Lisa Sughrue
WHALE
13 Hamilton Street
New Bedford, MA 02740

For Immediate Release:
For More Information call Lisa Sughrue, Executive Director or Diane Brodeur, Office and Events Manager at (508) 997-1776

WHALE HOSTS WALKING TOUR OF NEW BEDFORD WHALING NATIONAL HISTORCAL PARK & DOWNTOWN on THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2007 at 6:30PM

WHALE members, their guests and members of the public are cordially invited to take a guided stroll through New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and Downtown on Thursday, August 16, 2007 at 6:30PM. The hour-long walking tour, which is a part of WHALE’s 2007 Member Lecture Series, presents an opportunity to see firsthand how WHALE’s preservation efforts have transformed New Bedford. “Today, New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and Downtown look very different than they did 45 years ago when WHALE was first established,” noted Lisa Sughrue, WHALE Executive Director. “This walking tour is a great way to show our members and their guests the difference WHALE has made in New Bedford over the past 45 years and how our preservation efforts have changed the way New Bedford looks forever. People often forget or don’t realize that our Whaling National Park was one of the worst areas in our city before WHALE was formed in 1962. Through WHALE’s preservation efforts, working with the city and others, today it is a neighborhood we can all be proud of.” Magnificent, nineteenth and early twentieth century buildings, Belgian block streets, period gas lamps and more are only some of what will be discovered on this walking tour.

The guided tour begins at 6:30 PM at the WHALE office, 13 Hamilton Street, New Bedford. Anyone interested in participating in the walking tour should register by calling the office at 508-997-1776 or email dbrodeur@waterfrontleague.org. Comfortable walking shoes are recommended to navigate the cobblestoned streets. The tour is free to WHALE members and their guests. Donations from members of the general pubic are encouraged.

WHALE is a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to promoting the value and reuse of greater New Bedford’s historic structures through preservation, education and advocacy. WHALE is supported, in part, by its members and grants from the Island Foundation, Oliver S. and Jennie R. Donaldson Trust, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Robert S. Stoico/FIRSTFED Charitable Foundation, Henry H. Crapo Charitable Foundation, Sovereign Bank Foundation, Webster Bank Foundation, American Architectural Foundation, and the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Foundation.