-foot house was built in 1908-09 by Delgado Cotton Mills President Edwin C. Holt and his wife, the former Dolores Delgado Stevens of Charleston, S.C. It cost "upwards of $11,000 to build," according to a 1908 edition of the Wilmington Morning News. A 1911 photograph shows the mansion dominating the scene with just a few spindly trees in the yard which, at that time, was not enclosed by a brick wall.
Jessie Hargrave Kenan Wise, a sister and heiress of Mary Lily Kenan Flagler Bingham and William Rand Kenan, Jr., bought the house from the Holts in 1916 and made it her primary residence where she lived for more than 50 years. "Miss Jessie," as she was affectionately called, lived two doors from her sister, Sarah Graham Kenan. (In between the two homes was a house owned by Thomas Davis, general solicitor for Atlantic Coastline Railroad. Nothing remains of the structure today.)
Wise House is not as large as Kenan House, which is now the residence of the UNCW chancellor, but it was built during the same era and on the same grand scale. The entrance to the two-and-a-half story Wise House features a full-width portico supported by Ionic columns. On either side are one-story porches, framed with balustrades. Traverse gables extend from the hip roof .
The foyer is brightened by sunlight coming through the large stained glass window at the staircase landing which leads to the second floor. To the right is the east front parlor. A white marble mantelpiece is visible through the French doors, and detailed molding frames the room's ceiling which is centered with a rose medallion. The walls are trimmed with picture and chair rail moldings, and the floor is bordered with inlaid mahogany. It was referred to as the music room even though no piano was kept there.
Opposite the parlor is a long living room with two fireplaces and built-in bookcases. It had once been two smaller rooms, but Mrs. Wise had it remodeled because she liked large rooms. Just beyond the living room is a tiny space with a fireplace where Mrs. Wise liked to take her afternoon naps.
Mrs. Wise also enjoyed having a drink in the evening, and during Prohibition in the 1920's, she became worried that someone would steal her liquor which was supplied by a bootlegger. That fear caused her to reinforce the pantry floor, walls and ceiling with steel plates. Bars were placed on the window, and an iron door installed. The room was kept locked and opened only when Mrs. Wise wanted a drink, and then only long enough for the liquor to be poured.
The dining room is shadowed by the porte cochere on the east side of the house. Above the mahogany paneling, Mrs. Wise decorated the room with hand-blocked wall covering which featured a hunting scene taken from a French tapestry. The ceiling is crisscrossed with dark beams. Accenting the exterior wall is a dark green marble fireplace with a wooden mantle. The floor is trimmed with the most elaborate of several inlaid border patterns in the house.
Mrs. Wise's bedroom was on the front west side of the home's second floor. In a delightful touch, the wooden mantles in that room and the other front bedroom are supported by columns that match the Ionic columns in the front of the house. Two mirrored built-in wardrobes extend into the hallway which leads through double doors with archpaned glass to a small foyer. The foyer, which overlooks a narrow, decorative balustrade over the front entryway, once served as Mrs. Wise's sewing room.
A narrow staircase at the back of the house leads to the attic, with sloping walls, gabled windows, window seats and a down-scaled stage that children enjoyed. In their prime the grounds were a wonderland. Old photographs show banks of azaleas framing a beautifully manicured lawn decorated with elaborate statuary. On the side of the house was a sunken garden, graced by a centuries-old Roman well with a wrought iron top and an iron bucket.
When Mrs. Wise died in 1968, her grandchildren Lawrence Lewis, Jr., now deceased, and Mary Lily Lewis Flagler Wiley deeded the house to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The donation was intended to further the charitable and educational programs of the school, but for nearly 25 years the house stood empty and neglected because funds were not available for its upkeep and zoning restrictions prevented its use for offices and meeting space.
In March 1993 the UNCW Alumni Association accepted the responsibility of restoring the house to its former elegance. The group secured a $400,000 loan and began renovation. The first phase included structural repairs as well as the installation of a new kitchen and access for the disabled. In May 1994, the alumni association moved its headquarters to Wise House and the renovation continues. The house was formally dedicated on June 7, 1997.
If you would like to tour Wise Alumni House contact the UNCW Alumni Association at 910.962.2682 or alumni@uncw.edu. Normal office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Our summer hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Friday. Summer hours take place from early June to mid-August.
If you would like information about renting the Wise Alumni House please contact Tina Strickland at 910.962.3833 or stricklandt@uncw.edu. If you would like to support the Wise Alumni House donations can be made through the online giving site HERE.
