Seamen's Bethel

The Seamen's Bethel was built in 1832 by the Port Society. The building functioned as a nondemonimational church - a place for sailors and whalemen to go to for 'moral improvement'. Herman Melville visited the site prior to embarking on the Acushnet in 1841. Melville described a pulpit that didn't exist at the time. In 1961, five years after the movie release of Moby Dick in 1956, a pulpit mirroring the one in the film was constructed for the Bethel.

Information Courtesy NewBedfordGuide.com - http://www.newbedfordguide.com/the-seamens-bethel/2010/12/15; National Park Service - https://www.nps.gov/nebe/planyourvisit/bethel.htm; A Picture History of New Bedford, Volume 1