NEW BEDFORD – After eight weeks of renovation, the New Bedford Whaling Museum reopened its original 103-year-old gallery space Monday for the first time in more than 40 years.
Since the late 1960s the former bank had served as a nondescript storage and office space for the Old Dartmouth Historical Society, which runs the museum. A roughly $250,000 renovation led by Bufftree Building Co. saw the drywall partitions torn down and the space converted to a 2,000-square-foot gallery.
“This is a milestone for the museum and for our neighbors because it is the reopening of our oldest gallery space,” museum President James Russell said.
Known as the Wattles Family Gallery, the renovation marks the largest expansion of exhibition space in more than a decade. It takes its name from the New York Community Foundation – Wattles Family Charitable Trust Fund.
“It’s a really superb restoration,” said museum spokesman Arthur Motta Jr. “It’s sort of the society coming full circle from 103 years ago.”
In 1906 businessman Henry Huttleston Rogers purchased the former bank and donated it to the society. The building became the society’s first permanent home. But by the 1960s the museum had grown, and larger and newer buildings overshadowed the gallery, which eventually became administrative space.
The society decided to expand its museum space to the building to accommodate efforts to display more of its artifacts, Motta said. The new space enables the museum to exhibit more of its collection at one time than at any point in its history. As part of the renovations, the museum took pains to protect the historical elements, including the building’s original marble and oak floor, wainscoting and fireplaces.
“It really is kind of a time capsule,” Motta said.
The inaugural exhibit, “Treasures of Old Dartmouth,” will feature paintings from the museum’s collection.
“It sort of is a glimpse back to pre-photography 19th century, greater New Bedford,” Motta said.
For more information visit www.whalingmuseum.org.
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Engel & Völkers Oceanside Leader | The DiSpirito…
Learn More
