Press Releases

NEW BEDFORD WHALING MUSEUM OPENS NEW WATTLES FAMILY GALLERY WITH 'TREASURES OF OLD DARTMOUTH' EXHIBIT, JUNE 26

Ribbon-cutting will span North Water Street on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

(NEW BEDFORD, MA) – The New Bedford Whaling Museum will reopen its original 103-year old gallery space on Saturday, June 26 at 3:00 p.m., as Mayor Scott W. Lang, elected officials and Museum trustees join in a gala ribbon cutting, which will span historic North Water Street. The public is cordially invited to attend.

After eight weeks of intensive restoration work, the space will be rededicated as the Old Dartmouth Historical Society Wattles Family Gallery. The inaugural exhibit, Treasures of Old Dartmouth, will feature the best of the museum's painting collection.

"This is a milestone for the Museum and for our neighbors because it is the reopening of our oldest gallery space. It is also the opening of the Celtic Coffee House Ice Cream Parlor located directly across from our original door, which is why the ribbon will stretch across North Water Street," said James Russell, museum president.

The Wattles Family Gallery marks the largest expansion of exhibition space in more than a decade, adding nearly 2,000 square feet to the museum complex. The project is being made possible by a grant from the New York Community Foundation - Wattles Family Charitable Trust Fund.

The new space enables the museum to exhibit more of its collection at one time than at any point in its history and brings back to life the original museum space, which had long been used for storage.

Dr. Gregory J. Galer, VP of Collections and Exhibitions, and chief curator for the inaugural exhibit, noted that many of the great artists of New Bedford during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are represented in the Treasures of Old Dartmouth. "Paintings by Bierstadt, Bradford, Gifford, Wall, and many others sparkle in this beautifully restored space," Dr. Galer said.

The ribbon cutting and rededication ceremony will begin on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. on North Water Street at the intersection of Centre Street, which will close to vehicular traffic from 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. The Colonial Navy of Massachusetts will form an honorary musket guard accompanied by fife and drum. Admission is free to the Wattles Family Gallery only for the opening ceremony from the North Water Street door. Refreshments will be served.

The gallery site dates back to the earliest days of New Bedford, as this section of the original museum stands on part of the William Rotch, Jr. homestead, which Rotch deeded in 1803 to the Bedford Bank, the first bank of Old Dartmouth. The bank was liquidated in 1898, and the building was purchased in 1906 by Henry Huttleston Rogers, who donated it to the Old Dartmouth Historical Society.

Marble tablets in the gallery foyer commemorate the region's first bank and Rogers' gift of the building. Newly restored brass tablets adorn the halls and arches of the gallery, memorializing the lives and contributions of the Society's membership over the years. The New Bedford Whaling Museum is the world's most comprehensive museum devoted to the global story of whales and whaling. The cornerstone of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, the Museum is located at 18 Johnny Cake Hill in the heart of the city's historic downtown and is open daily. For a complete calendar of events, visit the Whaling Museum online at www.whalingmuseum.org. Join the Museum's online community at flickr.com, facebook.com, Twitter, and blog at www.whalingmuseumblog.org.