New Bedford Museum of Glass facts for kids

The New Bedford Museum of Glass is a cool place in New Bedford, Massachusetts. It has a huge collection of glass items. You can see everything from really old bottles made in ancient times to amazing art by modern artists like Dale Chihuly.

About the Museum's History

The museum first started in 1993. It was called the Glass Art Center and was located at Bradford College in Haverhill, Massachusetts. When the college closed, the museum needed a new home.

It moved to New Bedford because this city has a long and interesting history with making glass. Because of this, a lot of the museum's collection includes glass from famous local companies like Mount Washington and Pairpoint.

The museum first opened its doors in New Bedford in 2010. It was in one of the old buildings of the Wamsutta Textile Mills. After a short closing in 2019, it moved to its current spot. Since January 2022, you can find it in the historic James Arnold Mansion at 427 County Street.

Glassmaking in New Bedford

In the 1800s, New Bedford was one of the busiest cities in the world. This was because it had a great harbor and made a lot of money from the whaling industry. This busy environment attracted glass companies.

The Mount Washington glass company moved from Boston to New Bedford in 1870. Later, in 1880, the Pairpoint Manufacturing company opened. Pairpoint eventually took over Mount Washington in 1894.

Pairpoint continued to make glass until 1938. It then reopened for a short time as the Gundersen-Pairpoint Glass Company. Finally, it was renamed the Pairpoint Glass Company, which is still known today.

What You Can See: The Collection

The museum has more than 7,000 glass items! It's a huge collection that shows how glass has been used and made over thousands of years.

One of the oldest pieces is a bottle from the eastern Mediterranean region. It was made around 600 BCE, which is about 2,600 years ago!

You can also see beautiful European glass. This includes a fancy wine glass from about 1690 and an English bottle from 1785. There's even a glass portrait of a famous leader, Arthur Wellesley, the First Duke of Wellington, made around 1813.

The museum has many great examples of early American glass. You'll see pieces from famous companies like the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company and the New England Glass Company.

Of course, there's a special focus on glass made right in New Bedford. This includes unique art glass from Mount Washington, like Amberina, Burmese, Crown Milano, Lava Glass, Peach Blow, and Royal Flemish. You can also see engraved pieces from Pairpoint.

The museum also displays works by modern artists. These include famous names like Dale Chihuly, Edris Eckhardt, and Harvey Littleton.

One special part of the collection is American political glass. This is the largest collection of its kind that you can see in public, with over 500 items. It's even featured in a special display at the New Bedford City Hall.

Some popular exhibits at the museum are "Contemporary Paperweights: The Schimmelpfeng Collection" and "Atomic Green Vaseline: Uranium Glass in Everyday Life." The museum also has a large library called the Virginia Shaw Rockwell Research Library. It holds over 6,000 books and publications all about glass.