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Plan a Road Trip > Explore America > Delaware > Wilmington |
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Time Zone
Eastern
Latitude/Longitude
39.74° /-75.54°
Today's Forecast
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HIGH: 71
LOW: 50
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Market Street offers boutiques, sidewalk cafes, the Old Town Hall Museum, Willingtown Square's historic homes, the DuPont Theatre, and the Grand Opera House with its classic Victorian wrought-iron facade. The Caesar Rodney statue in Rodney Square commemorates the American patriot who, though seriously ill, rode from Dover to Philadelphia on July 2, 1776 to break the tie vote on independence. Fort Christina Historical Park marks the landing site of the Swedes who settled here in 1638; it was their first settlement in North America. Nearby the Kalmar Nyckel Shipyard Museum commemorates the ships that brought these early arrivals. Holy Trinity Episcopal (Old Swedes) Church, built in 1699, is one of the oldest Protestant churches in the U.S. The adjacent Hendrickson House dates to 1690. It is now a museum that contains historical displays, especially 17th- and 18th-century artifacts. Brandywine Park on the Brandywine River was designed by famed urban landscaper Frederick Law Olmsted. Park attractions include a zoo and Josephine Garden, adorned with Japanese cherry trees. Other parks in the area are Brandywine Springs Park; Brandywine Creek State Park, Banning Park, with fishing, tennis, and playing fields; and Bellevue State Park, which offers fishing, biking, horseback riding trails, tennis, and jogging opportunities.
The Brandywine Valley also boasts a remarkable array of museums and gardens. The Delaware Art Museum features works by American illustrator Howard Pyle, an extensive collection of English Pre-Raphaelite paintings, and a special participatory gallery for children. Rockwood Museum, a Rural Gothic-style mansion with gardens, built in the mid-19th century, contains 17th- to 19th-century decorative arts, a conservatory, and a garden. Also visit the Delaware Children's Museum, and see the many exhibits, including rocks and minerals from around the world, at the Iron Hill Museum in Newark. The Hagley Museum depicts the world of 19th-century American industry. Located on the site of the original du Pont black powder works, the museum complex features restored mills, an operating waterwheel and water turbine, and a museum with working models and dioramas. The complex also includes Eleutherian Mills, the Georgian-style country house built by E.I. du Pont in 1803 filled with five generation's of the family's antiques.
The Delaware Museum of Natural History, in Greenville, has wildlife habitat displays in a Hall of Mammals and Hall of Birds, as well as a fine collection of seashells. Also in Greenville is the Winterthur Museum and Country Estate, containing more than 175 rooms representing American taste in furniture and decoration from 1640 to 1860. Considered the finest collection of its kind in the nation, it is housed in the family home of Henry F. du Pont. The galleries have changing exhibitions. The surrounding 1,000-acre estate has 200 acres open to the public, including gardens landscaped in the style of an 18th-century English park. Chandler Woods is an untouched woodland area. The Wilmington and Western Railroad, a steam-powered train, offers a nine-mile trip, or take a cruise on the Delaware River.
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