New Bedford Standard Times Fishing Heritage Center will occupy Mariners Home on Johnnycake Hill - By Steve Urbon surbon@s-t Posted Dec. 5, 2014 @ 2:01 am NEW BEDFORD — The fledgling non-profit Fishing Heritage Center Inc. will in time fill a gap in the citys recognition of its history, and in a place that could hardly be more suitable: The Mariners Home. Laura Orleans, executive director of the center and coordinator of the annual Working Waterfront Festival, announced plans this week for fishing industry exhibits and research space to be located in the Mariners Home on Johnnycake Hill. The building, along with the Seamens Bethel next door, will be joined during renovations by an enclosed walkway at the rear of the property. Orleans noted that the Mariners Home is one of the most historic, iconic buildings in the city, having provided a refuge for sailors for many decades before closing several years ago. Nothing original to the building will be changed, Orleans said. The new Fishing Heritage Center plans to develop exhibits and presentations, including an orientation film, to tell the story of New Bedfords fishing industry. Fishing does not at this point have a place dedicated to that legacy. The announcement said that the center will provide a permanent, year-round venue to preserve and present the history and culture of New Bedfords fishing industry through archives, exhibits and programs. The plan, Orleans said, is to use the first floor of the Mariners Home for exhibit space and the second floor for archives and research, including audio and video archives. There will be a small admission fee for entering the Mariners Home, which has not been accessible for the public in the past. But the Bethel will remain free, she said. The restoration is expected to be complete by spring of 2016.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 12:47:16 +0000
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