NHA Banner
Whaling Museum
January 2014
FOT
Like Us?
Like us on Facebook   Follow us on Twitter   View our videos on YouTube
Hours & Information
Whaling Museum
13 Broad Street
(508) 228-1894
Closed for the season. The museum will reopen February 15, 2014.

February 15 - April 6
Saturdays & Sundays
11 A.M. to 3 P.M.
  
Historic Sites
Closed for the season. The sites will reopen May 24, 2014.
  
Research Library
7 Fair Street
(508) 228-1655
Mondays, Thursdays, 
& Fridays
10 A.M. - 4 P.M.
Tuesdays
11 A.M. - 4 P.M.
Closed Wednesdays, weekends, & all legal holidays.
  
Administrative Offices
15 Broad Street
(508) 228-1894
Monday through Friday
9 A.M. - 5 P.M.
  
Museum Shop
11 Broad Street
(508) 228-5785
Closed for the season. The shop will reopen in April 2014.
Become an NHA Member!
NHA Membership Button
Is it time to renew your NHA membership? Perhaps there are people in your life that would benefit from all that the NHA has to offer!
  
Memberships are available for an individual, family, business or gift, starting at just $55.
  
Relive the Magic of Nantucket
Ric Burns's gateway film Nantucket is available for purchase at the NHA Museum Shop and at select retailers on the island.

Purchase your copy  today and share Nantucket's unique history with friends and loved ones!
DVD
NHA Historic Films
film
See digitized historic films and NHA programs online on the Nantucket Historical Association's YouTube channel!
Share Your Thoughts on the NHA
Have you visited the NHA recently? We want to hear about it! Visit Trip Advisor today!
Whale Skeleton
Did you visit the
We look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Happy New Year from the NHA!
Note from NHA Gosnell Executive Director William Tramposch
bill tramposch
We here at the NHA are happy to close the 2013 season on a high note and thank you for all of your support this holiday season. With record-breaking attendance at our community program "A Night of Holiday Magic," and more trees than ever in our annual Festival of Trees at the Whaling Museum, we are proud to be a vital part of the fabric that makes Nantucket so special during the holidays.

As we look forward to 2014, we revel in the many exciting enhancements that we will offer to our visitors and supporters.

1800 House Logo
Of note, the NHA 1800 House will continue to thrive with expanded programming and updated classroom space for the 2014 season.  This winter, the NHA has been working to salvage an existing garage on the island, with the intention of relocating it to the 1800 House property in order to provide much-needed space for wood-working and other specialized workshops in 2014.

An anonymous donor has graciously provided core funding for this effort, and with luck, this new space will be open in time for the 1800 House summer season.

I am especially thrilled to share this news with 1800 House supporters and students, many of whom have advocated that the NHA build an additional classroom structure on the site in the past. The discovery of this garage and its imaginative re-use, coupled with a donor's delight that we have found such a creative way forward, are enabling us to reach our goal of a functional, new studio space for 2014.

Many community programs, events or initiatives offered at any historical or non-profit organization are presented for the benefit of the community despite the fact that they may not cover their own operating costs. The NHA 1800 House certainly falls into this category.
 
It is through fundraising efforts and community-supported philanthropy that we are able to provide such meaningful experiences to an ever-growing number of students every year. As we strive to elevate the NHA 1800 House offerings continuously, we appeal to those of you who believe in our efforts to bring historic arts and crafts alive.  
 

1800 House As Executive Director, I encourage all of our NHA friends and supporters to take note of this remarkable 1800 House initiative and consider ways to assist us in its realization, as has our generous anonymous donor. A gift of any amount supports us as we foster a nationally renowned, one-of-a-kind historic arts and crafts program, right here on Nantucket. 

Craft on! I hope to see you at an 1800 House workshop or two this coming summer!

Bill 
NHA 2014 Schedule
We are pleased to announce the 2014 schedule for the Whaling Museum, historic sites, and walking tours. For more information, visit www.nha.org/hours
 
Whaling Museum - 2014 Hours
February 15 - April 6
Saturdays & Sundays
11 A.M. - 3 P.M.
April 12 - May 23
Daily
11 A.M. - 4 P.M.
May 24 - October 31
Daily
10 A.M. - 5 P.M.
November 1 - November 23
Saturdays & Sundays
11 A.M. - 4 P.M.
Closed Sunday, April 20, 2014 for Easter.
Whaling Museum - Holiday 2014 Hours
November 26 - 30
Daily
10 A.M - 5 P.M.
December 1 - 4
Closed

December 5
Friday
10 A.M. - 8 P.M.
December 6 - 7
Saturday & Sunday
10 A.M - 5 P.M.
December 12 - 28
Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays
10 A.M - 5 P.M.
December 29 - 31
Daily
10 A.M - 5 P.M.

