New Bedford Historic District

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North Water Street (2008)

The New Bedford Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District in New Bedford , Massachusetts , United States , located on the community's waterfront. During the 19th century, when the city was the center of the US whaling industry , this was the center of the town. At the beginning of the 20th century, the industry began to decline and local conservationists restored the buildings so that they largely correspond to their original appearance.

Many of the buildings in the listed district were constructed between 1790 and 1855, by architects such as Russell Warren , Robert Mills, and others. Most of them are Greek Revival and Federal Style structures , often reflecting the legacy of the whaling industry in the city's history. The preserve was designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL) and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 . The monument protection area is protected by the local development plan.

A structure within the district houses the oldest US custom house still in operation . It is also classified as a National Historic Landmark and has been part of the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park since 1996 .

geography

Boundary of the monument protection area

The landmarked district is bounded by Front Street to the east, Elm Street to the north, Acushnet Avenue to the west, and Commercial Street to the south. It comprises eleven city blocks and part of another. Its area covers 7.9 hectares with twenty buildings erected between 1810 and 1855. It includes some recent structures, mainly parking lots, a gas station and some additions to the New Bedford Whaling Museum . The streets of the district are cobblestone and lighting is provided by gas lamps ; both elements were only added after the creation of the historic district to give it an appearance that more closely resembles the state of the district in the 19th century. Most of the buildings are used commercially and were built for this purpose, although some of the houses are mixed-use structures. In their entirety, the structures within the district are typical of a New England port city.

The John F. Kennedy Expressway ( MA-18 ) is located directly to the east of the monument protection area , a highway-like road that forms a barrier between the historical structure and the shoreline. Local conservationists support a plan to rebuild the expressway to restore access to the waterfront, without which the neighborhood would never have been built. The city received a sum of 16.3 million US dollars for this purpose.

history

Ascent to the center of whaling

New Bedford became a whaling port shortly after it was founded when Joseph Rotch moved here in 1765. He and the local landowner Joseph Russell, who is widely regarded as the founder of the city, realized that the port's depth meant that seaworthy ships could be launched from the shipyard. In Nantucket , which was the center of the whale processing industry at the time, shallows limited accessibility, especially for larger ships. Rotch and Russell aroused the interest of shipbuilders and shortly afterwards the ship Dartmouth was launched. It transported the first cargo of Tran from New Bedford to London in 1767 . When the Revolutionary War broke out, New Bedford was home to 50 ships.

In 1778 the British Army set fire to the city in retaliation for actions by local pirates . There was no loss of life because the residents had fled beforehand, but 34 ships, 76 shops, 26 warehouses and 11 homes were destroyed by the fire. After the Declaration of Independence, the city focused on rebuilding its main industries, and in 1791 the Rebecca set sail, which became the first US whaling ship to sail the Pacific Ocean . Two decades later was War of 1812 another setback for the city's economy, but already in 1823 was the fleet New Bedford terms of tonnage identical to the on Nantucket and four years later, the city overtook the competitors in the in barrel measured amount to Tran.

The city's economy flourished and the buildings that make up the historic district were erected. During the 1830s, the architect Robert Mills planned the US Customhouse , which is still in use today , where the whalers paid their duties and fees and did the necessary paperwork. Joseph Rotch's grandson was a wealthy man and built his residence a little further inland. The seaman's church, Seamen's Bethel , was built in 1832 and became the usual meeting place for seafarers before they set sail.

In 1840 New Bedford had replaced Nantucket as the main port for whalers when it was connected to the growing railway network . The streets became livelier and the houses bigger. In 1851, Herman Melville , who lived in New Bedford a decade earlier, wrote his novel Moby Dick , which begins in town and describes various local facilities and buildings. The New Bedford Institute for Savings (NBIS), which now houses the National Park Service Visitor Information Center , was built in 1853.

Decline and monument protection

North Water Street in the early 1960s

The whaling industry peaked in 1857 when New Bedford provided about half of the United States' whaling fleet. Growing competition from the petroleum industry and the effects of the American Civil War prevented recovery. Seamen's Bethel was rebuilt after a fire in 1867, with a new look and an additional tower. The NBIS building was converted into a courthouse and the center of the city's economic activity moved further west, where it is to this day when the textile industry became the city's main economic activity. The whaling museum opened in 1907 in one of the old buildings. Ships lost at sea were not replaced as in the past and the last whaler set out on its last voyage in 1925.

