In 2007, WHALE – the Waterfront Historic Area LeaguE – celebrates an important milestone - 45 Years of Historic Preservation! This is the story of WHALE – of ordinary people who did and continue to do extraordinary things.

WHALE has had a long history of leading neighborhood revitalization efforts in New Bedford.  

Established in 1962 when urban renewal threatened entire neighborhoods, WHALE’s founders – George Perkins, who became WHALE’s first President, Peter Grinnell, Stephen Delano and Richard Paull - were committed to saving our city's history and architectural heritage from "death by neglect and the tyranny of the bulldozer."  Perhaps, Sarah Delano, WHALE's President from 1966-1982 and driving force behind WHALE’s preservation efforts, said it best, "If you bulldoze your heritage, you become just anywhere." WHALE was formed to ensure that New Bedford and the surrounding areas never become just anywhere.

“I believe that WHALE’s greatest achievement and enduring legacy is their rescuing of the historic core of New Bedford back at the very beginning. In the face of a destructive urban renewal program and a small group of people, very determined managed to get it together and to make the case that we should save our historic center. And that has transformed what New Bedford looks like forever” - Chip Gillespie, WHALE Board Member and Past President

“If you look at the Waterfront Historic District and recognize that before WHALE that those 15 blocks were really one of the worst sections of the city. All the buildings were empty the streets were torn up and patched I don’t think a single a single building met code. It just kind of symbolized you know the failure of our aspirations in New Bedford. Today 40 years later, it embodies many of the ideals and dreams of WHALE. Buildings are fixed up, they look beautiful. They continue many of them to connect to the working waterfront. There are jobs and tax revenues and lives being lived in that district and it’s now a neighborhood that everyone’s proud of. It shows that revitalization can be just as contagious as blight. - John Bullard – Former WHALE Agent & New Bedford Mayor

Throughout its 45 year history, WHALE has come to the rescue of more than 20 properties in the waterfront historic district alone. In total, WHALE has rescued and facilitated the restoration of 45 distinct projects saving significant pieces of our history, architectural heritage and character. All of WHALE’s projects were at risk of being lost forever – neglected and delipidated buildings, buildings slated for demolition, development or damaged by fire. 

“At WHALE we have a very unique perspective I think on what can be saved and what can’t be saved and there isn’t really a whole lot as far as we’re concerned that can’t be saved. And if you look at a lot of WHALE’s projects and you look at the before photos and the after photos I think people are really amazed that we were able to save some of these buildings and return them to their magestic glory.” -  Lisa Sughrue, WHALE Executive Director

The Rodman Candleworks, damaged by fire in the late 1960’s Abandoned and scheduled for demolition, the building was rescued by WHALE and the Architectural Conservation Trust and reopened in 1979.

Andrew Robeson House. This 550-ton brick and stone mansion was rescued by WHALE to prevent its demolition and moved through city streets to its present site. It became stuck in the middle of William Street during the blizzard of 1978 for one month before getting put on its new foundation.

Benjamin Rodman House – a magnificent granite home that was completely enclosed by storefronts and being used as a warehouse. The Federal-style residence, the only waterfront mansion standing on its original foundation, was WHALE’s first restoration project in 1965.

Sundial Building was badly damaged in a devastating natural gas explosion in 1977.  Recognizing the value of our historic properties and our history, WHALE saved the Federal style building from demolition and restored it to its mid-nineteenth century appearance. 

It is easy to see why WHALE’s projects were often thought impossible. But WHALE’s efforts to rescue the waterfront historic district paid off in 1996 with the prestigious designation of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park.

“I think that WHALE’s most significant project to date in terms of its long term effect on the city is its ability to leverage the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and to get the federal government to designate New Bedford as the one place in all of America where that story will be inter interpreted in perpetuity. I think that is an incredible accomplishment and it would not have been possible without the existing architectural evidence that is the historic district. - Anne Brengle, Former WHALE Director of Membership, Board Member and current President of New Bedford Whaling Museum

“I think that it would be safe to say ah that without WHALE there would not be a National Park in New Bedford today. The National Park’s enabling legislation says that the park will only accept property that is donated to us. And in some ways that could have been perceived as a little bit risky because there aren’t many organizations giving buildings away to the federal government. But it was a wonderful partnership between the National Park Service and WHALE. WHALE donated the old bank building which is now the visitors’ center and they also donated the Corson block which will become the new public meeting and educational space. Those two buildings together will provide visitors a tremendous orientation to the park.” - Celeste Bernardo, Superintendent of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park

