New Bedford Whaling Museum was one of the first field trips I ever went on in grade school, so I'm excited to hear it is expanding.

If you grew up in the SouthCoast, at some point you've probably stepped into the downtown museum, which houses some of our rich whaling history. It's been years since I have been but I recall it displaying some sizable artifacts.

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Soon, it looks like there will be more to see and do.

The museum has purchased a property adjacent to the existing museum at 11 William St., which, if memory serves me right, is currently an empty building. It once was home to Hiller Printing.

In even more exciting news, the museum has secured a leading architecture firm by the name of Machado Silvetti to head up the project and make the expansion into the roughly 6,000-square-foot building something to make us all proud. The Silvetti firm specializes in cultural and historical projects and has worked on some of the world's most famous attractions.

The best part of all of this is we get to have a say in how this turns out. The museum and the firm want community input on how the new space should be used. If you are interested in witnessing the process or want to have a say in making some history, a member meeting will be open to the public at 2 p.m. on May 25.

While it may be years out, I'm excited to see how this expansion will transform downtown New Bedford.

Now I'm online looking for tickets to visit the museum. I didn't realize so much was going on right down the street.

New Bedford Whaling Museum

It's a big piece of New Bedford history is on showcase right downtown at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

Look Inside New Bedford's Abandoned Orpheum Theatre

New Bedford's Orpheum Theatre has been vacant for decades, but artifacts remain in place as an ode to its rich history. Let's go inside.

WARNING: Under no circumstances should you enter this property. By doing so you risk bodily harm and/or prosecution for trespassing on private property.

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