The museum’s executive director, Heidi Nasstrom Evans says, “Paul Lovett’s diorama is so charming and clearly reflects its maker’s passion for the history of our wonderful town.” While the exhibit is now on permanent view and can be enjoyed whenever the museum is open, Nasstrom Evans says, “it is best experienced in Mr. Lovett’s presence, when he personalizes the history to the interests of his audience.”
Now located in the museum’s west, first floor gallery, the diorama is a miniature model of the city set back in time to circa 1910, the era when the railroad ran down Rehoboth Avenue. A train complete with smoke and whistle chugs down the main thoroughfare of the replica, as it did until upgrades to Delaware’s roadways led automobiles to eclipse locomotives as the preferred way to get to the beach.
Starting at the Atlantic Ocean with Horn’s Pier and Pavilion and the boardwalk merry-go-round (lost to the sea in the Storm of 1914), the diorama is populated with tiny people in historic dress enjoying many of the past times we still appreciate today, such as taking a stroll in the fresh air, a dip in the ocean, enjoying stays at beach-houses and hotels, going to church, out for yummy meals, ice cream, shopping, and more. Back in the day, they even had a roller rink and a movie theater! The history of all these places is described and pictured on the diorama for visitors to better understand the ways in which people of the past enjoyed their time at the sea shore.
The museum’s executive director, Heidi Nasstrom Evans says, “Paul Lovett’s diorama is so charming and clearly reflects its maker’s passion for the history of our wonderful town.” While the exhibit is now on permanent view and can be enjoyed whenever the museum is open, Nasstrom Evans says, “it is best experienced in Mr. Lovett’s presence, when he personalizes the history to the interests of his audience.”
Now located in the museum’s west, first floor gallery, the diorama is a miniature model of the city set back in time to circa 1910, the era when the railroad ran down Rehoboth Avenue. A train complete with smoke and whistle chugs down the main thoroughfare of the replica, as it did until upgrades to Delaware’s roadways led automobiles to eclipse locomotives as the preferred way to get to the beach.
Starting at the Atlantic Ocean with Horn’s Pier and Pavilion and the boardwalk merry-go-round (lost to the sea in the Storm of 1914), the diorama is populated with tiny people in historic dress enjoying many of the past times we still appreciate today, such as taking a stroll in the fresh air, a dip in the ocean, enjoying stays at beach-houses and hotels, going to church, out for yummy meals, ice cream, shopping, and more. Back in the day, they even had a roller rink and a movie theater! The history of all these places is described and pictured on the diorama for visitors to better understand the ways in which people of the past enjoyed their time at the sea shore.