Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Boston Blitz #8 - New Bedford, MA





Herman Melville's New Bedford is just a tad bit different in this century. But the streets still hold the history of mariners. Bethels were built to keep the mariners out of the brothels; banks were built to store the money of the rich captains and whalers. If you look closely at the bank, notice the difference in the two entrances? Can you tell which entrance the sea captains entered and which the hired hands entered?

New Bedford is about a 45 minute ride south of Boston - a city rich with history and ethnicity. It's actually closer to Providence, RI than Boston. Ty and I noticed another close connection, of course tied to whaling, between Boston and Hawaii. It seems Hawaiians were recruited to educate the New Bedford whalers. What a trip that would have been from Hawaii to MA on a schooner - around the capes.....heroic!

4 comments:

Trekcapri said...

Hi Flygirl, great photos. New Bedford seems like a cool town. That is such an interesting comparison between the two banks.

Thanks for sharing...Have a good day today.

annie said...

What a charming place. Love your photos and the history.

I saw on Slow Talk that you are heading for London soon. Cool! I really enjoyed my day trip to Stonehenge (you may have already been there). I also love the National Gallery.

Have a great holiday weekend!

flygirl said...

Thanks, Annie and Kathy. Yes, Annie, I'm off to 'merry ole England' at the end of the month. Thank you for your suggestions. I haven't spent anytime except layovers there so I'm looking forward to doing the touristy thing - Bath and Stonehenge are on my list. Will check into National Gallery as well. Any other suggestions, have at it - I'm all for suggestions! Mahalo, m

girasoli said...

Cool photos! I have never been to New Bedford before. Looks like a great town to visit.