New Bedford, MA—Congress has identified $3.0 million within the Fiscal Year 2005 budget appropriated for the National Park Service to be allocated toward the redevelopment of the Corson Building. This funding, combined with the $2.5 million appropriation in the Fiscal Year 2004 budget, provides the balance of the funding for the planned $5.5 million redevelopment of the Corson Building. Planning and design on the Corson Building project began in Summer 2003. Rehabilitating the Corson Building is a key development project identified in the park’s General Management Plan, completed in 2001 after three-years of public input. The building will serve as an education and public program center for the park.

The Corson Building redevelopment plan calls for the creation of a number of interpretive and educational spaces in the facility including a 60 seat theater, a large multi-purpose education space, a seminar room, an archival room, and exhibition galleries. The plan includes the construction of a building link which will connect the park visitor center to the Corson Building. The facility will host the visiting public and provide the space for curriculum and non-curriculum based educational and interpretive programs.

New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park Acting Superintendent Tom Ross stated: “Creating education and public programming space for the park was identified as a key priority for the National Park Service and its local partners during the development of the park’s master plan. The Corson Building will meet that priority by providing multi-purpose education spaces and programming that engages students and teachers and involves the public in discovering the park and region’s rich cultural heritage.”

The National Park Service preserves and interprets some of the country’s most extraordinary places. From the red cliff walls of Arizona’s Grand Canyon to The Great Hall of New York’s Ellis Island, national parks offer opportunities for students and teachers to access information that cannot be found anywhere else. Educational programs based on the curriculum of area schools are recognized and supported as an essential part of National Park Service programming. Last year over one million students participated in programs developed through partnerships between teachers and staff at national parks. Tom Ross stated: “We appreciate the work of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Senator John Kerry, and Representative Barney Frank and their strong support for New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and for education in our National Park System.”

The Corson Building, which is located next to the park Visitor Center and across from the New Bedford Whaling Museum, consists of two three-story brick structures built in 1875 and 1884. For many years the Corson Building housed Moby-Dick Marine Specialties on its first floor, a popular shopping stop for visitors to the historic district. In 1997, a devastating fire ripped through the building, destroying its roof and top two floors. The Waterfront Historic Area League (WHALE), a non-profit preservation organization, came to the building’s rescue after the fire, hiring a structural engineer who convinced the City Building Commissioner that the building could be saved. WHALE acquired the building and secured the funds for its stabilization.

To make the project happen, WHALE donated the Corson Building to the United States in April 2004. The National Park Service hired TAMS Architecture to undertake the planning and design phase of the Corson Building Project. TAMS Architecture was chosen for their strong engineering and environmentally responsible design background, as well as past experience with similar projects such as the Heritage Harbor Museum in Providence, RI. The project is under the supervision of the Denver Service Center, the design and construction branch of the National Park Service.

New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park was established by Congress in 1996. One of over 380 National Park Service areas, it is the National Park Service site addressing the history of the whaling industry and its influence on the economic, social and environmental history of the United States. The park includes New Bedford’s 13-block waterfront historic district, Schooner Ernestina, the Rotch-Jones-Duff House & Garden Museum and several sites along the waterfront. The legislation establishing the park also established a connection between the NPS and the Iñupiat Heritage Center in Barrow, Alaska.

For more information about New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, contact at the Visitor Center at (508) 996-4095, or visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/nebe.