Wilmington leaders celebrate Bijou Park re-opening with ribbon cutting

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) – City leaders held a ribbon cutting on Wednesday, February 8, to celebrate the re-opening ceremony of Bijou Park and the North Front Street Streetscape.

The newly-updated park is on Front Street, where the Bijou Theater used to sit. The theater closed in 1956, and was demolished in 1963. A sign now sits in the park, with information on the theater for patrons to read.

Among the improvements, new pavement, sidewalks, lighting and street furnishings between Chestnut Street and Walnut Street.

Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo spoke about how the completed projects are a great asset to downtown revitalization.

“It’s just a lot of work went into this, over  –probably over two decades now, that we have been working on significant projects like redoing Front Street, 3rd Street, finishing the Riverwalk , building these magnificent parks along the river. All of this is helping the revitalization of downtown Wilmington. It’s brought more energy, vitality, and people living downtown,” said Saffo.

The North Front Street Streetscape is a $3.5 million project that was jointly funded by a voter-approved transportation bond and with the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority.