New Bedford, Massachusetts: Moby Dick Movie Whalers' Pulpit
After the 1956 movie of Herman Melville's book, tourists visiting the "Whalemen's Chapel" expected to see the exaggerated ship's bow pulpit... so this one was built in 1961.
Seamen's Bethel
- Address:
- 15 Johnny Cake HIll, New Bedford, MA
- Directions:
- Union St. and Water St.
- Hours:
- May-Oct 10 am - 5 pm, Columbus Day-Apr M-F 11-1, Sa 10-5, Su 1-5. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 508-992-3295
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
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Visitor Tips and News About Moby Dick Movie Whalers' Pulpit
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I visited the Whalemen's Chapel and sat in Herman Melville's seat. What an amazing experience. Please give a donation at the chapel as it is really old and all the people who work there are volunteers.
[John Thorp, 12/28/2015]
You, too, can deliver a fire-and-brimstone sermon from the Seamen's Bethel prow-shaped pulpit, made famous in Herman Melville's "Moby Dick." The pulpit didn't exist during Melville's time (it was his literary invention), however, it was prominently featured in a 1956 movie directed by John Huston. Thereafter, visiting tourists grumbled when their fantasy didn't match reality, so a prow-shaped pulpit was added in 1961 and now everybody is happy.
On the inside walls of the church, over 30 cenotaphs ("empty graves") are hung, bearing epitaphs for whalemen lost at sea.
You think your cubicle office job is killing you? At least you didn't fall overboard into a whale's mouth.
[John Takao Collier, 05/19/2014]
Tried to visit the chapel [and see the pulpit shaped like a ship's prow] at about noon on a Friday, but it was closed.
[Vince, 02/07/2012]Nearby Offbeat Places
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Feb. 2019: Photo added.