gigantic lamps once belonging to Wilmington’s old customs house at the entrance to the stores. The Cotton Exchange opened in 1976, and within the first year of its operation had already received awards of merit from the North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the North Carolina Preservation Society. It brought over 200 new jobs into the area, and continues to expand both economically and physically. The complex now has five sections: The Wood Seed Building (a building that once housed a Chinese laundromat and a seed company), The Bear Building (an early 20th-century grocery), The O’Brien Building (originally Sears, Roebuck and Co.), The Granary Building, and The DahnHardt Building (a late 19th-century saloon building). Further Information on Historical Buildings Much of the historical importance of what is now called the Cotton Exchange is derived from the eight buildings of which it was originally composed. Initially it spanned from 308-16 Nutt Street (Now North Front Street). This was an area with a rich industrial background, heavily connected to the city's function as a chief shipping port. • 308-308 ½ Nutt Street comprised a wholesale grocer and a warehouse used by the Boney and Harper Mill (the dominant industry on the block). • 310 ½ Nutt Street was a warehouse used for flour by 1900, though it had originally (1893) been part of an outdoor beer garden adjacent to a saloon. • 310-312 Nutt Street contained a two-story boarding house and saloon circa 1886. Formerly, it had been a three-story mariner’s saloon, though this structure was destroyed in the fire of February 21, 1886. By 1893 the boarding house function of the business had been abandoned, though the saloon was still operational. In 1900 the building was purchased by Cooper Wholesale Grocers, who used the space to clean and shell peanuts. • 314 Nutt Street housed a steam engine used to power the neighboring mill, Boney and Harper. The steam engine continued operations until 1915. • 316 Nutt Street was the Boney and Harper Homing and Corn Mill, begun circa 1886. By 1912 it was said to be the only mill of its kind east of Tennessee. They produced four-thousand bushels of pearl hominy, grits, and corn meal a day. Expansion since the original purchase added buildings such as the previously mentioned Sprunt Cotton Exchange, and the former pub and brothel known as Paddy’s Hollow. Sources Buildings and