“WHALE’s greatest achievement in mind is ah the passage of the park bill. That was actually something that I became involved with when John Gamache was our president ah he asked me to ah chair a committee to create a new urban national park. Ah at the time ah I honestly didn’t even understand what an urban national park was so ah with people like Arthur and Jean Bennett ah we began to ah focus on other parks around the country such as Philadelphia. We literally began ah drafting legislation on the kitchen table using other parks legislation as model. And then created a very inclusive group to work on and this group began to lobby a Congressman Frank and Senator Kennedy. It took years to pass that bill but it certainly was the most rewarding. Since then I’ve seen the park service continue to spend money in our city.” - Peter Kavanaugh, Former WHALE President & Board Member

WHALE has also saved dozens of buildings outside of the waterfront historic district.

The Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum was slated for development as a boarding house. The house was New Bedford’s last whaling captain’s home with its original intact gardens. Its magnificent gardens were scheduled to become a parking lot - until WHALE stepped in more than 25 years ago to purchase the property. Today, the RJD is a cultural beacon in our community – a place where children, adults, residents and visitors alike can learn about and experience a time since past.

Grinnell Mansion – abandoned and deteriorating for 30 years, this Greek Revival granite mansion was rescued by WHALE in 1987 and today continues to serve as affordable congregate housing for the elderly. Congregate Housing provides a shared living environment, which combines housing, in-home services and a mutually supportive social environment. It is one good option for those who do not want to live alone, and are not in need of nursing home or rest home care. 

Union Street Lofts – in partnership with HallKeen, this $11 million project restored 5 previously abandoned or underused historic buildings and created a new 24/7 neighborhood in the heart of downtown New Bedford. It created 35 mixed income loft apartments. This project addressed blight and abandoned buildings in the Downtown and has provided much needed affordable housing.

Probably the single, most visible project in WHALE’s 45 year history is the Zeiterion Theatre. 

“If I can just tell one quick story about Sarah Delano we were in the darkened auditorium of the Zeiterion Theater faced with the prospect of having it demolished and turned into yet one more parking lot and the theater was dark and the fabrics were peeling off the wall and the plasters were falling off the ceiling and it had been empty and looked forlorn. The last theater in downtown New Bedford which had housed at one point 17 theaters. And it was an overwhelming challenge and Sarah looked up at the grime covered chandelier and looked around at the wonderful space and saw through the cobwebs and saw past the grime and said John we’re going to have such fun fixing this building up. There was no doubt in Sarah’s mind that we would fix it up, there was no doubt about the impact it would have on the city of New Bedford but more than that Sarah relished the challenge. 

I remember talking to a business leader when we were trying to save the Zeiterion Theater and he said John, I don’t see how in the world this will ever be successful and you’re asking me to support something that I don’t think can succeed. But I’m going to support you because WHALE has never failed so I don’t know how it’s going to be successful but I know because WHALE’s involved it will be successful. Well that company’s investment panned out and the theater is providing tremendous service to the city today. That’s the legacy built by the Sarah Delanos and Tom Bucar and Steve Delanos and George Perkins and Suzanne Underwoods and Peter Grinnell and all of the other people who day after day, month after month put the existence of WHALE on the line for the betterment of New Bedford. And that’s a resource people respond to and the need is still very much there. - John Bullard

Over the course of our 45-year history, WHALE has benefited from the knowledge, expertise, commitment and enthusiasm of many dedicated individuals and leaders. A few stand out from the rest. 

Sarah Delano is a life force who continues on long after her death. Sarah was special in many ways. She had an innate understanding of the value of preserving things from our past. She could recognize quality two miles away. She knew what was important to save. She also understood the concept of a working waterfront and how New Bedford needed to be not a prisoner of any one time but needed to show that history was a continuum. the special magic of Sarah Delano was her courage and the way that people could draw strength from her. I can not count the number of times that the Board of Directors of WHALE would gather around in the sun room of the Wamsutta Club putting the entire future of the organization on the line in order to save a building. There would be intellectual discussion about the merits of the case and the risks of the case, but at some point everyone looked to the end of the table to the face of Sarah Delano. These were I think ordinary people who did extraordinary things when they were in the presence of Sarah Delano. It was like you could see them being transfused with strength that they drew from Sarah, and they everyone would look at her would look at the strength in her eyes and they would commit to doing things that they had no way of knowing whether they would be successful. Sarah had a way of getting everyone lined up towards a mission and giving everyone strength to attempt what other people would say was impossible. - John Bullard

