Centre Street
Utility over Elegance
Where Centre meets Front Street, town founder Joseph Russell built the first candleworks around 1768 to further his investment in the growing whaling industry. The brick warehouses at the bottom of the street at left, built about 1790, housed a ship chandlery and iron business. At times, other buildings here served as bake shops, an ice plant and cold storage warehouse, and a ship and house painter's shop.
I could look down Centre Street and...see and also hear coopers driving the hoops, tightening the large casks of oil...When a ship was hove down at the dock I could see the caulkers driving oakum into the seams and could see the ship carpenters replace the worn sheathing with new and giving the vessel an new suit of yellow metal. Altogether it was a scene of life and animation.
William W. Carpo, September 28, 1906.
Erected by National Parks Service.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical date for this entry is September 28, 1957.
Location.
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Regionally, this marker is in the South Coast. It is also in the American Northeast and in New England. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Utility Over Elegance (within shouting distance of this marker); Double Bank (within shouting distance of this marker); On This Site (within shouting distance of this marker); Preserving Whaling's Legacy (within shouting distance of this marker); Viking (within shouting distance of this marker); The Mariner's Home (within shouting distance of this marker); Rodman Candleworks (within shouting distance of this marker); The Seamen's Bethel (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in New Bedford.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 1, 2017. It was originally submitted on August 8, 2012, by Bryan Simmons of Attleboro, Massachusetts. This page has been viewed 612 times since then and 10 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on August 8, 2012, by Bryan Simmons of Attleboro, Massachusetts. 2. submitted on August 25, 2017, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 3, 4. submitted on August 8, 2012, by Bryan Simmons of Attleboro, Massachusetts. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
