The Port Mission was founded in 1881 by the Levering family, devout
Baptists and coffee importers who operated Chase's Wharf on Thames St.
The Mission provided meals, lodging and the gospel for sailors ashore. "A
safe refuge while in port" was the stated goal, though an observer
reported that returning sailors didn't even wait for twilight "to fly the
polluted arms of the white, the black and the yellow harlot."