25 replies to this topic

[xzmattzx]

I'm new here.  I see that Delaware is the only state with no representation in the Northeast Section, so here's a thread to discuss anything about the state of Delaware.  Maybe if we get some more Delawareans, we can have our own subforum as well.

[Carter711]

My only beef with Delaware is the tolls.  Driving from NJ thru Delaware on 295 - 95, you have to stop and pay two different tolls for the 10 miles of road in Delaware.  Two tolls for 10 miles!  It's ridiculous!

[MadVlad]

Carter711, on Oct 5 2006, 01:27 AM, said:

My only beef with Delaware is the tolls.  Driving from NJ thru Delaware on 295 - 95, you have to stop and pay two different tolls for the 10 miles of road in Delaware.  Two tolls for 10 miles!  It's ridiculous!

Heh, sound like what New Hampshire used to be....

[xzmattzx]

Carter711, on Oct 5 2006, 01:27 AM, said:

My only beef with Delaware is the tolls.  Driving from NJ thru Delaware on 295 - 95, you have to stop and pay two different tolls for the 10 miles of road in Delaware.  Two tolls for 10 miles!  It's ridiculous!

Bear in mind that one of those tols is really for New Jersey, even though it's in Delaware.  You have to pay to leave New Jersey, whether it's on the Delaware Memorial Bridge, Commodore Barry Bridge near Chester, PA, Ben Franklin Bridge in Philly, and almost every other bridge spanning the Delaware River.  The only free bridge that I know of is I-95 as it crosses over the river near Trenton.

[runawayjim]

xzmattzx, on Oct 5 2006, 02:53 PM, said:

Bear in mind that one of those tols is really for New Jersey, even though it's in Delaware.  You have to pay to leave New Jersey, whether it's on the Delaware Memorial Bridge, Commodore Barry Bridge near Chester, PA, Ben Franklin Bridge in Philly, and almost every other bridge spanning the Delaware River.  The only free bridge that I know of is I-95 as it crosses over the river near Trenton.

i think the philly bridges are PA tolls... at least the walt whitman bridge on 76 is.

[xzmattzx]

runawayjim, on Oct 5 2006, 03:45 PM, said:

i think the philly bridges are PA tolls... at least the walt whitman bridge on 76 is.

The toll for the Walt Whitman Bridge is on the Pennsylvania side.  Like I said, you can get into New Jersey for free, but you have to pay to leave.  Some tolls for some bridges are on the New Jersey side, but they are still for people heading out of New Jersey.

[Jerseyman4]

Delaware has better roads than NJ, i will give them that  

[xzmattzx]

The discussion about Delaware getting it's first place in the National Park System are heating up again.  I believe they plan on looking into naming State Route 9 a Scenic Road or something.

What do you outsiders think would make a good good National Park, National Monument, National Historic Site, etc in Delaware?

[Cotuit]

xzmattzx, on Oct 16 2006, 12:42 PM, said:

What do you outsiders think would make a good good National Park, National Monument, National Historic Site, etc in Delaware?

There's got to be some seashore land. Is there a state park on the ocean that could be converted. How about parts of Downtown Dover being a National Monument or Historic Site (like parts of Downtown Boston are)? There's a small collection of colonial buildings around the state house isn't there?

[xzmattzx]

The shore is a good location.  We have two State Parks along the ocean: Cape Henlopen SP at the northern end of our coastline (at Cape Henlopen), and Delaware Seashore SP, on the northern side of Indian River Inlet.  The only problem with these state parks is that they're pretty small; I think they would have to be combined to make for a nicer place to visit.  Another problem would be traffic: Route 1 is the 3rd most congested vacation road in the U.S.  But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Delaware Seashore State Park:





























More pictures can be seen HERE

Dover is another good choice.  Our state house was built in 1933, so it's not historic by East Coast standards.  But our old state house is still around, and it sits on The Green, the cultural and economic center of Dover for hundreds of years.  The Green, the Old State House, and the surrounding environs would be a nice choice.

















More pictures can be seen HERE

Additionally, here are pictures of a couple other places that would make good national parks: the Cypress Swamp in lower Sussex County (northernmost cypress swamp in the U.S.), and historic New Castle (Delaware's capital until 1777, and John Rockefeller's first choice for his living history museum; he had to settle for Williamsburg, VA)

You can see the full threads on SSC, like with my Dover and beach pictures.

Cypress Swamp

















Full thread HERE

New Castle





























Full thread HERE

[Jerseyman4]

Great stuff! DE 9 and US 9 are so confusing. DE 9 is north-south, US 9 is east-west... weird isnt it?

[xzmattzx]

Jerseyman4, on Oct 18 2006, 10:27 PM, said:

Great stuff! DE 9 and US 9 are so confusing. DE 9 is north-south, US 9 is east-west... weird isnt it?

US 9 is technically north-south as well.

