W.H.A.L.E

Additional media coverage of W.H.A.L.E. acquiring the Howland House, which I posted about here. This link will also be added to the In the News section of the blog.

Lizzie Borden

So, I failed to mention that I visited Salem, MA this past Sunday. It was a first for me - I know, so close & with all my interests, ugh! - & I have a lot of information to share that inspired me in some way for New Bedford. Hey - traveling can give you all sorts of ideas!

Anyways, before I delve into the heavy stuff I thought I would share this weird tid-bit with you. Salem has a Lizzie Borden museum. {Now, I know it's Wikipedia & all, but if you need a quick reference to who Lizzie Borden was visit this link.} I figure Salem had this museum to go along with the spooky/ghost/witch vibe, but what the heck! What a coincidence - I'm doing my thesis on New Bedford & I visit Salem for the first time & look what I find. Now the location for this odd piece of dedication is way off {Fair Haven is about 70 miles from Salem}, but, furthermore, why is there a whole museum in the first place?

The 40 Whacks Museum {classy} also had a gift shop selling dinnerware {plates, cups, etc} with Lizzie's visage & other gruesome icons in the "mystery."

I have to say I'm pretty opposed to this whole endeavor. What do you think? I know it's harmless fun & maybe I'm being a stickler for the historic facts -or what we know to be facts- but this does not interest me in the slightest, especially since it's been taken out of geographical context.

Location Location Location

So, a big part of this whole thesis thing seems to be narrowing it down. I picked the topic, picked a case study/city, but then my problem became "I am interested in everything & there is an unbelievable amount of things to try." Since tourism/travel includes direct & indirect industries {aka: everything -i.e museums & other historic sites, food, transportation, etc} & the definition of sustainable is so vast {I narrowed my personal definition down to local & low-impact} & New Bedford has so many different areas -even more if you're including neighboring Dartmouth, Fair Haven, Acushnet, etc - this has really been that hardest part of this thesis, so far.

I narrowed down Sustainability to tourism for local people & low-impact {to save the future from possible mistakes & to reduce costs}. Now, my geographical area has been narrowed down, as well. I'm focusing on historical organizations & businesses {for the definition of travel/tourism} located in the New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park. My area of concern might also include two nearby historic districts, the New Bedford Historic District {aka waterfront & old downtown} & the Central New Bedford Historic District {downtown}.

From what I have gathered so far - & this will definitely change as I do some more cutting, sleuthing & as I start visiting the area {first trip down for research & not Memere visiting purposes will be on Wednesday, although Memere visiting will, of course, be included} - these are the historic, & otherwise, organizations & businesses that I will be concerned about in terms of Web 2.0 recommendations {I'm working on a spreadsheet - my goal for today}:

Sites associated with the historical park:

1. Whaling Museum

2. Mariner's Home

3. Schooner Ernestina

4. Rotch-Jones-Duff House & Garden Museum

5. Bourne Counting House

6. Sundial Building

7. Seaman's Bethel

8. US Customhouse

9. Double Bank

10. Samuel Rodman Candlehouse {aka Rodman Candlworks}

11. Waterfront Visitors Center @ the Wharfinger Building

12. Park Visitor's Center

Map of New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park outlined in green {larger image}:

Sites associated with downtown New Bedford/in 2, above stated, historic districts & not in the national park:

There are lots of places & sites in the downtown, so here I'll just do a quick run through. A thorough list can be found by clicking the link to the map below.

1. 2 antique stores

2. 3 banks

3. 3 bed & breakfasts

4. 2 colleges/universities

5. 4 festivals

6. 10 galleries {art or otherwise}

7. 5 hotels/motels

8. 5 museums {New Bedford Art Museum, Fire Museum, some sites listed with the national park, etc}

9. 15 points of interest {Buttonwood Park Zoo, Ocean Explorium, Artworks!, some sites listed with the national park, etc}

10. 20 eateries

11. 15 places to shop {including Travessia Winery}

12. 7 services

13. 4 methods of transportation

Map of downtown {larger image located in PDF directory}

Ok, so even after defining a geographical location the whole narrowing down thing is still complicated. The historical sites are easy to locate, but since travel/tourism encompasses a whole mess of things there are still a lot of sites to keep track of. I may end up narrowing this down to 5-ish places to eat/shop/transportation methods to keep it simple & focus on all the sites in the national park. Since visitors to the national park would most likely venture into the nearby downtown for food or shopping before, after, or during their visit.

