New Bedford, MA – June 23, 2026 – The recipient of this year’s Catherine Crapo Bullard Award is Lafrance Hospitality for their, a transformative adaptive reuse project at 18 & Union, at the entrance to New Bedford’s historic downtown core.
This award is given to extraordinary individuals or organizations who have followed their hearts in pursuing nearly impossible preservation projects. Named for Catherine Crapo Bullard—one of WHALE’s earliest supporters and a key figure in the preservation of the Benjamin Rodman Mansion—the award honors the kind of vision and determination that sees potential where others see obstacles, and lasting value where others see uncertainty.
18 & Union embodies that spirit.
The project represents the substantial rehabilitation of two historic building sites, the former National Club and the C.E. Beckman Co. Inc. buildings, long-standing elements of the downtown streetscape that had fallen into disuse. Positioned at a prominent gateway to the historic district, these structures have now been fully restored and adaptively reused as part of a revitalized urban edge.
The C.E. Beckman Co. buildings occupy a site with deep roots in New Bedford’s maritime history. The property was once associated with Isaac Howland, Jr. & Co., one of the city’s prominent Quaker whaling merchant firms, and the existing buildings were constructed in phases during the 1840s and 1850s to support offices, storage, and maritime-related businesses. In the early twentieth century, the buildings became home to the C.E. Beckman Company, a marine supply business operated by the Beckman family for more than a century.
The National Club building, constructed in 1927 originally as a wholesale grocer, later became home to the National Club social organization beginning in the 1960s. Though the club dissolved in 1972, the National Club name lived on through the restaurant and bar that became closely tied to New Bedford’s fishing community and colorful local history.
Now complete, 18 & Union brings new life to the site with housing and the new National Club Cantina restaurant, reactivating once-underutilized buildings and reestablishing daily energy and purpose at a key entrance to downtown New Bedford. The project preserves the historic character of the structures while ensuring their continued relevance in the city’s evolving urban fabric.
More than a restoration, 18 & Union stands as a successful reinvention—demonstrating how thoughtful preservation can strengthen the identity of a place while supporting its future growth. At a visible threshold to the historic district, it now serves as both a gateway and a signal of continued investment in downtown’s vitality.
In honoring 18 & Union with the Catherine Crapo Bullard Award, we recognize a completed project that reflects courage in preservation, belief in long-term value, and the power of historic buildings to be fully renewed as active, meaningful parts of the city once again.