Historic designation sought for Boardwalk

At the request of the city’s Boardwalk and beach committee, Rehoboth Beach commissioners have given their blessing for committee members to pursue historic designation of the Boardwalk.

Committee member Jimmy Horty presented the committee’s recommendation to the commissioners during a meeting Aug. 16.

“The Boardwalk is such a well-known aspect of Rehoboth Beach and we wanted to do something special,” said Horty.

While it’s been rebuilt over the years due to storms and upkeep, the first Boardwalk was constructed in 1873.

There are three levels of historic designation. From least tedious to more, the Boardwalk could be recognized with a state historic marker, or as a national historic place or as a national historic landmark.

Depending on the designation achieved, there could be federal funding and grants available if the Boardwalk is ever destroyed by a hurricane, said Horty. Additionally, he said, if a national designation is achieved, it would be noted on a federal listing, which could help with tourism.

Property owner Tom Gaynor expressed concern about the limited representation of the business community on the makeup of the city committee that recommended the historical designation and that the designation will be more restrictive than not in terms of development. The Boardwalk is about to undergo an economic boom, and officials are trying to stifle those efforts, he said.

It wasn’t discussed during the meeting, and it’s not part of the support document included with the meeting agenda, but the impetus behind pursuing the historic designation was the proposed offshore wind farms off the coast of Rehoboth Beach. The thinking of the committee, chaired by former Commissioner Jay Lagree at the time, was that a historic designation for the Boardwalk would mean the wind farms would have to be out of sight of the Boardwalk.

Following the meeting, Mayor Stan Mills said more research has gone into that line of thinking since the committee first made its recommendation, and it appears it wouldn’t have much impact if a historic designation is awarded.

“Jay and I learned that such historic designations, while recognized by the U.S. Department of the Interior, had little chance of impacting placement of wind farms offshore,” said Mills. “Then the exercise turned to identifying the advantages and disadvantages of receiving any of the three historic designations identified in the report.”

To date, the Boardwalk itself is not recognized historically, but there are a number of historic markers from the state recognizing landmarks on the Boardwalk, including the surf safety line that helped woolen bathing suit wearers escape the surf, the Village Improvement Association clubhouse on Grenoble Place and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union water fountain near the Bandstand.