A few cool shops around New Bedford MA
Good Morning, today I will share a few shops and buildings around New Bedford MA, that I have come across on my walks around the city.
As those who have followed me for a while know, I used to focus primarily on sunrises and walks by the water, but this year I have gotten more interested in the city's history. Probably from taking photos at the port and thinking about the city's history during the whaling days, and what life was like back then.
And from that I have found myself walking more of the city streets, finding buildings that catch my eye and learning more about the history.
Like this building for example: Built in 1855, originally serving as the First Universalist Church.
Since moving into the space in 1995, it has operated as Gallery X, a contemporary, non-profit, cooperative art gallery and performance venue. It features around 3,500 square feet of exhibition and performance space across two levels—the Main Gallery upstairs and the Frederick Douglass Gallery downstairs.
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Next up is New Beige, which is a casual restaurant, bar, and market located at 39 Union Street. The building looks quite modest, but it was built around 1880, an era when New Bedford was rapidly transitioning from a whaling powerhouse into a major textile manufacturing hub.
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Looking up Center Street toward the historic downtown area, most of these buildings date back to the whaling era.
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NOw next up is this building which I have shared a photo of before, but at that time I had no idea of its significance, I thought it was a newer building, but boy was I wrong.
This building is widely considered the oldest building in downtown New Bedford and the only downtown structure to survive the British raid and fire of September 1778.
It was originally located on North Water Street next to the New Bedford Whaling Museum before being moved to its current Front Street location in 1978.
Over the years, the building and its storefronts have housed various businesses and offices, most notably Dawson Boat Settlements (associated with the local fishing industry) and local attorney offices.
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Now this grand church is Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church located on Bonney Street, and one I have been in all be it; years ago, before we moved here, we went to the baptisms of the grandkids here, and it is beautiful inside
It holds a deeply rooted place in the history of New Bedford, closely tied to the massive wave of Portuguese immigration that shaped the city at the turn of the 20th century
Ground was broken, and the cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1903. The basement level was completed in 1904 and immediately used for services.
Designed by French-Canadian architect Joseph Venne, the fully completed red-brick Romanesque Revival church was formally blessed and dedicated on October 12–13, 1913.
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