Five Points in the 1990s

These aerial photographs show the Five Points intersection near Lewes in 1994 and 1997. So much has changed since that time. Probably the most recognizable difference is the lack of the Lowe’s home improvement store on the south side of the intersection of Route 1 and Route 9. The other major change is development. Absent from these images are several communities built in the last 25 years, including Henlopen Landing, Lewes Crossing, the Vineyards and others. Commercially, the area has built up too. Nassau Commons is only partially built out in the 1994 image, while more recent additions include Shell We Bounce, Redner’s Fresh Market, Ferguson HVAC, Stockley Materials and the shops at the Vineyards. Bests’ Ace Hardware is shown in these photographs in its longtime home off Route 1 north of Five Points, but it has since relocated less than a mile away to Route 9 in the Belltown area. 

The Five Points area continues to change today. Over the last few years, we’ve shared numerous aerial photographs and published stories about the ongoing changes to Five Points and the nearby intersection of Route 9, Plantation Road and Beaver Dam Road, also known as Malfunction Junction. Work is well underway to add a roundabout at the intersection. The project also includes a new road off Route 1 southbound through the former Bests’ Ace Hardware property to the new roundabout, as well as several other improvements.