Seamen’s Bethel, Mariner’s Home in line for multi-million dollar restoration

December 20, 2013 12:00 AM

NEW BEDFORD WHALE and the New Bedford Port Society are embarking on a multi-million dollar project to fully restore the Seamen's Bethel and the Mariner's Home, making both handicap accessible, spokesmen for both organizations said Thursday.

The plan calls for an enclosed, two-story, glass structure at the back of the Mariner's Home that will join it with the Salt Box Room at the Seamen's Bethel, according to Joe Booth, the architect, and Peter Haley, manager of the Port Society.

An elevator will be added to the rear of the Mariner's Home and a second-floor walkway will provide handicap access for the first time to the sanctuary of the Bethel, the architect said.

Currently, neither building is accessible to people with physical disabilities.

The entire first floor of the Mariner's Home will be converted into a local fishermen's museum with offices on the second and third floors. Haley has his office on the first floor, but the top two floors are currently vacant.

Details of the museum remain to be worked out, according to WHALE and the Port Society.

The Salt Box Room at the back of the Seamen's Bethel will be converted into an educational, multi-purpose room that could be rented for events and lectures, Booth said.

There will be new heating, and for the first time air conditioning in both buildings, Haley said. The Salt Box Room refers to a storage room aboard fishing vessels.

WHALE (Waterfront Historic Area League) is launching a local capital fundraising campaign, effective immediately, said Teri Bernert, its executive director. It will also be applying for state and federal grants and historic tax credits by April 30 of next year.

See original here:
Seamen's Bethel, Mariner's Home in line for multi-million dollar restoration