Closed November 24, 25 & November 27, 2014 (Thanksgiving).

Closed Thursday, December 25, 2014 for Christmas, & Thursday, January 1, 2015 for New Year's Day.


Historic Sites - 2014 Hours
May 24 - October 13
Daily 
11 A.M. - 4 P.M. 

Walking Tours - 2014 Hours
May 24 - October 31
Downtown Walking Tour
11:15 A.M

Historic House
Walking Tour
2:15 P.M.

Nat Philbrick Visits Ron Howard Film Set
Nat Philbrick
Lights, camera, action! 

As production continues on Ron Howard's film "Heart of the Sea," an adaptation of Nat Philbrick's best-selling book In the Heart of the Sea, Philbrick recounts his recent experience visiting the film's set in London.
Ron Howard

On working with director Ron Howard 
 
Nat Philbrick (NP): I first met Ron and screenwriter Peter Morgan, who rewrote the story for the script, last spring at Mystic Seaport. It was great to see them again. The intensity of a film set is kind of amazing with how much sheer work and stamina is involved, and we were only in London for two days- we were exhausted!
 
In the Heart of the Sea
On seeing the book come to life 
 
NP: I'm still trying to get my head around it. To think that so many people are working on this, it's really something. As a Nantucketer, it was moving to be amidst this.
 
They only had a day or two of filming left there in London, and then they were moving on to film the sea scenes in the Canary Islands. They were going to be there for five weeks and be done by Christmas. We talked to the film's art director and he was telling us how he had modeled the whale after an eighty five-foot bull sperm whale. The size of it is overpowering. They were having a lot of fun working on that and figuring out various "attack routes" for the whale. 

On the overall experience

NP: Melissa [Philbrick, Nat's wife] and I spent two days there on set. The studio is an hour's drive northwest of London. When I got there, I thought, "Oh my gosh, this is Nantucket in 1819." 

 

There was a huge water tank the size of two football fields. It felt like Easy Street Boat Basin and the Old North Wharf. It was like a very concentrated Nantucket town. They even had a bank that is a dead ringer for the Pacific National Bank, with an interior and everything. 

 

Chris Hemsworth

There was also an eighty five-foot whaleship in the wharf and a harbor full of rowing vessels. It was chaotic, with 300 extras in the streets of town, which was wet and muddy, with kids and dogs and carriages. It was kind of overwhelming. We met Chris Hemsworth, the film's leading actor, who plays the character of Owen Chase, and Ron Howard again. Ron asked if I had any interest in appearing in the film, and the costume director said I would be best as a Quaker. 

 

I was fitted in Quaker garb, complete with a wig, and got to the set at 6 A.M. the next morning with thirty fellow Quaker extras. We were beside the waterfront, which had real seaweed glued to the pier and a machine making the harbor look like there were waves. 

 

We shot the scene twenty times from 6 A.M. - 4 P.M. on one side of the set, and on the other side Chris Hemsworth was shooting the scene where his character said goodbye to his wife. In the two days we were there, we probably saw what will only be one minute of the actual film. It was very impressive, and everyone could not have been more welcoming. We suggested they have a premiere on Nantucket, of course!

 

Stay tuned for more updates on this fascinating project!

Save the Date: February 2014
Moby-Dick Marathon
Moby-Dick Marathon
The Nantucket Atheneum and the NHA present the 3rd Annual Moby-Dick
Marathon, a continuous reading of Herman Melville's classic novel, beginning at 9 A.M. on Saturday, February 1, 2014.

The reading will begin at 9 A.M. on
Saturday, February 1, 2014, at the Atheneum and move to the Whaling Museum at 2 P.M. It will then move back to the Atheneum at 9 P.M. and finish approximately at Noon on Sunday, February 2, 2014. 

Atheneum
There are 135 chapters and an epilogue in Moby-Dick. The sign-up sheet will be available at the Atheneum's main desk beginning January 2, 2014. 

Email Amy Jenness at the Nantucket Atheneum at [email protected] for more information. 
Host your 2014 Special Event with the NHA!

No matter how big or small your special occasion, we have the perfect location for you at one of our many NHA properties, including our flagship Whaling Museum. These magical sites are available for rental and are sure to make your gathering a truly unique Nantucket experience. 

For information on dates and availability, contact Susan Beaumont, NHA Events Rental Coordinator, at (508) 228-1894 ext. 131 or [email protected].
Nantucket Historical Association | [email protected] | www.nha.org
P.O. Box 1016
Nantucket, MA 02554

Copyright � 2014. All Rights Reserved.