Landscape Architect Articles

Creating a Streetscape that works: Rehoboth Beach, Delaware07-30-07 | News

Creating a Streetscape that works: Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

By Leslie McGuire, managing editor

The entrance to Rehoboth Beach features a replica of the Cape Henlopen lighthouse anchored at the western edge of the vehicular promenade looking east toward the ocean.
Photos courtesy of Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson

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The octagonal shape of the custom designed pavillion reflects the seashore lighthouse motif used in the roundabout. Permanent seating is installed for events or casual seating. At the lower left, the circular area between rows of seats is the location of the Christmas tree for holiday season festivities. The bold, tasteful paving patterns are constructed of colored concrete pavers.

City leaders acknowledged the need to invest in the future and elected to pursue an aggressive facelift for Rehoboth Avenue. Johnson, Mirmiran and Thompson (JMT) was responsible for all facets of the one mile-long project, including: planning and design of a new city office building; relocation of a historically significant train station building; replacement of all utilities (sewer, water, electric, gas, cable TV) and removal of aboveground wires and poles; creation of a new public civic space adjacent to the Boardwalk; establishment of a true gateway to the downtown area; extensive landscape installations; and transportation improvements to enhance operations and safety for motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. JMT was responsible for the planning, design and construction management of these improvements totaling $34 million.?EUR??,,????'?????<

This historic stone arch water fountain was retained. The fountain is made of granite. Donated by the women?EUR??,,????'?????<

Role of the Landscape Architect

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ABOVE & BELOW: Rehoboth Beach Enhancements: Plan Views. The entire street length is just under one mile with some residential buildings. However, the street is really the commercial core of the city with City Hall, the Fire Department, the Police Department, the library and the Post Office.

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The landscape architects worked closely with an Aesthetics Committee established by the city to develop and refine the design concepts and plans for construction. Numerous public meetings and presentations were facilitated by the landscape architects, and also with individual residents and property owners to address their concerns. Design concepts were generated through this process, leading to the development of construction documents by the consultant that reflected the approved concepts.The landscape architects were on-site during the construction phase to ensure that the design intent was met.Post-construction inspections and extensive monitoring of plant material survivability rates were conducted to further ensure that the project achieved the highest level of success.

Local Significance

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Seen here at dusk, the Pavillion replaced the bandstand the town had used for performances in both summer and winter whenever they have events. When people are sitting watching events they can see through it to the ocean. 40 ft. in diameter, it has performance lighting and an upgraded sound system. A basement area has dressing rooms and restrooms for performers.

On the west end of the project limits, the landscape architects designed a replica of the former Cape Henlopen lighthouse and placed it in the center of the new roundabout ?EUR??,,????'?????<

These elements added greatly to the sense of place in Rehoboth Beach.

The Veterans Memorial stones already existed, but they were in a different location with no real plantings or organization. They put black granite around them along with the etched service symbols. The American Legion has Memorial Day services here where they lay wreaths.

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Looking west, note the banners included on the traffic light pole at the right and the aesthetic planting enhancements. Two varieties of native beach grasses recreate the cliff setting of the original lighthouse within its foundation wall, replicating the way it looked before it fell into the ocean on April 13, 1926. The green areas alternate with turf grass, annuals and bulbs, which are changed out every year.

Special Features

The wider pedestrian facilities include a gently curving field of earth tone pavers that lead pedestrians along a series of ?EUR??,,????'?????<

The old, relocated train station building in the foreground is now being used as a Visitors Center. The railroad house has been relocated several times. For new city office building, they replicated the archtectural style to mimic original architecture. The brick building right behind it is the Ice House building which has been converted into a museum with the Chamber of Commerce building at the rear, right.

The public square area at the eastern end of the project was designed to allow the entire block to be closed to traffic for special events, creating a pedestrian plaza surrounding the pavillion, seating area, Veterans Memorial, and restrooms. The street in this area was designed with concrete pavers to emphasize the pedestrian use of the area. The application of all of these design features produced a new Main Street for the City of Rehoboth Beach that returned the public space to the pedestrians.

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The Process

Originally a rail line brought people into town from Maryland and Washington D.C. The rail bed was then converted to Main Street in the early 1900?EUR??,,????'?????<

When they started excavating, they went down 10 to 15 feet and there were no unusual problems. At the time, all existing utilities were above ground. They upgraded the system replacing everything and rebuilding water lines, sewer lines, cable and electric below ground, thus getting rid of utility poles making the views much better.

Right by the lighthouse there is a different median design. Initially the roadway split with a wide median that had trees and turf areas. They wanted to maintain that as much as possible while maintaining the green space as part of the gateway to the city. Incorporated here are some evergreen spruce, flowering cherries and American Hollies, which are the state tree of Delaware.

