Wilmington, NC, USO Building Celebrates 70 Years-- Part 2

The USOs in Wilmington were operated by four agencies: YMCA, YWCA, National Jewish Welfare Board and the National Travelers Aid Association.

At the Hannah Block USO, there was a popular first floor canteen, a help desk for finding accommodations (hard to find in Wilmington whose wartime population swelled to 100,000 with all the defense workers) and a basement dorm that could house 600 on the weekends.

It was open around-the-clock, seven days a week.  Big Band dances were especially popular and they also had wedding receptions.

At the height of the war, as many as 63,000 would pass through on a typical weekend.

In 1997, the building's owners, St. John's Museum of Art announced they were going to demolish the structure causing a public outcry.  The city got it and put $2.1 million  in repairs into it.  It reopened in 2008 as the Hannah Block USO, named after a prominent Wilmington woman.

Glad They Kept This Important Aspect of the Homefront.  --GreGen