Rehoboth Beach's first boardwalk, built in 1873, was 1,000 yards long and made of 8-foot-wide oak planks laid on the sand; in 1884 it was replaced by a new boardwalk 8 feet wide and 1.25 miles long, and though later rebuilt many times after storms, residents and visitors have walked the boards to see and be seen for more than 100 years. Three local landmarks are highlighted: the Cape Henlopen Lighthouse, which toppled into the sea in 1926; a replica built by a local realtor in 1924 for use as an office and replaced in 1996 by the replica on the traffic circle at the city's western entrance; and Silver Lake, where a wooden bridge built in 1928 was replaced by a concrete bridge in 1938. Silver Lake and Lake Gerar to the north are the closest freshwater lakes in the nation to the Atlantic Ocean.