Wyck's Home Farm

In a few of my classes this past semester, we discussed Germantown - a neighborhood in Philadelphia, PA. What's so cool about Germantown is the relatively recent collaboration among their historic sites {aka Historic Germantown Freedom's Backyard}. Basically, each of the sites involved {more or less classic house museums set in a not so ritzy area} realized that they were struggling to make a profit/barely making ends meet &, worst of all, they were not connecting in any way with their neighbors. Some of the residents in Germantown didn't know these places existed or felt they weren't for them. So, these 15 historic groups formed a collaboration to make themselves more visible in the area - & a united front sort of makes it easier to apply for grants. They do events together in the neighborhood, offer 3 for 2 tickets, & so on & so forth. However, the place I found most interesting - for a very specific reason -was Wyck.

Wyck's thing is sort of agriculture & farming -all in an urban setting. They have a Home Farm that they wanted to put to use - especially as a way to connect with their neighbors. Created in 2007 with a few goals in mind: {quote taken from website} "The farm grows food for a weekly on-site farmers’ market; it stands as an interactive, outdoor classroom for local children and adults; it perpetuates Wyck’s 300 years old agricultural traditions; and it enhances the bucolic landscape that visitors to Wyck have long enjoyed."

Farmers markets & urban gardening are wonderful, wonderful things. But Wyck went further. They want to make this fresh, local food available & affordable to their neighbors, who, probably can't afford weekly shopping trips at Whole Foods. {Taken from website} "Customers can use food stamps and the $5 vouchers distributed through the federally funded Farmers Market Nutrition Program."

The section about their Home Farm ends with a lovely quote: "Urban farming, put simply, is farming with neighbors. And so the cultivation of food becomes a way to cultivate relationships. The multiple functions of the Wyck Home Farm allow us to develop these relationships and fulfill our mission to enrich and strengthen community life. We accomplish this by distributing fresh, chemical-free food within the neighborhood, by renewing Germantown’s history, and by serving as both an educational and aesthetic resource."

I did some sleuthing around the Massachusetts Farmer's Markets website to see if Food Stamps {or some equivalent} were accepted at local markets in this state. Turns out 38 Farmers Markets in Massachusetts accept SNAP. View the complete list of these here. That's not a wicked big amount & most of them are located in Boston, very close metro-Boston towns, or in nearby North Shore areas. The South Shore is lacking representation, especially towns in Bristol County {aka where New Bedford is located}. Now, New Bedford has a Farmer's Market -actually it has 3! Located at Brooklawn Park, Wings Court, & Clasky Common. View complete list here. That's great, actually, & all on different days: Monday, Thursday, & Saturday. So, a lot of options, but none accept SNAP - could be something to consider?

Web 2.0 & New Bedford Belgium Block

Besides my meeting with Mathieu Plourde about Web 2.0 possibilities & doing a little bit more reading in "Patina of Place," I didn't really accomplish too too much. However, I did think a lot about how I might want to set up my thesis & what it might entail.

My Web 2.0 meeting went really well, there are so many possibilities on the web &, in my mind, they all constitute low-impact development that could assist in adding more numbers to the tourism count of the city. All my online research has provided a mixed bag & I'll be using that as part of my argument. There needs to be connectivity & more web presence. During a presentation Mathieu made while I was in PEMCI, he said something along the lines of "people are always going to be talking; it's up to you to decide if you want to be part of the conversation," which really set me off thinking about online content for towns & how this hurts or helps tourism.

While reading "Patina of Place" I came across a mention of a particular building material being discussed in the context of the industrial development of the North End. Kingston Heath states: "Unlike the unsightly dirt roads surrounding Wamsutta's tenement blocks, the major thoroughfares surrounding the Grinnell Mill Village were paved with New Bedford Belgium block (a granite, brick-shaped paving stone imbedded in sand)." {page 82}

I had never heard of a New Bedford Belgium block, but I did know that cobblestones had been used to pave the New Bedford Whaling National Park in the late 1990's. I was immediately curious about whether or not these could be New Bedford Belgium blocks. It would be wonderful if they were since it would mean that the city made an effort to incorporate not only a historic building material, but also a local one.

