Radar finds no trace of Lewes beach pavilion

July 23, 2024 4

A ground-penetrating radar survey of Lewes’ Johnnie Walker Beach failed to find any trace of a long-lost pavilion that once stood there.

The Lewes Johnnie Walker Beach Subcommittee wants to find the location so it can build a replica pavilion.

The radar survey was done Jan. 18 by Phil King, a state soil scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It was done at no cost to the city.

King spent several hours pushing the unit, like a lawnmower, across the sand. The radar presented a picture down to 12 feet below the surface.

“We should have a pretty uniform pattern and we’re going to look for when that pattern in broken,” King said in January as he prepared to start. “This is not like CIS where you can see the outline of the body. That technology doesn’t exist.”

He was looking for posts or water and electrical lines that would have been part of the structure.

King reported his findings in a letter to the subcommittee, which the panel read at its July 18 meeting.

“I believe with relatively high confidence after reviewing the data that this area has been highly manipulated by earth-moving equipment,” King’s report said. “There is strong evidence that the pavilion may have been removed during a major storm event or during beach restoration activities.”

A 1968 photo from the Delaware State Archives shows the pavilion, and Walker’s restaurant, located in the area of the current parking lot and beach.

The city would have to apply to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control for permission to build a permanent or temporary structure on the beach or parking lot area.

Kay Carnahan, a member of the subcommittee and Lewes beach commissioner, said the survey did have a positive outcome, even though it did not find anything.

“We know the pavilion, probably a couple of pavilions, existed for many years. He didn’t find any evidence of it, so I think we can say [a new pavilion] would not have a negative impact on the sand itself,” Carnahan said.

Caranhan said the subcommittee wants the replica pavilion as a historic and cultural object, not a moneymaker for the city.

The subcommittee is considering applying for Delaware 250 grants this fall to help pay for the project.