Riverfront in Wilmington in New Hanover County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Seigler Building

1921

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 23, 2024

1. Seigler Building Marker

Inscription. Commercial structure built for Samuel Seigler (1884-1952), native of South Carolina, realtor. Purchased for rental property in 1923 by Ural Alexander Underwood (1873-1948), general contractor. Variously occupied by groceries, confectionaries, and taverns. Alex John Compos (1908-1965), native of Greece, and family operated the City Market Café here from 1940 to 1997.

Erected by Historic Wilmington Foundation, Inc.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and the North Carolina, Historic Wilmington Foundation series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1921.

Location. 34° 14.017′ N, 77° 56.917′ W. Marker is in Wilmington, North Carolina, in New Hanover County. It is in Riverfront. It is at the intersection of South Front Street and Muters Alley, on the right when traveling south on South Front Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 116 S Front St, Wilmington NC 28401, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Carolina’s Coastal Plain and on the Cape Fear Coast.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Tidewater.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Ofiesh-Plisco Building (within shouting distance of this marker); George Washington (within shouting distance of this marker); Old Wilmington City Market

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(within shouting distance of this marker); City Market House 1882 (within shouting distance of this marker); Mitchell-Anderson House (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); What is the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom? (about 400 feet away); Wilmington Iron Works Machine Shop (about 400 feet away); Underground Railroad Activity in Wilmington, N.C. (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Wilmington.

Regarding Seigler Building. Excerpt from Biographical Sketches of Wilmington Citizens (R.H. Fisher, 1929):

Ural Alexander Underwood, president of the contracting firm of U. A. Underwood Company, Inc., builder of hundreds of homes and business houses in Wilmington and its vicinity, chairman of the State Examining Board of Contractors, active in progress movements and influential in the higher class of affairs of the community, was born May 18, 1872, at Mount Holly, Gaston County, North Carolina. He has been a resident of Wilmington for nearly twenty years.

Mr. Underwood received his early education in the public schools at Flat Rock, Gaston County.
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 23, 2024

2. Seigler Building Marker
He was but nineteen years old when he began individual contracting, the youngest in the two Carolinas and it is probable the record still stands.… Big, fine school houses, churches, hotels, office buildings, business blocks and residences located not only in Wilmington, but in Kinston, New Bern, Chapel Hill, Goldsboro, Raleigh, Darlington, Florence, Greenville, Elizabeth City, and other cities and towns of North and South Carolina, stand as enduring monuments to the bigness and the thoroughness of his work. Among the buildings he erected in Wilmington are the Church of the Covenant, St. James Parish House, William Hooper School, Cornelius Harnett, Sears-Roebuck, St. Paul's Parish House and scores of others.

Also see . . .
1. Wilmington Historic District (PDF). National Register of Historic Places nomination for the district, which includes this property and was listed in 1974. (Prepared by Survey and Planning Unit, North Carolina Division of Archives and History; via North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office) (Submitted on December 28, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

2. Wilmington Historic District Boundary Expansion and Additional Documentation (PDF). National Register nomination that expanded the district in 2003. (Prepared by Sherry Joines Wyatt and

The Seigler Building image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 23, 2024

3. The Seigler Building

L. Robbie King; via North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office) (Submitted on December 28, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Credits. This page was last revised on December 28, 2024. It was originally submitted on December 26, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 178 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 26, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.