I did some digging.

I found a report from 1998, by Christine A. Arato & Patrick L. Eleey, entitled: Safely Moored at Last: Cultural Landscape Report for New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park {I also posted a link to this in the Online Resources section}. It had great information on anything & everything related to the physical state of the New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park. Here's a selection from this report on Belgium Blocks, which it turns out are used in the National Park {yay preservation!}:

"Within the New Bedford Whaling NHP, the streets and side-walks are constructed with a limited variety of materials. These include granite, brick, flagstone, cobble, and asphalt. Granite Belgian blocks, cut to a dimension approximately 4 by 10 by 6 inches and originally used as ballast on merchant ships returning to the New World from Belgium, constitute the surface paving for most streets in the park. The blocks differ in size, color, and spacing. The variances in their appearance range from small sharp-edged blue granite to larger rounded-edge granite with a high iron content, resulting in a warmer, browner color. These warmer-colored stones tend to be slightly larger than the blue ones. Blocks that had been used previously as paving material in the nineteenth century have been reused, wherever possible, when roads were repaved. These previously-used stones were cleaned before being re-laid. The age of the pavers is quite obvious when compared to the contemporary stones; their smoother edges show more signs of weathering. Belgian blocks serve a variety of uses in the park. Most streets are paved with Belgian block in a running bond pattern, as are curb cuts for parking lot and driveway entrances.... "

{Taken from page 75 under the section entitled SURFACE MATERIALS}

"Street paving, begun in the 1830s and completed within two decades, employed cobblestones. Granite curbing and flagged sidewalks served a largely pedestrian traffic, while granite runners spanned many of the intersections in order to facilitate moving large casks from the harbor to the various processing centers in the area. The introduction of horse-drawn street cars in 1872 required repaving some sections of William, North Second, and Middle Streets along which the tracks were laid. Belgian blocks subsequently replaced the worn cobblestones of many streets, providing a smoother ride for carriage and, after 1900, automobile traffic. During the 1970s preservation efforts restored a running bond pattern of Belgian blocks to streets that had been paved with asphalt during the early decades of the twentieth century. Flagstone panels constitute the majority of paving materials installed in the property’s sidewalks and crosswalks. Ornamental borders consisting of various combinations of cobblestone, Belgian block, and brick bracket the sidewalk flagging. Extant circulation features that probably date to the period of significance are limited to the overall street pattern, a series of bluestone panels in the sidewalk that fronts the Double Bank building on Water Street, and the eastern section of the granite runners lining the southern side of Centre Street..."

{Taken from page 93 under the section entitled CIRCULATION & SURFACE MATERIALS}

Isn't research great! It's almost like a form of free association with one thing leading to the next & on to the next, sometimes I can't remember how I got on one track from the previous!

Save This House

Waterfront Historic Area LeaguE {W.H.A.L.E} is taking donations to save the 1834 John Howland Jr. House on 38 South Sixth Street!

Details on the House & the Mission to save it {all taken from link}

"This rare, brick mansion reminiscent of the magnificent architecture built during the whaling era was ravaged by fire in 2005 and has been exposed to the elements for more than five years causing severe deterioration. Making matters worse, its owners improperly removed structural support beams in the house when clearing out debri. As a result, the Howland house is in imminent danger and needs immediate intervention."

"Recognizing this fact and the property's historical and architectural significance, WHALE is purchasing this historic house for $237,000 to prevent its demolition and ensure its reuse."

About the House {all taken from link}

• Built in 1834 for John and Sarah Howland Jr.
• Exceptional example of transitional Federal/Greek Revival style architecture and the substantial wealth that was made in the whaling industry in New Bedford.
• Contributing building in the County Street National Register Historic District.
• One of a complex of three remarkable and extremely rare, brick mansions built for the Howland family on South Sixth Street.

