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State-wide media giving New Bedford a fresh look
 Whale
of a rebirth
Old fishing community rides a wave of youthful,
arts-driven energy
By Patricia Harris and David Lyon, Boston Globe
Correspondents October 18, 2006
New Bedford is a down-to-earth city that has always gone
down to the sea. Herman Melville memorialized its
whalers in "Moby-Dick," and Ahab, Starbuck , and
Queequeg still cast long shadows on those Quaker streets
of uneven granite paving stones. But today's stars of
the waterfront are mostly Portuguese fishermen whose
trawls and dredges haul the most valuable fish catch
(mostly groundfish and scallops) in the country. The
golden age of whaling, roughly 1820-85, has been
captured in amber (or ambergris) by a national park, but
New Bedford has a future, too. Preservationists have
been quietly saving the handsome old downtown buildings
for decades, and the Star Store campus of UMass
Dartmouth's College of Visual & Performing Arts has
injected a critical mass of youthful energy, artistic
intensity, and cockeyed optimism into the city.
Ishmael's drizzly "November of my soul" has been
exorcised at last, as surely as the fog lifts ahead of
the sweet breezes of a westerly.
Play
Some kids like boats -- big boats. When most of the
fishing fleet is ashore on weekends, the waterfront
becomes a fascinating forest of masts and cables. Along
the wharves where vessels are berthed three abreast,
crew members hop from boat to boat while other trawlers
steam past with their birds up (the wing-like extensions
used for stability in rough seas).
Other kids prefer pony rides, available on weekends for
$3 (or $5 with a photo) at the Buttonwood Park Zoo
(425 Hawthorn St., 508-991-6178,
bpzoo.org , adults
$6, seniors and teenagers $4.50, ages 3-12 $3). This
gentle, low-key zoo focuses primarily on regional
wildlife, including creatures that inhabit the zoo
property, such as muskrats, mink, and songbirds. Even
such old-fashioned exhibits as the elephant enclosure
and the WPA-era bear pit emphasize understanding the
captive animals rather than merely gawking at them.
Rest
Predictable roadside convenience is the strong suit of
Days Inn (500 Hathaway Road, 508-997-1231,
www.daysinn.com ,
$69-$129). It's near the intersection of Interstate 195
and Route 140, but more than 2 miles from the downtown
and waterfront. Within strolling distance of downtown,
lodgings in two former mid-19th-century whaling
captains' manses offer more local color. The Orchard
Street Manor Bed & Breakfast (139 Orchard St.,
508-984-3475,
www.the-orchard-street-manor.com , $125-$250) has
just one single- room and two two-bedroom suites but
elegant common areas, including a formal billiard room.
The animal-loving innkeepers at Captain Haskell's
Octagon House Bed & Breakfast (347 Union St.,
508-999-3933,
www.theoctagonhouse.com, $125-$145) welcome pets in
the two guest rooms and one suite of two single rooms.
And you might catch the blossoming of the night-blooming
cereus in the Victorian conservatory.
Fuel
New Bedford's dining scene reflects the city's newfound
energy. Practically next door to the New Bedford Whaling
Museum, Cafe Balena (24 North Water St.,
508-990-0061, $15-$28) opened in April with a Sardinian
menu that includes a cioppino (fish stew) of the day's
best catch. It's BYOB, with a corking fee of $5.
Portuguese food gets serious respect here. For
traditional fare like Alentejo-style pork (marinated
loin with clams), it's hard to beat Mimo (1526-30
Acushnet Ave., 508-997-8779, $9-$14). But the biggest
recent splash on the dining scene is chic Adega.
Restaurant and Wine Bar (418 Rivet St.,
508-992-1313,
www.adegafinedining.com , $13-$25). Start with
mussels in champagne sauce, followed by one of six
cataplana preparations.
Spend
Martha's Vineyard has the Black Dog, but New Bedford has
the Black Whale, a modern avatar of Moby-Dick in
his negative image.
For a T-shirt, ball cap, or tote bag emblazoned with
said leviathan (or an outrageous getup for Halloween or
Mardi Gras), stop at Elaine's T-Shirts & Costumes
(772 Purchase St., 508-999-2166,
www.theblackwhale.com).
More serious whale hunters might harpoon an authentic
relic of the trade at the Whalemen's Shipping List
(17 Johnny Cake Hill, 508-990-3786). Look for such
artifacts as seamen's chests, crew manifests from
whaling vessels, and containers that once held sperm
whale oil. The shop is open through December before
owner Frederick Mitchell, like the whales, migrates
south for a few months.
Do
New Bedford's heyday as the Houston of the whale oil
industry left its mark in the 13-block district set
aside as New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park
(visitors center at 33 William St., 508-996-4095,
www.nps.gov/nebe).
Temple-like banks, converted chandleries, and even a
candleworks-turned-restaurant recall flush times. Walk
across granite pavers where ancient mariners swaggered
and pause in the Seamen's Bethel (15 Johnny Cake Hill,
508-992-3295, donation), where tombstone-like cenotaphs
relate terrible demises in the far corners of the world:
yellow fever, a fall from a mast, being pulled overboard
by a line attached to a whale. The New Bedford
Whaling Museum (18 Johnny Cake Hill, 508-997-0046,
www.whalingmuseum.org, adults $10, seniors and
students $9, ages 6-14 $6) captures the gore and glory
of whaling, with a strong bent toward conservation.
The work was on the docks, but the wealth stood high on
the crest of County Street. Built in 1834, the Rotch-Jones-Duff
House & Garden Museum (396 County St., 508-997-1401,
www.rjdmuseum.org,
adults $5, seniors and students $4, 12 and under $2)
surveys nearly two centuries of life among the elite.
Party
New Bedford's streets turn into an art and culture
festival on the second Thursday of each month with
gallery openings, live music, special museum programs,
and theatrical performances (AHA!, 508-264-8859,
www.ahanewbedford.org). Open Mike Night at 50-seat
Cafe Arpeggio is part of the action, but the
confab continues every Thursday. The stage also hosts
concerts by professional touring musicians, usually on
the third Friday of the month ($15).
Live bands hold forth every Thursday and Saturday at the
Catwalk (34 Union St., 508-994-3355,
www.catwalkbars.com),
a bar and restaurant where the weather, alas, is
starting to get a little nippy for the rooftop terrace
overlooking the harbor.
For the last 25 years, the Zeiterion Theatre (684
Purchase St., 508-994-2900,
www.zeiterion.org)
has been New Bedford's performing arts center. The Z has
such luminaries on tap as McCoy Tyner, Bo Diddley,
Garrison Keillor, and the Bulgarian State Opera. On Nov.
11, it presents two showings of John Huston's "Moby
Dick" in honor of the 50th anniversary of the premiere,
when Huston and Gregory Peck (Captain Ahab) came to
town.
© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company |
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