Wilmington in 2005: Here's how the Port City area looked

A view from the air taken in June 2005 shows the sprawling Port of Wilmington.

Actor Pat Hingle laughs as he tells a story June 11, 2005, at the Thalian Association benefit and award show. Hingle had parts in numerous TV shows and movies, including the Wilmington-shot "Maximum Overdrive."

Wilmington resident Barbie Beakey takes a drink of water as she watches the sun set on the Cape Fear River along the riverwalk in downtown Wilmington on Wednesday, June 15, 2005.

A Christmas tree along the Riverwalk in downtown Wilmington is reflected in the Cape Fear River on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2005.

Charles Berg of Wilmington has trouble with his umbrella while walking along the Riverwalk in downtown Wilmington on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2005, as Hurricane Ophelia hit the area.

Firefighters spread fire retardant foam on smoldering debris where the Astor Hotel in Carolina Beach once stood following battling the blaze for several hours on Monday, June 27, 2005.

Fire at the Astor Hotel in Carolina Beach taken from the balcony at Harbor Oaks just down the canal from the fire. Taken at 7:15 a.m. on Monday, June 27, 2005.

Demolition of the Almont Shipping Terminals site continues on Friday, Feb. 11, 2005. Almont was one of the last industrial companies along the Cape Fear River in downtown Wilmington until the mid-2000s. Much of its former area is now home to the Wilmington Convention Center and the Port City Marina.

The Water Street parking deck in Wilmington on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2005.

Bidders line the old midway during the auction at Jubilee Amusement Park in Carolina Beach on Tuesday, June 14, 2005. The amusement park, which opened in 1978, was sold to a development group.

Keith Thomas and Greg Lynn wash the windows of the BB&T Building in downtown Wilmington on Tuesday, March 29, 2005.

Henry Bittorf, left, of Beheler Trucking, helps position one of the four pieces of the Mary E. Morris onto a truck Thursday, August 4, 2005 while loading it at the athletic fields on Oak Island. The four pieces of the ship, which sunk in 1893, were transported from the athletic fields to G.V. Barbee Sr. Library. MATT BORN/STARNEWS FILE PHOTO

A sign for the future Walmart sits just off U.S. 17 in Leland on April 20, 2005.

Construction crews demolish the first of two houses on the eastern end of Ocean Isle Beach on April 6, 2005. The houses were condemned due to severe erosion.

A track hoe takes down what was left of the Ice House on Water Street on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2005.

A July 7, 2005, aerial of the Crystal Pier in Wrightsville Beach, which was closed at the time.

Queen Azalea Kelly Packard cuts the ribbon at Airlie Gardens to kick off the garden tour for the ribbon cutting ceremony of the 58th Azalea Festival on Friday, April 8, 2005.

Country singer Travis Tritt entertains the crowd at Trask Coliseum on Wednesday, April 6, 2005. Tritt kicked of the concert series for Azalea Festival with 90s pop legends Hootie and the Blowfish playing the same venue Friday night.

Crews put the finishing touches on the Martin Luther King Parkway's Luther H. Jordan Jr. Bridge over Smith Creek in Wilmington on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2005.

Wilmington mayor Spence Broadhurst speaks to supporters at Wilson's Restaurant after being reelected in 2005.

A customer walks out the door at Worms and Coffee on N.C. 211 just outside of Southport on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2005. The store has been featured on David Letterman and Jay Leno and business is back to normal after a fire a few months ago.

Lamont Russ of Rose Ice and Coal Company in Wilmington works in the icehouse packing ice for Hurricane Katrina relief on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2005.

Tom "Dr. Cue" Rossman demonstrates some of his famous trick shots at the Orton Pool Room in downtown Wilmington in 2005.

In 2005, a Michael Jordan Laney High School jersey for sale at Finish Line in Independence Mall in Wilmington.

Elise Wilson as "Gladys Herdman," Roxann Hubbard (left/rear) as "Grace Bradley" and Blaine Mowrer (right/rear) as "Claude Herdman" in Thalian Association's "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" in Wilmington on Monday, Nov. 21, 2005.

Royce Potter weighs whiting at Potter's Seafood along Yacht Basin Drive in Southport in 2005.

A car crosses the Sunset Beach Bridge on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2005.

Sculptor Hiroshi Sueyoshi cleans his piece in the Minnie Evans Sculpture Garden at Airlie Gardens in 2005 in Wilmington.

Greg Collins adjusts his goggles in Banks Channel prior to the swim portion of the YMCA's 27th annual triathlon at Wrightsville Beach Saturday, Sept. 24, 2005. Collins was one of 1,100 people who registered for the event. The triathlon is the seventh oldest in the United States and the largest triathlon between Washington D.C. and Florida.

