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WHAT IS IT?A small four block by three block section of New Bedford, Massachusetts marked by cobblestone streets, restored buildings and a proximity to an active port and harbor.
BEAUTY (2/10)
The park is a restored representation of a small New England town. Quaint. Nothing extraordinary and certainly nothing we did not see already in the small (non-park affiliated) towns of Connecticut.
HISTORICAL INTEREST (2/10)
The town was a major whaling harbor. Hmmph.
CROWDS (7/10)
We wanted to be grumpy (see our COSTS analysis) on this cold, misty and overcast day but the residents of New Bedford were so cheerful and friendly that we could not help but smile. While were stopped on the sidewalk trying to decipher the Herman Melville walking tour, a young girl asked us if we needed any help. Later while we were looking at a restaurant menu a young man told us it was the place to eat (it was) and gave us a few more culinary suggestions. What a nice town.
EASE OF USE/ACCESS (2/5)
Well-marked instructions from the highway and on the radio. But after parking, we were not at all sure what we were accessing. The park brochures were confusing and the buildings on the walking tour were marked only by a small bronze plaque. The street-side panels explaining the historical sections of our hometown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania include much more info and are better done.
CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (1/5)
Nothing at the NPS Visitor Center. However, the bookstore of the private New Bedford Whaling Museum was spectacular.
COSTS (1/5)First of all, helpful brown National Park Service signs along the highway tell you to tune into AM1610 for info on the park. They give you good directions that finish by telling you that parking for the Site is in the Elm Street Garage. So we did. Bad move. The Garage was two dollars an hour while plentiful street parking was $0.25 per hour. We figured that since the Park Service was directing its visitors to the Site, we could get our parking validated at the Visitors Center. We were wrong.
The ladies at the center were anything but welcoming. They berated us for not wanting to pay $2 an hour. “New Bedford’s meter maids are quite vigilant,” she explained. Michael responded, “I plan to put money in the meter, what are you inferring?” She continued, “Well we can’t validate your parking because the park is free.”
Hmmm. Free. This would be nice if there were any buildings one could go into. Privately owned museums and working business lodged in restored buildings hardly make for a public Historical Park. By the way, please e-mail us at gabandmichael@usa-c2c.com if you can come up with a town in the United States that charges a fee to walk through its streets.
If you want to go into the privately owned New Bedford Whaling Museum it is $10 a person. Even if it is nice, do not tell us that a private museum is a part of either the National Park System or New Bedford Whaling NHP.
RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (1/5)
We saw no Rangers.
TOURS/CLASSES (2/10)
A few panels at the Visitors Center and two walking tour brochures. That’s it.
FUN (2/10)Our highlight was walking out of the “Park” and onto a bridge overlooking the working harbor.
WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (2/10)
Moby Dick is Michael’s favorite novel. The book starts out in New Bedford. Every time he reads it, he is eager to get through the first few chapters. The descriptions of the city, the whaling history, the knot lessons. He just wants to move on. Out of the city, onto the sea and into adventure. Exactly how we felt about the New Bedford Whaling NHP.
TOTAL 22/80
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