About the Howland Family {all taken from link}

"The Howland family was among New Bedford’s most prominent and wealthy families. A native of New Bedford, John Howland Jr. partnered with his brother James in “J & J Howland Merchants” on Middle Street and he was one of fifteen original trustees of the New Bedford Institution for Savings. The Howland family, unlike many of their Quaker counterparts, chose to build their grand mansions and fine homes along Sixth Street. The County Street Historic District Nomination states that:

Of the city’s wealthiest men, only members of two branches of the Howland family – George Howland Sr. and Jr. and John Howland Sr. and his sons John Jr. and James II – did not build on County Street.

One of Howland’s relatives even “warned his children that building a house on County Street would expose them to ‘pernicious influence’.

This building is currently slated for demolition & is structurally unsound - check out the link to the site above to learn more about the house & family or to donate money to help save it.

History Lesson

As I stated in the previous post, this is my week to learn about the general history of New Bedford. Now, my project will really deal with the present, but, mostly, the future of this city. So, why all the history? I really believe that heritage tourism can be an effective cure for cities {& towns} looking to expand their tax base - who doesn't want economic growth? Since the tourism industry includes direct & indirect businesses in their definition, this also incorporates things like train stations, airports, cafes, shops, etc -really anything a tourist might do while on a visit. Adding the sustainability factor on top of all this economic growth can really be viewed as an interesting marketing approach -let alone doing something good for the environment.

Anyways, back to history. I have a really simplistic overview of the basic history of New Bedford, but I really want to know as much as possible for this project- & not just so I feel confident when I discuss it! The big picture history, such as whaling, industry, connections to the Underground Railroad are all things that can be used to define a city, but the smaller, more unusual aspects of its past can be used to garner repeat visitations & foster curiosity from outsiders, but more importantly from residents. A large aspect of sustainable tourism focuses on local, this is for many reasons, but in my opinion it's because while weekend trips from people 100 miles, give or take, away is a great thing to strive for, this is a once or a once in awhile visitor. Residents, in town or nearby, should be the main audience catered to since they can form a network of permanent patrons.

So, what did I learn about New Bedford's history this week? Well, for one thing, that there is a whole lot more to learn, but here are some highlights. All these tidbits, as well as the photographs, were garnered from the City of New Bedford website, under the Tourism & Marketing section {go here to read more}:

• New Bedford's discovery by English explorers occured 18 years before Plymouth {!}

• 3 major industries were whaling, manufacture of cotton goods, & general fishing -which still brings in money today {about $800 million/year}
• Greatest whaling port in the world {surpassed Nantucket in this endeavor by the early 19th century}
• Inspired Herman Melville to write Moby Dick
• When petroleum gas was discovered in Pennsylvania in 1859, New Bedford began a state of decline since their economy rested largely on whaling & it's products {i.e whale oil} & by this time the whale had been hunted to near extinction
• The first dedicated YMCA in the country {in 1891} was in New Bedford {NW corner of William & 6th. The original building was demolished in 1975, after a lot of public outcry. This loss started the historic preservation movement in the city.} {!}
• After the cotton/fabric mills moved south {for cheaper production costs}, the needle trade {skilled stitching, fine clothing} remained. New Bedford remains the location for the production of some of the finest brands of men's suits.
• Massachusetts abolished slavery in 1780. The nation abolished it, with the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment, in 1865. New Bedford had long before either of these dates eradicated the practice. It was known as a location for abolitionists & the Underground Railroad. Frederick Douglas lived here from 1838 - 1841.

• From it's earliest days, New Bedford was a cosmopolitan city with immigrants from Ireland, Portugal {& it's many islands}, Cape Verde, French Canada, Czech Republic, Guatemala, Italy, Germany, Norway, Lebanon, Greece, Russia, & more
• Great water connections. "...true wealth in the 21st century & its key to future growth, is its abundance of clean water, the quality & quantity of which is unsurpassed in all of southern New England."
• As a result of the frequent onslaught of hurricanes, a 3.5 mile long stone barrier was constructed between 1962 and 1966. It cost $18.1 million & is the largest stone structure on the East Coast of the United States. It also made New Bedford the safest port on the eastern seaboard.

• In November of 1996, the US Congress set aside 34 acres, consisting of 13 city blocks, in downtown to create the New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park.
• Tourism is a fast growing segment of the local economy. New Bedford is defining itself as the "city of art."