National Park Service Education and Public Program Center

The Corson

building link which will connect the park visitor center to the Corson Building. The facility will host the visiting public and provide the space for curriculum and non-curriculum based educational and interpretive programs.The Corson Building, which is located next to the park Visitor Center and across from the New Bedford Whaling Museum, consists of two three-story brick structures built in 1875 and 1884. For many years the Corson Building housed Moby-Dick Marine Specialties on its first floor, a popular shopping stop for visitors to the historic district. In 1997, a devastating fire ripped through the building, destroying its roof and top two floors. The Waterfront Historic Area League (WHALE), a non-profit preservation organization, came to the building’s rescue after the fire, hiring a structural engineer who convinced the City Building Commissioner that the building could be saved. WHALE acquired the building and secured the funds for its stabilization.

e Corson Building redevelopment plan calls for the creation of a number of interpretive and educational spaces in the facility including a 60 seat theater, a large multi-purpose education space, a seminar room, an archival room, and exhibition galleries. The plan includes the construction of a

exerpt from NPS website:

http://www.nps.gov/archive/nebe/pppressreleases/releases_05/corsonfy05.htm