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SPOTLIGHT:
Guidebook Cape Cod ~ Provincetown
Beach Forest Trail, Race Point Road. This one-mile self-guided trail is
a shaded path which circles a shallow freshwater pond whose surface is a
sea of water lilies and then heads into the woods. Shifting dunes
encroach on the forest, where usually many turtles sun themselves in the
bright spots.
Art’s Dune Tours, Commercial and Standish Streets. This is, really, the
only way to experience the magic of Provincetown’s spectacular dunes.
There is an excellent narration during the tour and photo stops on
request. See the famous ‘dune shacks,’ flora and fauna of this surreal
and unforgettable area.
The Expedition Whydah Sea Lab and Learning Center, MacMillan Wharf. In
1984, Cape Codder Barry Clifford made news when he discovered the 17th
century pirate ship Whydah 1,500 feet off Wellfleet’s coast. Only
partially excavated, it has already yielded more than 100,000 artifacts
including 10,000 gold and silver coins and its namesake bell. Visitors
can observe the reclamation work and ask questions of the scientists and
scholars at work in addition to the many interpretive exhibits. Closed
January-March.
Province Lands Visitor Center, Race Point Road. Features an observation
deck overlooking 360° of the surrounding heath and moors, a theater
where informative introductory films are shown and rangers are available
to answer questions. There are hiking, cycling and horse trails.
Provincetown Dunes: just west of Truro/Provincetown line. These wondrous
dunes are not only fun to explore, but make for dramatic and memorable
photographs.
Provincetown Dune Shacks: Provincetown, at they very tip of Cape Cod, is
home to 17 rustic "dune shacks" within the Province Lands 'dunescape.'
These dune shacks were originally erected by the Life Saving
Service—precursor to the Coast Guard—as shelters for seamen. This group
of dune shacks was built during the late 19th century along a three-mile
stretch of mountainous dunes and alternating valleys of scrub pine from
Race Point to High Head in Truro. It is a rare and beautiful terrain,
incredible dunes anchored by a thin layer of beach grass. which remains
effectively undeveloped.
These shacks have no electricity, no running water, no toilets, no
modern conveniences whatsoever. They are located within the dunes and
are desolate and lonely. It is believed that such a Spartan environment
provides inspiration for artists and writers.
The shacks were later summer hideaways and artistic retreats for
painters, poets, writers, socialites and vagabonds who wanted or needed
a place to get away from it all. In the 1930s and 1940s, artists from
Provincetown, enamored with the promise of quiet summers by the beach,
reclaimed these shacks for their own use. Most notably, Eugene O'Neill,
who launched his career in Provincetown in 1916, bought the old Peaked
Hill Life Saving Station and lived there for a number of years with his
wife, Agnes Boulton. O'Neill's home was thus the anchor of the sudden
arts community, which sprung up in the dunes in the early decades of the
20th century. O'Neill's shack (which was a veritable palace compared to
its neighbors) was host to some of the greatest minds of its day:
novelist John Dos Passos, critic Edmund Wilson, and fellow playwright
Susan Glaspell were among its regular visitors. O'Neill authored several
of his best works here including Anna Christie (1920) and The Hairy Ape
(1921). His presence among the dunes along with fellow artists, such as
Harry kemp, self-titled 'poet of the dunes,' who wrote exhaustively of
this habitat's ethereal beauty, and Hazel Hawthorne-Werner, who authored
The Salt House (1929), an account of her adventures in the dunes, earned
the shacks a place in the National Register of Historic Places. This
appellation will preserve their existence and use for future
generations. In the 21st century, as part of the Cape Cod National
Seashore, Province Lands continue as a place of unequalled beauty and
remoteness.
There are a number of shacks managed by nonprofit organizations whose
purpose is to serve the traditional uses of the shacks by providing
artistic and community residencies. Both the Peaked Hill Bars Trust and
the Provincetown Community Compact, which runs C-Scape, have stationed
hundreds of those who would have otherwise been unable to experience the
unique and rare dunescape.
The dune district was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1989. Seventeen of the shacks here have been the property of the
National Park Service since 1961; one is privately owned. In the years
since it acquired the shacks, the park service has developed long-term
leasing agreements with a variety of tenants. It also leases shacks to
two local arts organizations: the Provincetown Community Compact, a
nonprofit group, and the Peaked Hill Trust, a preservation organization
devoted to the dunes. Since 1996 these groups have operated the
Artist-in-Residence program here, which provides shacks to artists for
brief residencies during the summer.
The Community Compact said it receives dozens of applications each year
for three three-week residencies at the property it leases, the C-Scape
Shack. A panel, which includes artists, reviews each applicant's
submission, which must include a résumé, five slides of work and a
statement describing how a stay will enhance the artist's production.
The selected artists pay on a sliding scale; the neediest receives a
grant.
The compact also offers one-week residencies in the C-Scape shack from
April to October. Occupants, who do not have to be artists, are chosen
by lottery and pay various rental amounts per week. The Peaked Hill
Trust's program, the Outer Cape Artists in Residency Consortium, is open
to artists who apply for one of six two-week summer stays in the shack
the trust leases, known as the Margo-Gelb, for Boris Margo and the
painter Jan Gelb. Those interested in leasing one of the off-season
weeks are chosen by lottery, with preference granted to those who have
joined the trust.
