The Ice Piers of New Castle were constructed from 1804 to 1882.  They are a legacy the days of wooden ships  and were constructed, initially by public donations, to protect the wooden hulls from ice floes running up and down river with the tides.  They are listed on the National Historic Register, and are recognized as perhaps the first national public works project.

The piers were deeded to the US government in the early 1800's  The US Corps of Army Engineers maintained them and built new ones until they became obsolete in an age of steel vessels.

It is now the ice piers that need protection.  They are constructed of 4 to 6 courses of slabs of granite on a wooden platform sitting on a rubble-filled crib like structure.  The wooden platform is at mean-low-water, and over time has deteriorated.  

The close-in pier underneath the dock (picture at right) is almost ready to collapse.  Two of the outer piers resemble decayed teeth, with  the entire east face gone exposing the core. 

( Click on images to enlarge)
 

For a virtual tour of one of the icepiers click here.  If your computer does not have Java enabled, click here to try it with Apple's QuickTime.