Good thing the two don't intersect though.  Giving directions with those roads would be a nightmare.

[Cotuit]

I don't think it would be a problem to make the two state coastal parks one National Seashore. Olympic National Park in Washington has an inland section, and another section on the coast, so there is precidence for having disconnected parklands.

I'm surprised Downtown Dover isn't a National Historic Site already, it looks stunning.

[xzmattzx]

Make sure to click on the links to the full threads to see all of the pictures and the commentary to go along with it.

[xzmattzx]

Here are some pictures of various neighborhoods in the central area of Wilmington.  Wilmington is a great mid-sized city, and has the feel of a much larger city like Baltimore or Philadelphia, only at a smaller scale.  It's a very urban environment.

CENTER CITY

















RODNEY SQUARE









LAWYER'S ROW









MIDTOWN BRANDYWINE







MARKET STREET

[Vitamin_N]

To those who posted the pics: thanks!  I grew up in DE but moved away 15 years ago and haven't been up there too much since.  Wilmington looks nicer than I remember--I attended elementary school in downtown during the mid-80s, and my recollection is that it was pretty run-down back then.

[xzmattzx]

Vitamin_N, on Nov 3 2006, 10:48 PM, said:

To those who posted the pics: thanks!  I grew up in DE but moved away 15 years ago and haven't been up there too much since.  Wilmington looks nicer than I remember--I attended elementary school in downtown during the mid-80s, and my recollection is that it was pretty run-down back then.

So you're probably not familiar with developments along the Riverfront.  The Riverfront is becoming almost like a second business district.  It's coming along nice.

Here are some pictures of mine from May.  I describe the pictures because I went into detail for these pictures for a thread on SSC.

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The Riverfront and Christina Landing are the two neighborhoods that have seen the most renovation over the years.  It’s hard to believe that 10 to 15 years ago, these neighborhoods were wastelands, with abandoned warehouses, unpleasant industrial complexes, dump sites, and brownfields taking up all of the land.  Now, these two places are the focal point of the city, drawing new residents and new businesses.

The Riverfront began it's redevelopment in the early 1990's with the opening of Kahunaville, a bar with a tropical island, tiki theme.  At around this time, Frawley Stadium was built as a home for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, who were moving into Delaware in 1993.  Soon afterwards, a park was developed along the Riverfront, providing a place for people to walk along the Christina.  This Riverwalk came with renovation of the old Dravo shipyard, where World War II ships were built.  The Riverwalk opened up renovations of several abandoned warehouses and factories that were situated along the river a little bit farther north, near the Ship's Tavern neighborhood and near Lower Downtown.  These warehouses, which are mainly now office buildings, were remnants of Wilmington's great shipbuilding and industrial heritage.

Christina Landing is a new neighborhood.  Before it was developed, it was just some run-down industrial sites, with a gritty marina situated in between them all.  This neighborhood, which has been known as "South Market" in the past (after Market Street, which crosses the Christina River in the vicinity), has taken on the new neighborhood name of "Christina Landing" as the result of developers giving the area a new name for a new identity. The original Christina Landing site is almost completely finished, with the townhouses and Residences building now inhabitable; only the River Tower building needs to be finished.  But one can speculate that this isn't the last of the development on the south shore of the river, and that developments will sprout up on the land surrounding Christina Landing.


Looking up east down the Christina River from the river bend.  The Market Street Bridge is half-up as it undergoes renovation.  In the distance, you can see the Kalmar Nyckel docked at Tubman-Garrett Park.



The Residences at Christina Landing on the left, and the River Tower at Christina Landing on the right.  The Residences tower houses apartments for rent, and the River Tower houses condominiums for ownership.



The Kalmar Nyckel, docked for the day at Tubman-Garrett Park.  The Kalmar Nyckel is an exact replica of the "Kalmar Nyckel", one of the two ships that carried Swedes to the New World.  The other ship, the "Vogel Grip", was the smaller of the two.  The ships left Gothenburg, Sweden, in November 1637, and arrived in the New World in March of 1638.  They docked at "The Rocks", a little farther up river from Tubman-Garrett Park, and started a settlement that would become Wilmington.



Looking east down the river, with views of Tubman-Garrett Park on the left and Christina Landing on the right.  The back of the Kalmar Nyckel can be seen.



A closer look at the back of the Kalmar Nyckel.  The details on the ship showcase Swedish art.  Partially visible are decorative heads and faces all along the ship.



The Kalmar Nyckel, with the Residences at Christina Landing in the background on the left.



Another picture of the Kalmar Nyckel with the Residences at Christina Landing in the background.  The flag of Delaware flies on the front of the ship.



A view of lower downtown from Tubman-Garrett Park.  An ING Direct building is in the foreground at the right; the train station, with a glass walkway above French Street, is on the foreground; and One Christina Center, which houses some JP Morgan Chase offices, is in the background.



Looking through Tubman-Garrett Park at the Kalmar Nyckel and the Residences at Christina Landing.