Some of the old structures from the whaling era were demolished to make way for new buildings from the 20th century or fell into disrepair. The customs office remained in operation and is still in operation today. In the mid-1950s, film director John Huston and actor Gregory Peck came to New Bedford and shot a scene for the film Moby-Dick in front of Seamen's Bethel . Although it was only a single scene that was actually shot in the city, the film sparked tourist interest in the city.

License plate listed as a National Historic Landmark on William Street

The townspeople developed an interest in preserving and protecting New Bedford's past as a whaling town. They founded a citizens 'group, the Waterfront Historic Area League (WHALE) in 1962. On November 13, 1966, the waterfront area became one of the United States' first National Historic Landmarks . Five years later, WHALE achieved recognition as what is now a listed building. The city introduced a development plan to preserve the character of the area.

Thirty years later, Congress passed bill that created the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park . The National Park Service set up its visitor center in the former NBIS building. In 2008 WHALE transferred the neighboring Corson Building, built between 1875 and 1884, to Park Service.

Significant Contributing Objects

Seamen's Bethel
US Customhouse

Several of the properties in the listed area are noteworthy, two of which are independently registered on the National Register and one of which is a National Historic Landmark.

  • Mariner's Home is the oldest building in the historic preservation district. Originally the home of William Rotch, the federal-style stone building, built in 1790, has been relocated to its present location from its original location on William and North Water Streets.
  • Samuel Rodman Candlehouse is one of the oldest commercial buildings in the district. Its beginnings go back to 1810.
  • Seamen's Bethel is a white, clapboard- clad church that was first built in 1832 and remodeled and expanded after a fire in 1867.
  • Mechanics 'Bank and Merchants' Bank Building on North Water Street was the first building erected in New Bedford in 1831 with the Ionic Columns in the Greek Revival.
  • The US Customhouse was commissioned in 1836 and is still used today as a port of entry by the US Customs and Border Protection . The building is a separate National Historic Landmark .
  • The Old Third District Courthouse is also a Warren-built, 1853-completed sandstone building in the style of the Greek Revival on the opposite corner of the Customs House. It was originally the New Bedford Institute for Savings but was converted into a courthouse in 1896. It later served as an antique shop and then as an auto parts shop and is now used as the National Park Administration's visitor center.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ New Bedford Historic District . In: National Historic Landmark summary listing . National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 15, 2008.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / tps.cr.nps.gov
  2. ^ National Register Information System . In: National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h Polly M. Rettig and SS Bradford: National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: New Bedford Historic District ( English , PDF; 361 kB) National Park Service. January 30, 1975. Retrieved August 15, 2008 .; 16 accompanying photos ( English , PDF; 3.9 MB) National Park Service. January 30, 1975. Retrieved August 15, 2008.
  4. ↑ Donna Anusczyk: New Bedford Neighborhoods . In: The Standard-Times , Ottaway Community Newspapers , November 4, 2001. “ The Bedford Landing-Waterfront District, the only state designated local historic district with imposed zoning regulations… It consists of about 20 acres containing 20 buildings architecturally significant, built from 1810 to 1855, typically characterizing a New England sea port. Several Federal and Greek Revival buildings add a distinct character to the area with shops on the ground floor, and living quarters above. This picturesque neighborhood is within the confines of the New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park, established by Congress in 1996, which encompasses the cobblestone area of ​​downtown. These restored cobblestone streets with gas-lamp style lighting recapture a 19th century atmosphere. " 
  5. ↑ Redesign of Route 18 . In: Projects . Waterfront Historic Area League. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  6. ↑ The Seamen's Bethel . In: New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park . National Park Service . April 2, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2008: " When the movie was released, it was hugely successful and one result was that Americans wanted to visit New Bedford ... "
  7. ↑ About Us - History . Waterfront Historic Area League. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  8. ↑ List of NHL by State . National Park Service , accessed September 17, 2018.
  9. ^ Corson Building Progress . In: New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park . National Park Service . May 1, 2008. Retrieved August 15, 2008.
  10. ^ Port of Entry-New Bedford. US Customs and Border Protection , accessed April 27, 2016 .

Web links

Commons : New Bedford Historic District  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Coordinates: 41 ° 38 ′ 7 "  N , 70 ° 55 ′ 27"  W.