DEWEY BEACH, Del.- A piece of Delaware military history is going dark-- in a good way.
Tower Three--one of the many World War Two watch towers along the coast--will not be lit up as it undergoes the next phase of renovations. The over $1 million project will transform the tower into an attraction, making the inside accessible to the public for the first time.
"It's an opportunity for us to tell people about the history and I'm hoping it will be an opportunity for school children to learn what happened," says Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation board member Shirley Price. "The role the towers played during WWII and our national defense."
Tower Three is located near an existing bathhouse and parking lot for Delaware Seashore State Park, making it an ideal location for tourism, organizers say. Repairs to Tower Three's doors, windows and adding a new staircase are just a few of the improvements for the tower and immediate area.
"[The state is] going to be building a pavilion between here and the bathhouse concession area," says DSPF board chair Larry Brown. "Restoring some landscape and others so now the area will be suitable for hosting special events, weddings and that nature as well."
Fort Miles Historical Association head Dr. Gary Wray says the renovated tower will be both historical and inspirational.
"When we get done with this project we'll be able to go right to the top of the tower and look over beautiful Rehoboth Bay and look out in the Atlantic Ocean 15 miles," he explains. "It's going to be spectacular."
Organizers say the tower renovation should be complete and open to the public by 2021. For more on the plans, click here.