Another ING Direct Building, located on Water Street.  Before ING Direct renovated the building in 2000, it was known as the Kent Building, operating as a warehouse over 100 years ago before becoming abandoned when Wilmington's shipbuilding industry died.



The Riverfront Market.  The Riverfront Market was once the home of the Blumenthal Company, which made skins and finished leather goods.



Looking west up the Christina river towards some new offices built.  Barclays (formerly juniper bank) and AAA Mid-Atlantic are headquartered in their buildings, which were built in the last few years but were built with brick facades to blend in with the old factories and warehouses left over from Wilmington's shipbuilding era.



Looking northeast towards Lower Downtown from the bend in the Christina River.



Looking east from the bend in the Christina River.  The Residences at Christina Landing is in the middle of the picture, with the crane for the River Tower to the right of it.  Lower Downtown is at the very left.



The new Barclays headquarters, going up next to their other building across West Street.  This building should be done by 2007.



The base of the River Tower at Christina Landing is under construction.  The Residences at Christina Landing, Wilmington’s newest condo and skyscraper, is in the background.



The view of Wilmington's skyline from the townhouses at Christina Landing.



Looking at the Riverfront Market and some Riverfront buildings from Christina Landing.  The Market Street Bridge is up while it's being worked on.



A view of lower downtown from Christina Landing Park.  The ING Direct building is the former office for the Pennsylvania Railroad, which passes through the city just beyond the building.



A couple hundred townhouses were built at Christina Landing to go along with the two towers.  These are the condos that are along Christina Landing Park, which borders the Christina River.  These houses have a view of Wilmington's skyline from their decks.



Some more townhouses in Christina Landing.  All of these houses are brand new, being finished only a couple years ago.



The River Tower at Christina Landing in the foreground, with the Residences at Christina Landing in the background.  Some of the townhouses are on the right, and the Market Street Bridge (which is under renovation) is on the left.

[Recchia]

Wow, wasn't expecting Wilmington to look like that at all.  Impressive!

[xzmattzx]

Here are some pictures I showed on SSC and SSp of some neighborhoods on the very western edge of Wilmington.  I went into detail for these pictures, much like I did for the Riverfront photos.

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Here are some pictures of some of Wilmington's West Side neighborhoods: Wawaset Park, Westmoreland, Woodlawn (also called The Flats), The Highlands, and a couple others.

These neighborhoods are on the very western part of Wilmington.  If you are driving along I-95 through the city, these neighborhoods are on the other side of the hill on the west side of town.


Some rowhouses on Bancroft Parkway in Woodlawn.



The almost-completed Woodlawn Library.



Some more rowhouses on Bancroft Parkway.



Some rowhouses on Springer Street.



Pala's Restaurant, which advertises to have the World's worst pizza, subs, and steaks, as well as the World's worst take out.  Interestingly enough, this is Joe's favorite place.



The statue of Admiral Samuel DuPont at the entrance to Rockford Park.  Rockford Tower (with the spire shrouded in sunshine) is to the right.



Tower Hill School on 17th Street.  Tower Hill is a K-12 private school.  Like several other private schools in Wilmington and its suburbs, tuition is very high: elementary school and middle school tuition for one year is around $15,000, and high school tuition is over $20,000.



A house on 17th Street in The Highlands.



A house on Riverwiew Avenue in Wawaset Park.  Wawaset Park was built in 1919 on the site of the Wawaset Racetrack.  The neighborhood was built in 1911 by the DuPont Company, which wanted a specific place for their employees to live in the city.  DuPont sold or rented the houses to the executives and managers.  The neighborhood is open to anyone now.



A house on Nottingham Road in Wawaset Park.



Another house on Nottingham Road.



A curved rowhouse on Crawford Circle.



A nice house on Nottingham road in Wawaset Park.



A house on Swarthmore Road in Westmoreland.  Westmoreland is located near the Porky Oliver Golf Course.



A house on Fordham Road in Westmoreland.  One area in Westmoreland looks like your typical 1960's suburban neighborhood.



Another house on Fordham Road.



Mack Park in Westmoreland.



Some rowhouses on Ford Avenue in Westmoreland.



More rowhouses on 5th Street.



Rowhouses on Greenhill Avenue in the neighborhood of Greenhill.



Some rowhouses on Rodman Street in Greenhill.



New rowhouses along 7th Street in Greenhill.

[xzmattzx]

Here's the rest of it, since there's a limit on the unmber of photos per post.

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Some houses on Bancroft Parkway in the neighborhood of Wawaset Heights.



Some townhouses in the Village of Bancroft, a gated area off of Bancroft Parkway.



Houses on 11th Street in Wawaset Heights.



More houses on 11th Street in Wawaset Heights.



A house on Bancroft Parkway.



Looking across Bancroft Parkway's wide median that serves as a park.



Another house on Bancroft Parkway.