“WHALE has had many great leaders in its 45 years and one’s that come to mind immediately start with Sarah Delano who led the charge at the very beginning with courage and daring, and willingness to take the risk. I think the second hero immediately is John Bullard who came along very soon there after and with great foresight and ability and convinced the city and WHALE to do a number of important projects and John was really key in kind of getting WHALE organized on a administrative basis to do projects to find funding and to operate as a viable organization. As we go forward, Tony Souza, I think is probably its greatest executive director with great foresight, with great roots in the city, historic training, and training in other fields that had to do with what we do. There are two other presidents I would like to mention. One is John Gamache. He reinvigorated the organization, brought in fresh faces and new blood and reenergized WHALE in a very important way that continues to this day. Then Pete Cavanaugh also a president of WHALE was instrumental in ah a difficult project over several years to bring the National Park to New Bedford. And I think his contribution to that makes him one of the great leaders of WHALE.” - Chip Gillespie

At WHALE, it’s not just about the buildings…

“I think in my mind the greatest achievement um probably has nothing to do with physical buildings. It has to do with the capacity to really reenergize this community. To give itself faith. WHALE showed people the impossible could happen. Time and time again in the historic district they took a project or took a building that inevitably was going to be gone and they made it new and I think it gave people a sense of hope and I really believe it transformed the whole city.” - John Hodgson, Membership Committee Chair and former WHALE Board Member

WHALE’s future is bright. WHALE remains committed to promoting the value and reuse of historic structures. With a strong and growing membership, WHALE continues to be an organization with the vision and drive to take on meaningful and often impossible projects.

Today, WHALE is returning to its earliest roots, proclaiming its mission and taking on one of its biggest challenges in recent years – restoring a historic neighborhood plagued by neglect and blight in New Bedford - the gateway neighborhood that surrounds One Washington Square in South Central. is a quiet residential community, just a few blocks south of downtown New Bedford. Historic and architecturally significant properties are abundant on the neighborhood’s tree-lined streets. Nineteenth century homes with magnificent architecture can be seen throughout. In fact, 72% of the housing stock in this neighborhood is deemed historic having been built before 1940. Once again WHALE will take on a neighborhood in New Bedford. It will be a tremendous yet rewarding challenge.

“When I first became president of WHALE I thought that I had a handle on what WHALE had done and what we should be doing but the more I researched the history of WHALE. I’m not only amazed what they’ve accomplished and the leaders before us but I look at it as like being on a hill. I thought we were up near the top of the hill and I’m finding that we’re part way up the hill and we’re here today to really ah reflect a minute on our many successes but also to look up that hill and see that we ah we have a long ways to go and a lot of opportunities out there I look forward to being part of that in the future.” - Peter Hawes, WHALE President

“WHALE ah has been visionary in looking at New Bedford as the way it was and determining that that history is something that you can build a future on. WHALE I think is  reaching a new point now after  45 years I think of being identified as one of our most proactive and important ah nonprofits. It has the highest brand ah value in our city. It’s known as a quality organization that produces great ah final results. It follows through. And now moving its attention out of the historic district and into the neighborhoods I think will bring that type of quality restoration, the preservation, the idea that our that our neighborhoods must be preserved in a way to preserve not only our quality of life now but also for the future. I’m looking forward now to WHALE getting involved in an engaged way in our neighborhoods. So I’m very, very excited about WHALE both what they’ve accomplished and what I know they’ll be able to accomplish for the future for all the people in the city. – Mayor Scott W. Lang

“Without the wonderful people at WHALE, ah, New Bedford could have easily been a parking lot. And instead it’s fabulous, with a wonderful history. And I think that our magnificence is in the future.” - Senator Mark Montigny 

“I want to congratulate WHALE, all of its members, anyone who’s ever participated in a WHALE project on 45 years of great historic preservation.” - Mayor Lang

It is clear that WHALE has had a tremendous longlasting, positive impact on New Bedford and the region and will continue to do so for many years to come. As Margaret Mead said “Never doubt that a small group, of thoughtful, committed citizens, can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”  

This is the story of WHALE.

To view the video or for more information about WHALE call 508-997-1776 or visit the website at http://www.waterfrontleague.org.

Lisa Sughrue

Lisa Sughrue currently serves as Executive Director of W.H.A.L.E. - the Waterfront Historic Area LeaguE.

WHALE's mission is simple: To promote the value and reuse of greater New Bedford's historic structures through preservation, education and advocacy.

You can learn more about W.H.A.L.E. by visiting:
http://www.waterfrontleague.org

View all articles by Lisa Sughrue