Wilmington: Recreation
Sightseeing
From the eighteenth-century homes in Wilmington Square to the country estates along the Brandywine, Wilmington's attractions are rich in history. Prominent among them is the legacy of one family. The du Ponts, who did so much to shape the city's economy, have also had a pervasive influence on its cultural life.
One of the du Pont's greatest contributions is Nemours Mansion and Gardens, the 300-acre estate of Alfred I. du Pont, who designed the mansion in the style of a Louis XVI chateau and filled it with European art works. Its 77 rooms are furnished with antique furniture, oriental rugs, tapestries, and outstanding paintings dating to the fifteenth century. Outside, formal gardens extend a third of a mile from the main vista of the mansion. Ten miles north is Longwood Gardens, the 1,050-acre horticultural masterpiece of Pierre Samuel du Pont. In spring, summer, and fall, visitors enjoy more than 350 acres of outdoor gardens, fountain displays, fireworks, theatrical productions, and concerts. During the winter months the main attraction is a group of heated conservatories that shelter many rare and exotic plants. Gardening enthusiasts can also experience naturalistic garden designs and native plants at their best at the Mt. Cuba Center, the former estate of Mr. and Mrs. Lammot Copeland du Pont, in nearby Greenville.
Historic Wilmington can be glimpsed at several locations in the area. Fort Christina State Park is the site of the original fort the Swedes built when they landed in 1638. Today visitors see a monument to that expedition by Swedish sculptor Carl Milles and the kind of log cabin that would have been built by an early settler. Next to the park is the Tall Ship Kalmar Nyckel, a full-size recreation of the ornate, armed ship that brought the early settlers here. The 139-foot ship is Delaware's seagoing Ambassador of Good Will. Erected in 1698, Holy Trinity Church (also known as Old Swedes Church) is the oldest church in the United States that stands as originally built and is still used for regular worship. Once of Swedish Lutheran affiliation, it has been used for Episcopal services since 1791. Formerly the center of Wilmington's social and political life, Old Town Hall (1798) serves as a museum, while a beautiful Art Deco building across the street houses the Historical Society of Delaware's Museum offices and Research Library. Visitors can view exhibits pertaining to Delaware history at the Delaware History Museum, part of the complex. For military history buffs, the Air Mobility Command Museum, located in Hangar 1301 on Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, houses some of the most unique and distinguished military flying machines of the past 50 + years. The Grand Opera House is one of the finest examples of castiron architecture in America. Built in 1871, the meticulously restored theater serves as Delaware's Center for the Performing Arts. Rockwood, built in 1851 by Quaker merchant Joseph Shipley, serves as an outstanding example of rural Gothic architecture; the English-style country house and gardens are now administered by New Castle County's Department of Parks and Recreation. The mansion's furnishings include decorative arts and archives from the seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries. At Wilmington Square are four beautiful eighteenth-century houses, moved to the site in 1976, which are now used for meeting and office space by the Historical Society of Delaware.
Wilmington residents enjoy a total of more than 550 acres of park land, almost 200 acres of which comprise Brandywine Park. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who created New York City's Central Park, Brandywine provides a setting of natural beauty only ten minutes from downtown Wilmington. Brandywine Zoo houses many exotic species of animals from North and South America and Africa. A focal point of Wilmington's waterfront attractions is the Port of Wilmington at the end of Christina and Terminal avenues. Visitors are invited to witness the day-to-day operations of one of the nation's busiest ports. Approximately four miles upstream, running from the Amtrak Station to the Shipyard Shops/Frawley Stadium/Bank One Riverfront Arts Center, is the Riverwalk with many Christina River attractions. The Christina Riverboat Company offers lunch, dinner, moonlight, and specialty cruises on a three-mile boat ride down the Christina Riverfront.
Arts and Culture
The cultural tastes of Wilmington's benefactors are reflected in sites throughout the area, while widespread patronage sustains local artists and arts organizations. The Delaware State Arts Council, headquartered in Wilmington, is the mentor to many of the city's cultural groups. It directly supports monthly exhibitions of the visual arts and publishes a Directory of Visual Artists.
Theater, dance, and music productions figure prominently in the city's cultural life. Highlighting Wilmington's downtown renewal efforts is the 1,100-seat Grand Opera House,
Like so many other attractions in the area, several of Wilmington's major museums and galleries are linked to the du Pont family. Henry Francis du Pont spent a lifetime collecting the finest American furniture and decorative arts made or used between 1640 and 1840. At Winterthur Museum, the furniture of Duncan Phyfe, the silver of Paul Revere, and room furnishings from all over the eastern seaboard are displayed in 200 period settings, from a New England kitchen to a Georgia Empire-style dining room. Three new galleries have been built adjacent to the existing museum. Surrounding the museum are 200 landscaped acres, reminiscent of an eighteenth-century English park, and Chandler Woods.
Eleuthere I. du Pont, discovering that high-quality black powder (gunpowder) was a scarce commodity in eighteenth-century America, began an industry that grew into one of the world's largest corporations. At Hagley Museum on the Brandywine the life of the nineteenth-century mill worker has been recreated. As visitors stroll along the banks of the river, they see a restored operating wooden water wheel, turbine-powered roll wheels, a vintage steam engine, a stone quarry, a machine shop, and a hydroelectric plant. Overlooking the powder yards is Eleutherian Mills, the Georgianstyle country home built by E. I. du Pont in 1803. The Hagley Library is one of the finest repositories of industrial and manufacturing history in the United States.
The Delaware Museum of Natural History reflects the interests of its founder, John du Pont. Visitors encounter examples of Delaware flora and fauna. They can also walk across Australia's Great Barrier Reef, view an African waterhole, and enter the Hall of Birds, which features a 27-pound bird egg. In addition, the museum houses one of the world's finest shell collections, a scale model of the International Space Station, and a permanent dinosaur exhibit.
