What s being called one of the most important historic structures in Wilmington will soon have a plan for its preservation and restoration.
That was the main focus of a press conference held Wednesday by the Historic Wilmington Foundation at Giblem Lodge, 720 Princess St. Built in 1871, the three-story, white-and-blue structure has, since its construction, housed an order of Black Freemasons who meet there to this day.
It s the second-oldest Black Masonic Temple in North Carolina after one in New Bern.
The building has fallen into disrepair over the years, something that John Jeremiah Sullivan a Wilmington-based author and historian with multiple book titles to his credit and bylines in the New York Times Magazine and The New Yorker said is perverse given the structure s historical import.