Delaware

[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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

[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]

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

[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]

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.

[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.

[dgreco]

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

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

[SCYellowHammer]

I know it's been a long time since anyone has posted in the DE topic, but I just found Urban Planet a few weeks ago. I live in Boiling Springs, SC, and moved here from Alabama but was born and lived 13 years of my life in Newark, DE -- Chestnut Hills Estates to be precise. I don't have much to add, but will definitely enjoy reading about my home.

Oh, by the way, I have a good friend who now pitches for the Blue Rocks...watch out for Russell Haltiwanger!

Go Hens and Roll Tide!

[Lowerdeck]

Just got done browsing at the Wilmington/Seashore/Dover pictures. While I don't go through Delaware much, I got to say it is a very nice state from what I have seen. The pics are impressive too. I knew Wilmington had all the insurance companies but it's very built up compared to other cities its size.

[tombarnes]

Delaware's corporate tax law been behind much of the development in Wilmington. Thier banking sector remains fairly strong. Aside from Winterthur, however, things for tourists to do in Wilmington are relatively limited. It has some very attractive neighborhoods, but its downtown core retains an interesting contrast of the glassy vs. the gritty.

[xzmattzx]

Delaware's corporate tax law been behind much of the development in Wilmington. Thier banking sector remains fairly strong. Aside from Winterthur, however, things for tourists to do in Wilmington are relatively limited. It has some very attractive neighborhoods, but its downtown core retains an interesting contrast of the glassy vs. the gritty.