Kim Hunter, right, with the Carolina Blueberry Co-op, grabs some blueberries for a customer Saturday, June 25, 2005, at the North Carolina Blueberry Festival in Burgaw. The blueberries, from Blueberry Lane Farms in Pink Hill, were the only ones available a few hours into the festival after all the other vendors sold out.

WWII Veteran and Medal of Honor recipient Col. Charles P. Murray speaks during the "Salute to World War II Veterans" program held Saturday, Feb. 26, 2005, at the Historic USO/Community Arts Center downtown.

Local legend Hannah Block plays the piano during the "Salute to World War II Veterans" program held Saturday, Feb. 26, 2005, at the Historic USO/Community Arts Center downtown.

The Century Hope vessel is docked along the Cape Fear River at the Almont Shipping docks in downtown Wilmington on Thursday, May 12, 2005. The Almont dock is adjacent to the PPD headquarters building project, which was currently under construction.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Diligence Commanding Officer Andy Blomme leads his crew up South Front Street in downtown Wilmington on a morning run on Tuesday, June 28, 2005.

Julie Rehder, Dorothy DeShields and Rhonda Bellamy on Tuesday, Sept 20, 2005, during a news conference at Bellamy Mansion for the African American Heritage Weekend.

Carrying a spotting scope, Taylor Piephoff walks along a dirt road atop one of the many dikes at Eagles Island on Saturday morning, Jan. 1, 2005. Piephoff was taking part in the one-day bird count of the area sponsored by the National Audobon Society.

An aerial view of ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) in Brunswick County on Thursday, July 7, 2005.

An aerial view of the northern Cape Fear riverfront area just north of downtown Wilmington Thursday, July 7, 2005.

An aerial view looking south down Market Street from Porters Neck on Thursday, July 7, 2005.

An aerial of the Holden Beach bridge Thursday, July 7, 2005. The 1,800-foot-long bridge runs across the Intracoastal Waterway.

Memebrs of the Port City Firm cheer on the Wilmington Hammerheads on Saturday, July 2, 2005, at Legion Stadium in their game against Cincinnati.

Hoggard football's Desean Pearce runs against New Hanover on Friday Nov. 4, 2005.

Union troops rally under the American flag after "capturing" Fort Fisher in the annual re-enactment marking the 140-year anniversary of the historic Civil War battle on Saturday Jan. 15, 2005.

Leland as seen from the overpass to Village Road on March 9, 2005.

The under-construction Wilmington Police Department on the north end of the city on Friday, Oct. 28, 2005.

Aerial view of the 2005 Cape Fear Fair and Expo at Wilmington International Airport.

Construction continues at the PPD site on Wednesday Dec. 28, 2005, in downtown Wilmington.

An aerial just west of 58th Street on Oak Island taken on July 7, 2005.

Vacationers paddleboat through the fairly clear main section of Greenfield Lake on Thursday, June 9, 2005.

Traffic moves north on North Front Street on Friday, Oct. 28, 2005.

Under construction building on the North Campus of Cape Fear Community College on Monday, Jan. 24, 2005.

The main strip along Castle Hayne Road in Castle Hayne on Monday, Jan. 24, 2005.

The Docksider Inn in Kure Beach sits in a pile of rubble on Friday, Jan. 21, 2005. The Docksider Oceanfront Inn at Kure Beach is being torn down to make way for a condominium complex. The new complex, Kure Beach Villas, will include eight high-dollar condos, a swimming pool and on-site parking.

The teak wood deck of the Battleship North Carolina on Thursday, March 24, 2005.

A building at 501 N. Third St. on Wednesday, March 23, 2005.

Trackhoes on the south end of Figure Eight Island dredge sand at Mason Inlet on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2005.

The former Dean Scarafoni tract, which would soon become the Wilmington Convention Center, on Friday, Feb. 11, 2005.

A power line arcs next to a fire at the former Wilmington Children's Museum and a storage facility for Rippy Automotive Collision Center at the corner of Market and 11th streets on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2005.

An aerial view of the Wilmington International Airport terminal and parking lot on July 7, 2005.

Aerial of Oak Island Lighthouse and Coast Guard Station on Oak Island Thursday, July 7, 2005.

In 2005, the city of Wilmington voted to tear down the dilapidated Dudley Elementary building on North Sixth Street, seen here on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2005.

The Rev. Joe Cooper of the Church of the Servant carries a wooden cross past the Bellamy Mansion on Friday, March 25, 2005, as part of "The Way of the Cross" processional through downtown Wilmington for Good Friday.