Dover Delaware 2009

     Friday, August 21, 2009: Inside a restored 1792 building, I saw a four-minute DVD presentation about the brief history of this place: The (Old) Delaware State House Museum, 25 The Green, Dover (302-739-4266). From the late 1700s to 1933, the lawmakers used this building to govern the First State. (Delaware was the first state to sign the US Constitution in 1787.) Then in 1933, the state government moved to nearby Legislative Hall, and the Old State House became a museum. On a half-hour tour, the guides explained both the histories of Delaware and of events that took place in the Old State House as I noticed the restored 18th-century interior and furnishings. Next, I visited the Biggs Museum of American Art, upstairs from the Delaware Visitor Center. On two floors, I looked at both fine and decorative arts, made in the USA, dating from the 1700s into the 21st century. Each room covered a different period in time, and each room displayed paintings and sculptures as well as furniture and other objects from that particular time. Two special rooms exhibited Delaware-made art and objects made of silver. I was very impressed, however, with how this area of Dover looked, and even newer buildings showed plenty of red brick construction to blend in better with the nearby 18th-century buildings.