Tour Historic Kenan House, UNCW Chancellor’s Residence, Feb. 18-20
1/14/2005 9:43:00 AM
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Jan. 14, 2005
Wilmington, N.C. – The Friends of the University of North Carolina Wilmington will host the first public tours of the renovated Kenan House—one of the city’s most notable historic homes and the university chancellor’s residence—Friday through Sunday, Feb. 18-20.
Tours will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18 and Saturday, Feb. 19, and from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20. Kenan House is located at 1705 Market Street in Wilmington. Tickets, $15 per person, are available at Embellishments in Lumina Station. They will also be available at the door. Proceeds will benefit the Friends of UNCW Scholarship Endowment.
Kenan House, a Neoclassical Revival dwelling constructed in 1911, was initially built and occupied by Atlantic Coast Line Railroad executives. In 1923, Wilmington native Sarah Graham Kenan acquired the house, which she called “Sunnyside.” The house’s structural features include steel frame interior walls and hardwood covered concrete floors installed following a 1931 fire. Decorative elements include elaborate woodwork, antique fine furnishings and a 55-foot entrance hall that serves as the house’s focal point.
After Sarah Graham Kenan’s death in 1968, her nephew James Graham Kenan deeded the 7,500-square-foot house and many of its furnishings to Wilmington College, now UNCW. With funding from the Kenan family and nonstate resources, the university recently renovated the house. The preservation included repairs to the heating and air-conditioning systems and upgrades to the plumbing and electrical systems, which were installed in 1931.
To learn more about the Kenan House tours, sponsored by the Friends of UNCW, contact Andrea Weaver, 910/962-7631 or weavera@uncw.edu.
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