Here are tours of two West Side neighborhoods of Wilmington: Union Park Gardens and Browntown.


Union Park Gardens was developed during World War I from 1918 to 1922. The idea to develop Union Park Gardens came from a meeting between local shipbuilders, the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, and a US Shipping Board member. Union Park Gardens was to alleviate the housing squeeze that was subsequently having an effect on the shipbuilding industry in the city. Anchored by trolley lines along Union Street and Lancaster Avenue, the neighborhood was developed rapidly as a result of the war effort. Ballinger and Perrot, a nationally known architectural and engineering firm, designed the neighborhood to have English-style houses and winding roads. 506 private dewllings were built, mostly in groups of four or six but some being detached or duplexes. An assortment of rooflines and houses being set at staggered distances from the curb were used to create visual interest.

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Rowhouses on Bancroft Parkway.

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Rowhomes on Bancroft Parkway near Geddes Street.

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Rowhouses on Sycamore Street.

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Looking across Bancroft Parkway at duplexes.

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Rowhouses on Bancroft Parkway.

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Duplexes on Gilles Street.

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More rowhomes on Bancroft Parkway.

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Rowhouses on Bancroft Parkway.

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Looking across Bancroft Parkway at houses on Linden Street.

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Houses on Bancroft Parkway.

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Rowhomes on Sycamore Street.

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Rowhouses on Geddes Street.

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More houses on Geddes Street.

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More houses on Geddes Street.

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Browntown is the historically Polish neghborhood on the southwest side of Wilmington. When the Polish came to Wilmington in the late 1880's, they sought work at industries where there were German-speaking foremen to hire them. Many found work in the tanneries, moroccos, and foundries located along Maryland Avenue. The Poles at first lived in the downtown area where other poor lived, but they then began to form their own neighborhoods. The first Polish neighborhood was on the East Side, near Old Swedes Church on 7th Street. A larger Polish neighborhood formed in the vicinity of these foundries and tanneries. This neighborhood is now Browntown.

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Rowhouses on Maple Street.

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Rowhouses on Jackson Street.

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Rowhouses and a corner store at Jackson and Elm Streets.

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The Boys and Girls Club of Wilmington is located in an old Presbyterian Church at the corner of Jackson & Elm Streets.

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Rowhouses on Jackson Street. The hedgeville Community Garden is at the right.

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Rowhouses and storefronts at the corner of Maryland Avenue and Maple Street.

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Rowhouses on Porter Street.

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St. Hedwig Roman Catholic Church rises above rowhouses on Maple Street.

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Rowhomes on Maple Street.

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The House of Wright Mortuary at the corner of Van Buren and Maple Streets.

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The Polish Library Association, founded in 1898, is located at Jackson & Maple Streets. St. Hedwig's Church is in the background.

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The entrance to St. Hedwig Roman Catholic Church. The Gothic church was built in 1904 to serve the Polish population who had moved to the neighborhood.

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Looking uphill in Kosciuszko Park. Kosciuszko Park was named after Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a colonist who help in the Revolutionary War, then lit by the flame of patriotism, went back to his homeland to try and drive out the Russians.

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Looking down from Kosciuszko Park at Browntown.

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The lower Downtown are can be seen through the tree branches.

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Browntown in the foreground, Center City in the background. The steeples of St. Hedwig's reach towards the heavens, and can be seen from many vantage points in the city.

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You can see how dense Browntown and Wilmington are.

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Rowhomes at Harrison & Beech Streets.

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Rowhouses on Harrison Street across the street from St. Hedwig Church.

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Rowhomes on Oak Street across from Pulaski Triangle.

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The old Public School 19 building, at the intersection of Oak and Harrison Streets. The school was built in 1881.

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Pulaski Triangle, located in between Oak Street, Harrison Street, and Maryland Avenue.

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Businesses on Maryland Avenue across from Pulaski Triangle.

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Rowhomes on Oak Street near Franklin Street.

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Rowhouses on Anchorage Street.

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Rowhomes on Coleman Street.

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Rowhouses on 6th Avenue.

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Rowhouses on Lower Oak Street.

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Eddie Michaels Playground is located at the corner of Wright and Stroud Streets.

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Rowhomes on Stroud Street near Brown Street.

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Rowhomes on Stroud Street.

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Interesting photos. Is that neighborhood anywhere near the Charter School of Wilmington by any chance?

Interesting photos. Is that neighborhood anywhere near the Charter School of Wilmington by any chance?

The Charter School located at the intersection of Lancaster Avenue and DuPont Road, right inside the city limits.

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Wilmington sure boasts an amazing number of rowhouse-lined neighborhoods for a city its size. I could easily mistake most of those pics for a much larger city. Looks nice too, well-kept and pleasant to live in.

I've been on some of those streets. Great work. Wilmington resembles Philly and Baltimore, but has enough unique touches to have it's own look.

Wow, I used to get into trouble in both those neighborhoods.

Got chased out of Rocky park by the cops on several occasions. Btw, nobody calls it Kusciuzko.

Wow, I used to get into trouble in both those neighborhoods.

Got chased out of Rocky park by the cops on several occasions. Btw, nobody calls it Kusciuzko.

I noted it as Kosciuzko Park because it's labelled that way on maps. That way, people can see where it is on a map if they want to know where the picture was taken.

What do you call it?

Nice looking neighborhoods, particularly Union Park Gardens.

I like the skyline shot from Browntown, that's a nice view. It kind looks like a british skyline shot, or makes you think you're in England with those rowhouses.

nice shots

very nice tour. i'd imagine wilmington feels bigger than it is atleast from street level. thats the feeling i got from the pics.

I noted it as Kosciuzko Park because it's labelled that way on maps. That way, people can see where it is on a map if they want to know where the picture was taken.

What do you call it?

"Rocky Park."

Btw, if you get a chance, there is another cool vantage point around 8th and Clayton at the raised reservoir. You can't go inside the fence anymore, but you can climb the hill and get some cool pics.

"Rocky Park."

Btw, if you get a chance, there is another cool vantage point around 8th and Clayton at the raised reservoir. You can't go inside the fence anymore, but you can climb the hill and get some cool pics.

I know where you're talking about. You can't really climb the hill, I think the entire thing is fenced off.

The University & Whist Club, a private supper club, is across the street, in that big walled-in house. I've been in there before for meetings, and they have a good view from the second floor. I would like to go up in their little tower so that I could see the view from above the trees.