Leoné Cahill-Krout is the Executive Director of Old Swedes Historic Site and this week’s #PeopleOfWilmDE. Read her story below.
“My parents, Wallace and Sophie Yau, escaped the Communist takeover of 1949 to Taiwan and Singapore. My father met the stringent requirements for higher education and went to the National Taiwan University.
I was born in Northampton, Massachusetts while my father was completing his doctorate in Polymer Chemistry at UMass Amherst. He took a position with DuPont and we moved to Delaware when I was about 3 years old. I am first generation Chinese-American.
My ideal weekend visit to Wilmington would start with Happy Hour at the Big Fish Grill on the Riverfront. They consistently deliver a variety of mouth-watering small plates with affordable prices, plenty of onsite parking and seating, and beautiful views of the Christina River. A stroll along the Riverfront offers visitors scenic views with access to art, history, and occasionally live music.
My weekend visit would continue with a tour of Old Swedes Historic Site! The cornerstone of the city. A perfect place for visitors to learn about how the Swedes and Finns colonized the area when they arrived in 1638. over 100 years BEFORE the birth of our nation.
From Old Swedes, you may visit many other sites within short distances. I particularly love the Delaware Art Museum which houses the largest collection of Pre-Raphaelites outside the U.K.
Wilmington is the perfect home base. Allowing access to major cities, such as Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and New York. Additionally, within a couple of hours, you can enjoy Delaware beaches, Pocono mountains, and the Chesapeake Bay. Wilmington is the logical, economical, and geographical “home base” to visit all the East Coast has to offer.
I am very happy to see Wilmington’s development and revitalization initiatives employ the best urban planning principles with careful consideration of preservation, transportation, and environmental concerns.
The Wilmington East Side and 7th Street peninsula sits at the confluence of the Brandywine and Christina Rivers. Naturally, an ideal spot for natives and colonists to develop. Over the centuries, urban expansion has taken over the East Side leaving it an industrial wasteland. The City’s East Side housing and revitalization project together with the clean-up of the Brownsfield areas aims to restore the area to the former diverse and vibrant community it once was.
The Riverfront East project will bring tourism, job opportunities, and walkable access for East Side residents.”
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