The Wilmington area's other museums include the Brandywine River Museum, which houses three generations of Wyeth family paintings as well as works by Howard Pyle, Maxfield Parrish, and many other American artists. The Rockwood Museum, a nineteenth-century country estate, features decorative arts from the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, and the George Reed II House & Garden in Historic New Castle is a fine example of Georigan architecture. The First USA Riverfront Arts Center opened in 1998 as a major part of the redevelopment of the Christina Riverfront. This 25,000-square-foot exhibition center's first exhibition was Nicholas & Alexandra: The Last Imperial Family of Czarist Russia. The exhibit attracted more than 500,000 people during its six-month run. Other attractions include the Biggs Museum of American Art in Dover, the 33,000 square-foot Delaware Center for Contemporary Art in Wilmington, and the Delaware Center for Horticulture on DuPont Street.
The Delaware Art Museum closed in the fall of 2004 to begin a $25 million expansion, which will update the facility with a new facade, additional exhibit and conference space, outdoor gardens for sculptural displays, and improved handicap access. A world-class institution, the Museum hosts a 12,000 piece collection of traditional and contemporary paintings, sculpture, photography, and crafts that represent some of the finest American art from 1840 to the present, and includes the largest collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings outside the United Kingdom. The expansion and renovation was due to be completed in spring 2005.
Festivals and Holidays
Ethnic festivals dot the city's calendar, beginning with the Irish Worker's Festival in April. In May, residents celebrate the Jewish Festival, as well as the annual Wilmington Flower Market week-long celebration, followed in June by Greek Days and the one-day annual Polish Festival (celebrating it's 50th year in 2006). June is also the month when thousands flock to Wilmington's Little Italy (the area surrounding St. Anthony of Padua Church) for the annual Italian Festival. In July, Rockwood Museum's Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Festival is a family favorite. In fall comes the Brandywine Arts Festival, when more than 250 artists from around the country exhibit their works along the riverbank. Visitors can find paintings, sculpture, jewelry, and crafts, or partake in an afternoon auction each day of the festival while they enjoy the scenic beauty of Brandywine Park. Many local museums host special Christmas events, including a Christmas at Rockwood, a Yuletide Tour at Winterthur, and a holiday Candlelight Tour at Hagley Mills Museum.
Sports for the Spectator
The Wilmington Blue Rocks, a Class A minor league team affiliated with the 2004 World Champion Boston Red Sox, plays at the 6,532 seat Daniels S. Frawley Stadium on Madison Street. Racing enthusiasts in Wilmington enjoy the Delaware Park Race Track and Slots Casino, which hosts daytime thoroughbred racing from April to September at one of the nation's most picturesque sporting facilities. A different kind of racing draws Wilmingtonians to the Winterthur Point-to-Point on the first Sunday in May. Five amateur steeplechases are the main event, preceded by pony races and a parade of horse-drawn coaches and carriages. Every June, the du Pont Country Club welcomes the world's best women golfers for the LPGA McDonald's Championship. The First Union Cycling includes Wilmington in its Mid-Atlantic series of venues in May. The massively popular NASCAR auto racing circuit makes two stops annually at the Dover International Speedway. Blue Diamond Park in New Castle features Motocross, BMX, and ATV racing.
Sports for the Participant
Wilmington residents have easy access to more than 4,500 acres of county park land. Those who prefer to ride their own horses are invited to try the equestrian trails at Bellevue State Park on the former estate of William du Pont. The park's nearly 300 acres offer bridle trails, indoor and outdoor equestrian tracks, a fishing pond, a fitness track, and the Bellevue Tennis Center. Public golf courses include Rock Manor Golf Course, Three Little Bakers Country Club, Frog Hollow Golf Course, Ed Oliver Golf Club, and the private Delaware National Country Club. Delaware's largest freshwater marsh is in Brandywine State Park, making it a favorite with birdwatchers. Avid fishermen reel in crappie, bluegill, and rock bass here. The park offers 12 miles of hiking and equestrian trails, as well as canoeing on Brandywine Creek. Rolling meadows and woodlands also make this a winter favorite for cross-country skiers. Wilmington has three YMCAs and a downtown racquetball facility.
Shopping and Dining
Because there is no sales tax in Delaware, retailing is strong in Wilmington. The enclaves of Trolley Square, Historic New Castle, Hockessin, Little Italy, Newark, Centreville, and Kennett Square in PA, offer one-of-a-kind shops and boutiques. Market Street Mall offers specialty shops, restaurants, and cafes in the heart of Wilmington's central business district. Christina Mall (south of Wilmington, along I-95), features 4 major anchor stores and more than 130 shops. Concord Mall, on Concord Pike, has more than 80 specialty shops. The 200,000-square-foot Riverfront Wilmington's Shipyard Shops outlets offer daily discounts. Four art galleries featuring hand-made crafts and fine art from around the country are within a half-hour drive of each other: The Andre Harvey Studio, Creations Fine Woodworking Gallery, Helen May Glickstein Gallery, and Sommerville Manning Gallery.
Fine dining is the norm for Wilmington's upscale population. City restaurants feature everything from Chesapeake Bay blue crabs to Japanese tempura. Many of the area's colonial inns and taverns are still serving guests. Fresh seafood and steaks are the norm at the waterside restaurants along Riverfront Wilmington. Mediterranean and Italian fare can be found at Wilmington's Little Italy neighborhood. Trolley Square has sidewalk cafes, cozy bistros, and lively pubs. For a taste of history, visitors and locals go to the colonial taverns in nearby historic New Castle.
Visitor Information: Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau, 100 West 10th Street, Suite 20, Wilmington, DE 19801; telephone (302)652-4088; fax (302)652-4726