The Roundabout is the gateway to the city. When visitors come from inland, they cross over the canal and the first thing they see is the Visitors Center. The street continues right along to the pavillion, which is 100 feet from the ocean. This pavillion replaced the bandstand the town had used for performances in both summer and winter whenever they have events. They also put up the Christmas tree each year in the plaza area directly adjacent to the new pavillion, which was custom designed.

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At the drop off area, paving creates a transition to the beach and separates the roadway surface from the boardwalk. Tour buses have a wide space to stop.

The concrete pavers behind the pavillion are designed to indicate a drop off area and a bus stop for public transit. People drive down, unload cars and then go search for parking. ?EUR??,,????'?????<

The sidewalk treatment along Rehoboth Avenue has special paving and plantings to soften the parking areas. The pedestrian level streetlights on the outside of the roadway provide an enhanced lighting effect when added to the higher mounted lights on the medians. Crossing areas are well defined. Curved bricks were designed in wave patterns to symbolize the ocean and they serve as places for street furniture, planting pits, benches and trash cans.

Challenges

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Throughout the entire process, they worked with an aesthetics committee on site elements and site amenities, as well as types of architecture and paver colors. They put in center islands, narrowed the roadway and increased the width of the sidewalks nearer the beach, all the while trying to maintain the same number of parking spaces. The existing islands were grass and they would get worn down and muddy. They created the islands out of concrete and street trees, making it easier for circulation and reconfigured the entire roadway to gain more pedestrian space in front of the buildings.

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The sidewalks are poured concrete with scoring joints to angle some of the joins and give it more interest. The medians have smaller flowering trees. Some in bloom in the spring, and some in the summer for continuous color. All the trees, such as golden rain, Japanese lilac and purple leaf plum are urban tolerant. The under-plantings are ornamental grasses and junipers.

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The History of Cape Henlopen Lighthouse

Originally spelled Cape Hinlopen, Cape Henlopen was named after Thijmen Jacobsz Hinlopen who was a prominent Dutch trader in corn from the Baltic. In 1620, Thijmen Jacobsz Hinlopen became a business partner of Cornelis Jacobsz May in the ships Blijde Boodschap (?EUR??,,????'?????<

Cape Henlopen Lghthouse On The Edge by Thomas A. Needham c. 1925

By 1761 due to shipwrecks and the loss of goods, Philadelphia merchants and leaders financed the construction of the Lighthouse by lotteries.

Old Rehoboth Beach by Paul McGehee. On a sunny day in the summer of 1925, bathers enjoy the surf at Delaware?EUR??,,????'?????<

In 1763, 200 acres of land was purchased. A 69-foot high granite block tower with 6-foot thick walls at the base, was completed in 1765. The Tower had eight levels with a window on each level with a spiral wood stairway providing access to the lantern room on the eighth level. The lamps were illuminated by lard oil or whale oil when available and exhibited a light 115 feet above sea level, visible for 17-miles according to the claims of some captains. A keeper?EUR??,,????'?????<

hipwreck at Cape Henlopen lighthouse by Eric Jennings. This area has always been well-known for its deadly storms. During March of 1888, many lives were lost and ships destroyed in the famous ?EUR??,,????'?????<

Operated by Pennsylvania, the lighthouse, guided colonial and British ships to the prosperous port of Philadelphia. During the Revolutionary War, the lighthouse served as a daymark and a patriot watch tower for observing vessels entering the Delaware Bay.

Philadelphia was sent warnings when the British navy was sighted. Notwithstanding, the British were successful in blockading American ships in the Delaware River.

Cape Henlopen lighthouse, photo c. 1925 taken right before it fell into the sea and showing the extensive erosion of the dune.

In 1777, the British gutted the woodwork of the Lighthouse by fire after a farmer named Hedgecock refused to sell his cows to a landing party from the British warship, Roebuck. The lighthouse was repaired after the peace treaty of 1783 and re-lightedin 1784.

By 1788, evidence of sand erosion by wind was noted. Weeds and underwood were planted to control the dune erosion. The lighthouse itself was built to last and withstand the powerful forces of ocean storms using 6-foot thick granite stone at the base tapering to 3-feet thick at the top, yet the builders had no knowledge that the sea was eroding the Great Dune at a rate of three to five-feet per year.

A 1925 aerial view of Cape Henlopen. The lighthouse fell into the sea one year later, 170 years after it was constructed. When first built, the lighthouse was about 1,400 feet from the shoreline. Photo by William H. Hoyt.

After years of erosion control measures failed, the lighthouse was de-commissioned and abandoned on Sep 20, 1924. Cape Henlopen Lighthouse was later condemned as unsafe. On April 13, 1926 a powerful northeast storm undermined the lighthouse causing the tower to collapse seaward onto the beach below.