Whale Oil Row, est. 1835
Title
Whale Oil Row, est. 1835
Description
In the nineteenth century, New London was a thriving and bustling center of the whaling industry. Whale Oil Row is a part of Huntington Street made up of four two-story Greek Revival style residential buildings, all constructed between 1835 and 1845. Ezra Chappell, a local developer and whaling merchant, commissioned architect Charles Henry Boebe to build them. Chappell then sold the homes to four New London citizens, three of whom were directly involved in the whaling industry. The fourth was a doctor who eventually moved his practice to his house on Whale Oil Row, setting a precedent for commercial use of the buildings. Today, these historic structures serve as a reminder of New London’s prominent role in the whaling industry.
Date
1835
Contributor
Jacob Brill-Weil
Collection Items
Tale of the Whale Museum
This brochure advertises the “Tale of the Whale Museum” located in 3 Whale Oil Row. A message at the bottom reads “Save The Whale,” with a warning that “great whales are almost extinct.” This example of New London’s current environmental activism…
Whale Oil Row
The four two-story Greek Revival buildings on Huntington Street (known as Whale Oil Row) were constructed between 1835 and 1845 by owners with strong ties to New London’s whaling industry. This is a glimpse of that cozy neighborhood in the early…