Elaine Henson has a party trick. She can look at most any vintage Carolina Beach postcard and name the year it was printed. The author of Carolina Beach: A Postcard History Series, Henson maintains a collection of several hundred postcards dating back to 1887.
Her secret comes down to that skinny vertical line separating the message from the address. If the post card doesn’t have a line, it’s between 1901 to 1907. If it does, it’s between 1907 to 1915. And there’s more: “If you have a card with a white border, it was printed between 1915 to 1930 to save ink,” she says. From 1930 to 1945, “if you look closely, you can see the cross- hatching of the linen weave in the background.” After 1939, photochrome cards took centerstage.
Come back for throwback fun and new adventures. The Carolina Beach Centennial is underway now through September. Visit our new I ❤️ CB Sculpture, enjoy nostalgic events and restaurant specials, plus more. Time to make memories that will last another 100 years!
Over the years, Henson’s gotten pretty good at identifying local landmarks, past and present. She knows the hotels that have come and gone, the restaurants that have stood the test of time, and the ebb and flow of the iconic Boardwalk.
This year, as Carolina Beach celebrates its 100th birthday, Henson’s given a lot of thought to the heart and soul of her beach. She always comes back to the fun factor. “The rides. The amusements. Our Boardwalk — that’s been there from the beginning to now!” she says.
It’s tempting to gaze at a postcard and imagine days gone by, but at Carolina Beach, those nostalgic traditions are still going strong. Here are five ways to get in on the fun.
Master the surfing basics with sessions through the Tony Silvagni Surf School. Photography courtesy of Wilmington & Beaches CVB
Olympic gold medalist Tony Silvagni could surf anywhere, but he chose Carolina Beach as home for the surf school he runs with his mom, Barbara, on Charlotte Avenue. “It’s pretty remarkable how many stand-out surfers there are from North Carolina,” he says.
Silvagni and his team of instructors are now focused on the next generation of surfers. He welcomes them into his shop for lessons, camps, and to rent vacation essentials like beach cruisers, surfboards, kayaks, chairs and e-bikes.
“Carolina Beach is a great place to learn to surf because there are prominent sandbars that give consistency on where the best waves come in. It’s a family-friendly, safe environment,” Silvagni explains. “A high percentage of people come to our area because surfing is a bucket-list activity, and then another percentage come here for their vacation, and they decide to take lessons just as an impulse.”
Whatever their motivation, beginning surfers almost always get hooked, and Silvagni loves to watch them return day after day, then year after year.
For beginners, Silvagni suggests his Monday through Friday surf camp, offered two hours a day, dependent on the tides. “Our schedule is on the website, and we recommend at least three sessions of two hours a day. The more consistency you have, the more repetition you gain to improve your muscle memory.”
Don’t miss the weekly fireworks show over the ocean, held from late May until early September. Photography courtesy of Wilmington & Beaches CVB
Even before the Oceanic Hotel opened with its resort and pavilion in 1887, locals gathered where today’s 16-foot-wide Boardwalk stands. “I have pictures of where boards are laid in the sand so people could get an easier grip walking in the sand,” Henson says.
The quarter-mile Boardwalk runs from Cape Fear Boulevard to Harper Avenue and it hosts happy families, date nights, and friend groups partaking in rides, congregating under covered gazebos, swinging on the new six-foot-long swings, and wandering in search of sweet treats.
Silvagni pictures his own childhood when he sees families together at the Boardwalk. “When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time there with my family. We’d always go over and pick up some doughnuts at Britt’s,” he remembers.
When the Boardwalk’s weekly summer concert series gears up at 6:30 p.m., anticipation builds for the 9 o’clock fireworks finale. “From Memorial Day to Labor Day, those fireworks bring so many people over the bridge,” Silvagni says. Viewing tip: “In my opinion, Havana’s, on the corner of Cape Fear Boulevard and Lake Park Boulevard — even though it’s a couple streets back — is the best location for viewing the fireworks,” Silvagni says.
When the sun’s shining, enjoy your drinks outside in The Fat Pelican’s beer garden. Photography courtesy of Wilmington & Beaches CVB
Fried fresh every morning, a glazed doughnut from Britt’s is a quintessential way to start your day at Carolina Beach. Photography courtesy of Wilmington & Beaches CVB
Traditions — especially the tasty kind — have a tight grip on the summer vacationers who come to Carolina Beach. As proof, look no farther than the line outside of Britt’s Donut Shop. From its home on the Boardwalk, this shop still makes the same mouthwatering glazed, yeast-risen doughnuts they made when they opened their doors in 1939 — it’s cash only so come prepared!
