Water tower repairs give new outlook for city
Last year, for the first time in nearly three decades, residents of Wilmington, Del., were able to enjoy what many locals consider the best view of the city. That is because Wilmington re-opened the observation deck that sits atop the 115-foot-tall Rockford Tower, which stores 500,000 gallons of drinking water for the western portion of the city. The re-opening followed a $500,000 renovation of the deck paid for by the city.
The century-old stone tower, located on 258-foot-tall Mount Salem Hill in Rockford Park, offers commanding views of Wilmington and the surrounding countryside, including the Delaware and Christiana rivers. Rockford Tower was dedicated in 1902, and the observation deck was opened to the public approximately one decade later. The deck was open until World War II, when anxieties about a possible attack and contamination of the water tank compelled Wilmington to close the deck. After the war, the deck was open intermittently until the early 1970s, when it was shut down.
The exact reason why the deck was closed at that point is unclear. “Nobody around here seems to know exactly why it wasn’t opened [after the early 1970s],” says Bryan Lennon, engineer for Wilmington’s Department of Public Works. “I think it had as much to do with the personality and personal wishes of the water commissioners and public works commissioners, as well as problems with vandalism and leaks in the water tower.”
In the early 1980s, the original water tank was replaced, and in 1999, a local citizens advocacy group asked that the observation deck re-open. A subsequent inspection of the tower and deck revealed damage, likely caused by a lighting strike, to the cone-shaped roof. The damage had allowed water to reach the concrete underneath the roof, and the concrete, in turn, cracked and fell onto the deck.
Wilmington contracted with locally based MGZA to provide design and architectural services, and it contracted with Philadelphia-based Theodore H. Nickles Building Construction & Historic Renovation to serve as the general contractor. Construction began in spring 2001, and the deck was re-opened to the public last April.
The one-year renovation effort included not only the replacement of the top of the roof, but also the installation of missing gargoyles, the repair and repainting of the deck railing, and the installation of new light fixtures.
The re-opening of the observation deck is giving a new generation of residents the chance to fully appreciate one of the city’s landmarks. “Many people remember having gone up in the tower as kids,” Lennon says. “Now, they’re bringing their own kids up to see what is arguably the best view of Wilmington.”