Peaked Hill Trust is a non-profit organization dedicated to the
preservation and management of dune shacks located within the Cape Cod
National Seashore. Four of the shacks are available to artists and
writers who receive residencies through a lottery system. Some notable
tenants include Jack Kerouac, e.e. Cummings, Eugene O'Neill, Norman
Mailer and Jackson Pollack. For information on membership or information
about the dune shacks, contact P.O. Box 1705, Provincetown, MA, 02657. 1
(508) 487-3635.
Provincetown Art Association & Museum, 460 Commercial Street. With a
membership of 1,200 and a collection of more than 2,000 important works
of American and contemporary art, the Provincetown Art Association and
Museum was founded in 1914. The PAAM is dedicated to promoting and
cultivating the practice and appreciation of all branches of the fine
arts, to assemble and maintain in the Town of Provincetown a collection
of works of art, to hold exhibitions, and to promote education of the
public in the arts through forums, concerts, and similar activities.
PAAM includes works by Charles Hawthorne and many 20th century artists.
There is a museum shop, art classes are offered as are concerts,
lectures and films. Open extended season and weekends in winter.
Provincetown Heritage Museum, 356 Commercial Street. Originally built as
a Methodist church, the building is now an art gallery and museum
featuring marine and Victorian artifacts, antique fire equipment and the
world’s largest half-scale indoor schooner model of the Rose Dorothea.
MacMillan Wharf, Route 6A and Lopes Wharf. This is the maritime ‘heart’
of Provincetown, with boat rentals, a fishing fleet of more than 50
vessels (landing approximately 10 million pounds of fish) and venue for
the annual Blessing of the Fleet. The Wharf was named after Commander
Donald B. MacMillan, who accompanied Admiral Perry to the north pole.
Seth Nickerson House, 72 Commercial Street. Built by ship’s carpenters
using some materials from shipwrecks, this is the oldest standing house
on Cape Cod and is an excellent example of pre-1750 Cape architecture.
Oldest Cemetery in Provincetown, Winthrop Street. Four Mayflower
passengers who died during the Pilgrims’ brief stopover in Provincetown
are buried here.
Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum, Pole Hill Road. The 252-foot
granite Monument was modeled after the larger Torre del Mangia bell
tower in Siena, Italy and is the tallest all-granite structure in the
United States. The Monument commemorates the Pilgrim’s first landing in
the New World at Provincetown. The entire structure was built of granite
blocks brought to the Cape from Stonington, Maine. Visitors reach the
top through a series of 60 ramps and 116 steps and are rewarded with an
incredible panorama of Provincetown and, on clear days, as far as Boston
and the Bridges. President Theodore Roosevelt attended the laying of the
cornerstone in 1907 and President William Howard Taft dedicated the
structure on August 5, 1910. It remains one of the most impressive
public monuments in the United States. The plaque at the base of the
Monument, carved in bas relief by sculptor Cyrus Dalin, commemorates the
signing of the Mayflower Compact in Provincetown Harbor. It is from this
historic document, signed during the Pilgrims five-week stay in
Provincetown, that the fullness of America’s liberties would eventually
emerge. The Provincetown Museum features maritime, natural history,
Provincetown history and Cape Cod exhibits and collections of arctic
explorer Donald MacMillan. Open year round.
Old Harbor Lifesaving Station. Race Point is now home to the Old Harbor
Lifesaving Station that once protected the shores of Chatham. Built in
1898, it was one of 13 stations that lined the outer Cape beaches from
Provincetown to Monomoy Point until the Lifesaving Service became part
of the Coast Guard in 1914. The Old Harbor Station was decommissioned in
1944 and sold off to private interests. It was acquired by the National
Park Service in 1973 and moved up the coast on a barge in the winter of
1978, just ahead of the devastating Blizzard of '78. Now it rests at
Race Point overlooking the Atlantic. Its boat room contains a surf boat
and various lifesaving apparatus. The station is open to visitors during
July and August from 3 to 5 PM daily and 6 to 8 PM Thursday during the
Lifesaving drill presentation. Race Point Road (508) 487-1256
www.nps.gov/caco
Whale Watching: Because Provincetown is close to the Stellwagen Bank,
whale feeding grounds, many whale watch cruises depart from the town’s
MacMillan Wharf. Several operators offer such cruises between April and
October usually with morning, afternoon and sunset cruises lasting three
to four hours. Some operators provide commentary from scientists from
the Center for Coastal Studies who accompany the cruise while capturing
data.
Whale watching is a $1 billion industry in the United States. In New
England, 36 companies operate whale-watching excursions. Provincetown is
home to two whale-watch companies with a total of five boats; another
company runs out of Barnstable Harbor. Provincetown officials say whale
watching is the top draw for motor-coach tours, which bring in about 500
to 600 groups a year. The industry has seen at least 12 percent more
customers per year since 1991. Stellwagen Bank, a large marine sanctuary
north of Provincetown, draws about 1.5 million people each year from
various ports. People come to see right, fin, minke and humpback whales.
Estimates indicate they generate more than $50 million annually in
direct and indirect spending for local economies.
Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce
Routes 6 & 132, PO Box 790
Hyannis, MA 02601
508-362-3225 |
Website
|
Email
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