Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Dover (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Dover International Speedway, Air Mobility Command Museum, and Biggs Museum of American Art. Also, be sure to include Delaware State Capitol in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Dover (Delaware).
Table of Contents
Dover International Speedway
Large venue for professional car racing. Dover Motor Speedway is a race track in Dover, Delaware, United States. The track has hosted at least one NASCAR Cup Series race each year since 1969, including two per year from 1971 to 2020. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the Indy Racing League. The track features one layout, a 1 mile concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports.
The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc. with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity increased to 135,000 seats, giving the track the largest seating capacity of any sports venue in the mid-Atlantic region. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. Depending on configuration, the track's capacity is at 95,500 seats. Its grand total maximum capacity was at 135,000 spectators. On November 8, 2021, it was announced that Dover Motorsports Inc. was purchased by Speedway Motorsports Inc.; effectively making Dover International Speedway a SMI track with the track being renamed to its current name.[1]
Address: 1131 N Dupont Hwy, 19901-2008 Dover
Air Mobility Command Museum
Museum in Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. The Air Mobility Command Museum is dedicated to military airlift and air refueling aircraft and the men and women who flew and maintained them. It has the largest and most complete collection of fully restored U.S. military cargo and tanker aircraft in the Eastern United States and is located about 1/2 mile south of Dover Air Force Base. The mission of the museum is to collect, preserve and exhibit the artifacts and human stories significant to the development and employment of military airlift and air refueling in the USAF and the USAAF, as well as to portray the history of Dover Air Force Base.[2]
Address: 1301 Heritage Rd, 19902 Dover
Biggs Museum of American Art
Park in Dover, Delaware. First State Heritage Park is Delaware's first urban "park without boundaries" linking historic and cultural sites in Dover, Delaware, the city that has been the seat of state government since 1777. It is a partnership of state and city agencies under the leadership of Delaware State Parks. It is located in Dover, Kent County, Delaware in the United States. Delaware was the first state to ratify the United States Constitution. The sites of the park highlight Delaware's role as the "First State." First State Heritage Park is open year-round, with special tours of the sites given the first Saturday of each month.[3]
Address: 406 Federal St, 19901-3615 Dover
Delaware State Capitol
Building in Dover, Delaware. The Delaware Legislative Hall is the state capitol building of Delaware located in the state capital city of Dover on Legislative Avenue that houses the chambers and offices of the Delaware General Assembly. It was designed in the Colonial Revival architecture style by E. William Martin and Norman M. Isham, and built 1931–1933, with wings added in 1965–1970 and 1994.[4]
Address: Legislative Avenue, Dover
Bally's Dover
Hotel. Bally's Dover Casino Resort, formerly Dover Downs, is a hotel, casino, and racetrack complex in Dover, Delaware. It has a.625-mile harness horse racing track, which is surrounded by Dover Motor Speedway, a 1-mile concrete track used for NASCAR motor racing events. The complex is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Bally's Corporation, excluding the motor racing circuit, which is property of Sonic Automotive subsidiary Speedway Motorsports.
Primary features of Bally's Dover include a 500-room hotel, dining options, over 2,700 slot machines, 40 table games, and the Rollins Center, an 18,000-square-foot (1,700 m2) multipurpose ballroom which features entertainment as well as hosting business conferences, conventions and banquets. Steelman Partners were the original architects and interior designers in 1995.[5]
Address: 1131 N Dupont Hwy, 19901 Dover
Old State House
Building in Dover, Delaware. Old Statehouse is a historic state capitol building located on The Green at Dover, Kent County, Delaware. It was built between 1787 and 1792, and is a two-story, five bay, brick structure in a Middle Georgian style. The front facade features a fanlight over the center door and above it a Palladian window at the center of the second floor. It has a shingled side gabled roof topped with an octagonal cupola. A number of attached wings were added between 1836 and 1926. From 1792 to 1932 it was the sole seat of State government, while from 1792 until 1873 it served also as Kent County Court House.
The state house was remodeled in 1873 to reflect a Victorian style and restored in 1976 to its original appearance. Extensive renovations of the State House also took place in 2007.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. It is located in the Dover Green Historic District. It is now part of the Delaware National Historic Park and a museum run by the Delaware Division of Historic and Cultural Affairs. It can be toured Monday–Saturday 9–4:30 and Sundays 1:30–4:30 free of charge.[6]
Address: The Green, 19901 Dover
Governor's Cafe
Historical landmark in Dover, Delaware. The Delaware Governor's Mansion, also known as Woodburn or Governor's House, is the official residence of the governor of Delaware and the governor's family. It is located in Dover, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "Governor's House" in 1972.[7]
Address: 144 Kings Hwy SW, 19901 Dover
Christ Church
Church in Dover, Delaware. Christ Church is a historic Episcopal church and cemetery located at S. State and Water Streets at Dover, Kent County, Delaware. It is located on one of two public squares set aside for houses of worship in the Dover town plan of 1717. The church was established as a mission church of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in 1704 and the building constructed in 1734. It was remodeled in 1859 and 1887. It is a brick structure composed of the original rectangular nave, surrounded by brick appendages. Adjacent to the church is the cemetery, with a number of notable burials. The cemetery includes a cenotaph to a signer of the Declaration of Independence Caesar Rodney; the actual location of Rodney's remains is unknown.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It is located in the Dover Green Historic District.[8]
Address: South State and Water Streets, Dover
Delaware Law Enforcement Memorial
The Delaware Law Enforcement Memorial is a law enforcement memorial in Dover, Delaware, United States. The memorial was unveiled in April 2010. It was vandalized in June 2020.[9]
The Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village
Museum, Historical place, Natural history museum, History museum
Address: 866 N Dupont Hwy, 19901-2003 Dover
John Dickinson Plantation
Museum. The John Dickinson House, generally known as Poplar Hall, is located on the John Dickinson Plantation in Dover, a property owned by the State of Delaware and open to the public as a museum by the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs and newly part of the First State National Historical Park. It was the boyhood home and sometime residence of the Founding Father and American revolutionary leader John Dickinson.
The main house is an Early Georgian mansion and was built on a 13,000-acre (5,300 ha) plantation in 1739–40 by Judge Samuel Dickinson, the father of John Dickinson. Wings were added in 1752 and 1754. The house faced a nearby bend of the St. Jones River which is no longer there as the river has been straightened. The original house suffered major damage during a British raid in August 1781 and was nearly destroyed in a fire in 1804. John Dickinson lived there for extended periods only in 1776–77 and 1781–82, although he kept up a keen interest in the property and often visited. Purchased by the National Society of Colonial Dames of America in 1952, it was given to the State of Delaware and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961.
John Dickinson (1732–1808) was a lawyer and politician who spent most of the time in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware. He was at various times a Continental Congressman from Pennsylvania and Delaware, a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, President of Delaware, and President of Pennsylvania. Among the wealthiest men in the American colonies, he became known as the Penman of the Revolution, for his Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, where he eloquently argued the cause of American liberty. Although refusing to vote in favor of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, he supported the establishment of the new government during the American Revolution and afterward in many official capacities.
The John Dickinson Plantation is located at 340 Kitts Hummock Road, 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Dover, Delaware by Delaware Route 1, and.3 miles east on Kitts Hummock Road.[10]
Address: 340 Kitts Hummock Rd, 19901-7016 Dover