Carolina Beach’s quintessential dive bar The Fat Pelican lives out its “beer is love” motto into the wee hours of every morning. Whether revelers are hanging out at the beach-bum-inspired seating area or dropping quarters into old-school arcade games, everybody here is living their best beach life.
Coming in strong on almost every “best burger” list in the state, Island Burgers & Bites (yes, the one in the gas station) is happy to claim a team of burger enthusiasts who rave not only about the burger itself, but also the bun, toppings like candied bacon, pickled jalapeños, and pimento cheese, and sides including crinkle-cut fries and beer-battered onion rings. They will be moving to a larger location soon, complete with indoor and outdoor seating. Along with their beloved menu offerings, visitors can look forward to beer and wine selections.
In addition to its primo views of fireworks, Havana’s, housed in the 1916 Loughlin cottage, has an entrée for every person’s craving. Their clam chowder is a six-time winner of the annual regional competition (and you can even buy it by the to-go quart). In the mood for a salad? Try the Boardwalk, topped with Pepsi-marinated flank steak and blue cheese crumbles. Your obligatory beach-vacation fried food? Can’t go wrong with the Super Seafood Combo, a big plate filled with fresh-fried Gulf shrimp, Virginia oysters, and North Carolina flounder.
For the best deals, be on the lookout for restaurant specials offered in honor of Carolina Beach’s centennial year. From this spring through Labor Day weekend, you can dig into a variety of fare for $19.25 — a nod to the year the town was founded.
Immerse yourself in nature as you explore the platform trails that lead through Carolina Beach State Park. Photography courtesy of Wilmington & Beaches CVB
Hand-painted Venus flytrap sculptures installed around Carolina Beach celebrate the Cape Fear’s famous carnivorous plant. See the real thing at Carolina Beach State Park along the easy half-mile Flytrap Trail. As you walk through the pocosin habitat, watch for the small and fragile flytraps along the wetlands’ edges. Or, if you’re running short on time, you can see them at the Bog Garden behind the visitor center.
Silvagni’s visitors often rent bikes to head over to the park, both to check out the Venus flytraps and to explore the 50-foot Sugarloaf Dune, which has served as a navigational structure to seafarers since the 17th century and played a crucial role in the defense of the Port of Wilmington during the Civil War. Bikes are allowed on the Fitness Trail, a gravel one- mile-loop located off of 7th Street.
“On the outskirts of the park, there are some really nice spots to enjoy the sunset,” he says. “I love going back to the boat dock harbor and watching it from the gazebo.”
Explore local landmarks on the self-guided Then & Now tour. Photography courtesy of Wilmington & Beaches CVB
When Henson and her husband bought their Carolina Beach cottage in 2003 and she started her vintage postcard collection — at first as affordable art to adorn the walls — Henson obsessively looked in the backgrounds of the postcards to place them with local landmarks. She also began taking photos to document her own observations. “Between my postcards and my own photo collection, I can illustrate just about everything down here.”
Henson’s findings came in handy when she and Chris Scharf, a local software designer, began compiling this year’s Then & Now self-guided tour as part of Carolina Beach’s Centennial Celebration.
She explains how it works: Simply download the tour map on your phone or tablet. At each of the 21 stops, scan the corresponding QR code on the sidewalk to see vintage photographs of that same location throughout history.
Vintage postcards in Elaine Henson’s collection preserve bygone scenes from Carolina Beach’s past. Photography courtesy of Wilmington & Beaches CVB
One of Henson’s favorites is the present-day Hampton Inn, landmark for the old Ocean Plaza, whose ballroom served as a dance hall for shag dancing contests and live beach music performances. “Before that, Carolina Beach had a big dancing pavilion that was originally built in 1887 but burned in the fire of 1940.”
Many postcard collectors will tell you postcards are worth more when they’re postally unused. Henson disagrees. “I love to see what somebody wrote on the back. It’s very telling.” Her Carolina Beach collection tells the story of generation after generation coming to the beach to celebrate life’s simple pleasures: catching a wave, feeling the warm sand between their toes, strolling down the Boardwalk at sunset, dancing with a loved one. “It’s a slice of life that lifts your spirits.”
Now it’s your turn. Bite into a burger, watch the fireworks, and lift your spirits with a beach trip to this coastal community where tried-and-true experiences are traditions shared between generations. Start planning your visit here. And click here for more information on Carolina Beach’s Centennial Celebration.
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