New Bedford,
MA—On Tuesday, May 25, 2004 at 11:00 a.m. City of
New Bedford Mayor Frederick M. Kalisz, Jr. and New Bedford
Whaling National Historical Park Superintendent John Piltzecker
will open the Waterfront Visitor Center’s new exhibit,
A Working Waterfront, and celebrate the completion of the
replacement of city’s system of outdoor interpretive
“wayside” panels and orientation maps. The project
was made possible by $400,000 in funds from the Federal
Highway Administration’s Public Lands Highways Program
to the National Park Service secured by the Massachusetts
Congressional delegation in 2002. Planning and design has
been underway for the past two years. To accomplish the
project, undertaken primarily on municipal property, the
National Park Service and the City of New Bedford worked
side-by-side. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place
outside the Waterfront Visitor Center, located in the Wharfinger
Building at 52 Fisherman’s Wharf on the city’s
commercial waterfront.
Wayside Panels and Orientation Maps: Throughout the National
Park System, “wayside” panels serve as captions
on the landscape for visitors as they explore our national
park areas. They are most frequently found literally “by
the wayside” along a path or trail. They are designed
to help visitors understand what they are looking at, what
historical events may have occurred at a site, and how a
site or vista may have changed over time. In New Bedford,
over 42 waysides located throughout the downtown and waterfront
help to tell the story of the city’s whaling, maritime
and Underground Railroad heritage. For this project, the
National Park Service used the existing wayside system installed
over twenty years ago as a template for replacement and
updates. Installation of the new panels, as well as an updated
system of city and downtown maps at key visitor and parking
locations took place throughout the spring.
Waterfront Visitor Center Exhibit: A Working Waterfront
is the title of the new exhibit in the Waterfront Visitor
Center. Located in the former city Wharfinger Building alongside
the scallopers and draggers of the commercial fishing fleet,
the Waterfront Visitor Center serves over 7,000 thousand
people each year who come looking to learn more about the
working waterfront and the city. The Wharfinger Building,
erected in 1934-35 as a Work Projects Administration (WPA)
project, was the site of port's fish auctions for many years,
ending in 1985. Arthur Motta, Jr., the City’s Director
of Tourism and Marketing explains: “This exhibit adds
another important element to the critical mass of visitor
destinations in the city. Folks now have a new place where
they may learn more about the history of New Bedford's commercial
fishery, at a site where so much of it happened. The exhibit
also carries forward the city's restoration efforts of the
warming room and the exterior of the building, begun in
2000.”
The Working Waterfront exhibit features first hand accounts
and vintage photos to tell the story of the building’s
history, including the morning auction, which now takes
place on-line. The old auction board serves as a backdrop
to describe how fish travel from ocean to table, the types
of fish landed, and the port’s fishing vessels. The
National Park Service and the City received considerable
assistance with the exhibit from people involved in the
commercial fishing industry.
The National Park Service Harpers Ferry Center:
Throughout the world, the National Park Service is known
for the skill with which it preserves and protects America’s
special places. To assist more than 380 national park areas
in their efforts to share our cultural heritage, the National
Park Service has established centralized groups of professionals
who serve parks on a regional and national level. Located
in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, the National Park Service
Harpers Ferry Center serves as the design and interpretive
media center for America’s national parks. The Harpers
Ferry Center was responsible for planning, design and project
management for both the wayside and Waterfront Visitor Center
exhibit projects. A team of designers, writers, cartographers
and installation specialists worked closely with park and
city staff, as well as a wide range of local subject matter
experts throughout the project.
The City of New Bedford:
New Bedford is a vibrant commercial fishing port located
on the south coast of Massachusetts with a population of
nearly 100,000. The south coast region has a rich cultural
legacy harkening back to the days when people were drawn
to the area by the whaling industry, and then later by the
region’s textile and manufacturing industries, and
finally, by the fishing industry. The Port of New Bedford
now brings in the nation’s most valuable catch, due
largely to the Atlantic sea scallop. If you order sea scallops
at the restaurant or buy them at your local market, chances
are good that they came from New Bedford. The city has a
wide range of cultural institutions and is host to a variety
of celebrations and events.
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park:
Established by Congress in 1996 to help preserve and interpret
America’s 19th century whaling and maritime history,
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park is the only
National Park Service area established to commemorate the
whaling industry and its impact on the economic, social
and environmental history of the United States. The park
encompasses a 13-block National Historic Landmark District
and is managed in partnership with state and municipal agencies,
and nonprofit cultural institutions and organizations. The
wayside panel and Wharfinger Building exhibit projects were
identified as priorities in the park’s General Management
Plan (GMP) or “master plan” guiding park operations
and development over the next fifteen years.
More Information:
For more information on New Bedford Whaling National Historical
Park call (508) 996-4095 or visit the park’s website
at www.nps.gov/nebe. For more information on the City of
New Bedford, call the city’s Office of Tourism and
Marketing at (800) 508-5353 or visit the city’s website
at www.ci.new-bedford.ma.us.
Prepared April 26, 2004
-NPS-
EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA
The National Park Service cares for special places saved
by the American people so that all may experience our heritage.
