Whale of a city

Galleries, restaurants, colleges bring new life to gritty, historic port

Visitors to New London, Conn. can eat lunch on the Bulkeley House Restaurant & Pub's huge deck. (Photo by Steve Milne for the Boston Globe)

DISTANCE FROM BOSTON: 112 miles
POPULATION: 25,671
WEBSITES: newlondonmainstreet.org, ci.new-london.ct.us
ODD FACT: Eugene O'Neill, the country's only Nobel-prize-winning playwright, spent his early summers in New London, where he later wrote stories and poetry for The New London Telegraph.

The story of modern-day New London can be seen in Bank Street, not far from the mouth of the Thames River, where abandoned industrial buildings, a fancy wine bar, an adult video store, and contemporary art stand side-by-side. Once one of the country's busiest whaling ports, New London still has a gritty, industrial vibe, with abandoned warehouses, ferry docks, and miles of train tracks. But the city, home to the US Coast Guard Academy and Connecticut College, also boasts an impressive number of art galleries and good restaurants. The city launched a public art project to bring life to some of the abandoned storefronts downtown. The most famous, and controversial, is known as "The Blob," an orange mass of abstract sculpture oozing down the front of a Bank Street building. And the Thames (unlike the famous British waterway, the "h" is not silent) is still busy: Ferries shuttle vacationers to islands - Long, Block, and Fishers - and cruise ships disgorge passengers.

New London's restaurant scene is both thriving and impressively diverse. Dev's on Bank Street (345 Bank St., 860-442-3387, devson bank.com, entrees $16-$24, tapas $3-$12) is an excellent new restaurant that serves tapas, from potatoes bravas and delicate (but tiny) empanadas to grapes wrapped in Gorgonzola, and entrees like paella and wasabi sea scallops. Fronteras (194 Bank St., 860-447-2999, entrees $8.25-$11.95) doesn't look like much from the outside, but go through the front door and the slender cafe stretches along an exposed brick wall and hops with Latin music. The Ecuadorian specialties include huatita (tripe stew) and chaulafan (a rice dish with chicken, shrimp, and peas). Less adventuresome eaters might enjoy the popular Bulkeley House Restaurant & Pub (111 Bank St., 860-444-7753, entrees $12-$19), which serves lunch and dinner in an 18th-century tavern as well as on a huge deck with its own bar, sheltered by a canopy. Dutch Tavern (23 Green St., 860-442-3453, cheeseburgers $3) was a favorite haunt of Eugene O'Neill and is the oldest tavern in New London. Locals rave about the burgers. Mangetout (140 State St., 860-444-2066, mangetoutorganic .com, lunch entrees $7.25), where the menu changes daily, promises that every nibble of its food is organic. Some restaurants along Bank Street have outdoor decks with views of the Thames (and the General Dynamics submarine plant across the river), including Brie & Bleu (84 Bank St., 860-437-2474, brieandbleu.com, $8-$12), a cheese market that also has salads, bruschetta and wine by the glass, and Muddy Waters (42 Bank St., 860-444-2232, sandwiches $3.50-$7.50) a homey bake shop and sandwich spot with comfy sofas.

The Lighthouse Inn (6 Guthrie Place, 860-443-8411, lighthouseinn-ct.com, rooms $145-$395 in peak July 1-Aug. 31 season) has a private beach on Long Island Sound. The inn, built in 1902 as the summer home of a steel magnate, sits on elegant grounds designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. The Kirkland House Bed & Breakfast (51 Glenwood Ave., 860-437-1500, kirklandhouse.com, rooms in season $165-$250, apartment $1,000 a week) is another summer villa, this one built in Italianate style, with three guest rooms that can sleep up to six people and a two-bedroom apartment for longer stays. New London also has a few chains, including Holiday Inn (380 Bayonet St., 860-442-0631, holiday-inn.com/newlondonct), Radisson Hotel (35 Governor Winthrop Blvd., 860-443-7000, radisson.com/NewLondonCT), and Red Roof Inn (707 Colman St., 860-444-0001, redroof.com/reservations/inn_details.asp?innNumber=145).

On Saturdays from mid-June to late October, swing by Waterfront Park between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. for the New London Saturday Market (newlondon saturdaymarket.com), an urban artists' bazaar with musical performers, crafts, and exhibitions. The city's art scene has been flourishing, and galleries are multiplying. Hygienic Art (79-83 Bank St., 860-443-8001, hygienic.org) is in a Greek Revival building that once housed crews and provisions for whaling ships and now harbors residential artist studios and public galleries. The Lyman Allyn Art Museum (625 Williams St., 860-443-2545, lymanallyn.org), on the Connecticut College campus, houses more than 10,000 works, mainly American art from the 18th through 20th centuries. Monte Cristo Cottage (325 Pequot Ave., 860-443-5378, oneilltheatercenter.org/prog/monte/montprog.htm) was the boyhood home of playwright Eugene O'Neill. The cottage, renovated in 2005, is also a museum about O'Neill, including a portrait gallery.

Ocean Beach Park (1225 Ocean Ave., 860-443-8001, ocean-beach-park.com) is a boardwalk amusement park on a half-mile-long white-sand beach on Long Island Sound. Squeezed into the park are rides - most, including a merry-go-round, are geared toward younger children - an arcade, mini-golf, Olympic-size swimming pool, huge water slide, and a restaurant. Even if you don't like the hoopla, the beach is lovely. The Connecticut College Arboretum ( 270 Mohegan Ave., 860-439-5020, conncoll.edu/ccrec/greennet/arbo) is a restful urban oasis, stretching across 750 acres and open to the public every day from dawn until dusk. Guided tours are offered most Sundays from May through October; the eastern section of the arboretum has jogging trails.

With all those college students milling around, New London has plenty of places to hear music into the early morning. At Hanafin's Irish Pub (310 State St., 860-437-9724, hanafinspub.com), dine on bangers and mash as you listen to live music on the weekends or play darts during the week. The Bank Street Roadhouse (36 Bank St., 860-443-8280, crosby restaurantgroup.com/roadhouse/index.htm) has live bands and foosball, skeeball, and pool. The Bank Street Cafe (639 Bank St., 860-444-1444, bankstreetcafe.com) is open until 2 a.m. weekends and draws a local crowd. Rouge (33 Golden St., 860-447-0260) has live music Wednesdays through Saturdays, including classical guitarists, a DJ, and cover artists. The Garde Arts Center (325 State St., 860-444-7373, gardearts.org), built in 1926 as a vaudeville theater, is home to musical performances and plays. The theater's interior, bathed in North African themes, has been renovated.

The city's most unusual store may be MUSE (102 Golden St., 860-442-6873), a combination art gallery and shoe store. MUSE is hidden along a small side street; look for the lime green door. The shoes are funky, and the art is contemporary. Down the street, Peacock Feathers (13 Golden St., 860-437-8590) is a vintage store in a turquoise building, filled with eclectic clothing and jewelry, including "gypsy glam." New London is home to the largest comic book store in the Northeast, Sarge's Comics (124 State St., 860-443-2004, sargescomics.com), which sells comic books and supplies along with collectibles like "Star Wars" action figures. Some of the city's most interesting shopping is its art galleries, including Yah-Ta-Hey (279 State St., 860-443-3204, yahtaheygallery.com), which sells Native American art, jewelry, and rugs. Flavours of Life (86 Bank St., 860-444-9428, flavoursoflife.com) is a fair-trade store that sells clothing, jewelry, and other international products.