Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum to re-open April 1

The Pilgrim Monument was founded in 1892 as the Cape Cod Pilgrim Memorial Association—Cape Cod’s oldest not-for-profit organization. Its purpose is to commemorate the Mayflower Pilgrims’ first landing in the New World in Provincetown, in November 1620. Here the Pilgrims spent 5 weeks exploring the tip of Cape Cod, before they sailed on to Plymouth. They also drew up and signed the Mayflower Compact, which established the rule of law for the new land.

The Cape Cod Pilgrim Memorial Association built the Pilgrim Monument to honor the Pilgrims’ first landing in Provincetown. President Theodore Roosevelt laid the cornerstone in 1907. In 1910, President William Howard Taft dedicated the finished 252-foot tower. In 1910, the Cape’s first building built to house a museum opened at the base of the monument, to educate the public about Provincetown’s role in Pilgrim history and American history.

Today, millions of visitors and generations of local residents have admired and climbed the 252 foot granite Pilgrim Monument for almost 100 years.

Some interesting facts: 

• The Pilgrim Monument was built between 1907 and 1910 to commemorate the first landing of the Mayflower Pilgrims in Provincetown on November 21, 1620.
• The tower is 252 feet, 7.5 inches (77 meters) tall and rises 350 feet above sea level!
• The heart-healthy walk to the top on 116 steps and 60 ramps only takes about 10 minutes at a leisurely pace.
• The Pilgrim Monument is the tallest all-granite structure in the United States. The granite came from Stonington, Maine, and each stone is the thickness of the wall. The design is patterned after the Torre Del Mangia in Siena, Italy.
• During your climb, you’ll see many interior stones that were donated by cities, towns and organizations from all of the United States. See if your city or town is here.
• President Theodore Roosevelt laid the cornerstone on August 20, 1907
• President William H. Taft led the dedication ceremony after the Pilgrim Monument’s completion on August 5, 1910.
• The Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum is Cape Cod’s oldest non-profit and cultural institution.

Schedule and Admission: 

April 1 – Memorial Day, 9am – 5pm
Memorial Day – Labor Day, 9am – 7pm
Labor Day – November 30, 9am – 5pm
Closed Thanksgiving Day
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$12– adults
$9 – senior citizens (62 and older)
$7 – students (15 & older) w/ ID
$4–children 4-14
Free Admission for Members and children 3 & under

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Provincetown Town Hall

Beautiful photo of our newly renovated Town Hall, by Paul Cezanne

Provincetown Town Hall, by Paul Cezanne

Lighting of the Lobster Pot Tree and the Pilgrim Monument

Photos by Jim Bakker and Radu Luca

Before

After

Lighting of the Lobster Pot Tree, 2011

Julian Popko setting up the Lobster Pot Tree
in Lopes Square, Provincetown

Notes from Land's End: Nov. 21

Giving Thanks, Provincetown Style

By Laura Shabott

November 22nd, 2011

Today’s Provincetown Thanksgiving traditions aren’t really all that different from the Pilgrim’s first time to Land’s End. Visitors arrive ready to eat and drink, check out the native haunts, get new clothes, acquire treasures and then leave for Plymouth (and beyond). There’s something for everybody this holiday, with tons to do day-to-night.

There’s something for everybody this holiday, with tons to do day-to-night.

Free parking makes it easy to come on down and join us for the Lighting of the Monument, an annual tradition at PMPM, High Pole Hill, Wednesday, November 23rd, 5:00-7:00 p.m. Cookies, Cider, friends and LIGHTS! Lots of bars and restaurants are open for a pre-holiday crawl along Commercial Street afterwards.

On Thanksgiving Day, there are lovely places to have a delicious meal: The Mews (429) and Bistro at Crowne Pointe (82 Bradford) are offering special Thanksgiving Dinners. Reservations are strongly suggested.

Everyone is welcome at the Soup Kitchen in Provincetown (SKIP), United Methodist Church, 20 Shank Painter Road, for a Thanksgiving meal, 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. This is a loving place for nourishment of the soul, the spirit and the belly. Don’t be alone this holiday when you can be among friends in our community. Donations are welcome.

02657 has its own version of Black Friday, with two Arts and Crafts Fairs, both from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.(ish), Friday/Saturday, at the UU Church and Provincetown Town Hall. Buy work from local artisans and shop Commercial Street for 50% off sales galore.

Party till you drop all weekend long at the A-House, Purgatory, and Crown and Anchor. Thanksgiving night, “Karaoke and Dance That Stuffing Away” from 9:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. at the A-House, 4-6 Masonic Avenue, will be a riot. Friday, 11/25, brings the PBG Casino Night at the Crown and Anchor. A no-cover event, from 8:00 p.m. to Midnight, you can place your bets and be a winner at the Blackjack table, Roulette or the Money Wheel.

Join Julian Popko and his family for the Lobster Pot Tree Lighting, 5:30 to 6:00 p.m., in Lopes Square, now a town tradition.

Afterwards, strip down to your tighty-whities, boxers or briefs at Purgatory’s Underwear Party at the Gifford House. Believe me; lots of people, of all shapes and sizes, attend this event. Don’t be shy! Shake your booty Saturday night, 11/26, 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.

Maybe you want to keep your clothes on and head toThe First Encounter Coffeehouse in Eastham, for a delightful evening with Zoe Lewis, Saturday, starting at 8:00 p.m.

We hope that you join us in Provincetown this Thanksgiving, but wherever you are, enjoy!

“Notes from Lands End”, by artistic bon vivant Laura Shabott, is a weekly account of the people, places and events that make our town so special.

Provincetown.com is the longest-standing, independently-owned presence on the web in 02657.

Provincetown: Cape Cod’s Best Day Out

recommended by Cathy Winston

via TheTravelEditor.com

  ZaNiaC/Flickr

It’s rare that a destination can bill itself as gay-friendly, uniquely historic, a protected nature reserve, and perfect for art connoisseurs, lobster lovers and anyone who fancies a browse by the seaside. But that’s just what makes Provincetown on the tip of Cape Cod the perfect day trip for anyone staying in Boston or on the peninsula.


The site of the Pilgrims’ first landing in America – they didn’t head to Plymouth and its rock for several weeks, as the locals are keen to remind you – it’s a small resort, all focused around Commercial street and the seafront, and closes down almost completely during the winter months.


But when the sun’s shining, it’s the perfect New England day out. Start by exploring the protected sand dunes along the ocean with Art’s Dune Tours, all wild cranberries, waving grasses and endless dunes. The fragile habitat means you can’t simply head off on your own, but taking a ride with Rob Costa who runs the tours, or any of the company’s guides, means you’ll get a brief taste of the area’s history as well as discovering the natural beauties.


Then climb the 252ft Pilgrim monument, attached to a small museum tracing the history of the area from the original settlers to the first European inhabitants and more recent times. The ferocious-looking Narwhal tusk is one of the stand-out exhibits, although it might not appeal to anyone who’s not a fan of taxidermy.


The granite monument itself isn’t too exhausting as the 116 steps are broken up by 60 gently sloping ramps, as well as carved names on the walls if you do need an excuse to catch your breath. Then enjoy the views out across the white clapboard houses to the boats in harbour and the fields inland, before heading back down.


But once you’ve ticked off a bit of history, devote the rest of your time to strolling along Commercial Street, which is crammed with souvenir shops, art galleries and a substantial number of boutiques selling pet paraphernalia. Stop to check out the vintage-style jewellery at Sparks – but don’t try to stroke the cat – and watching the colourful inhabitants who live, work and visit.


Then refuel with saltwater taffy, and a demonstration of how the sweet’s made, or homemade ice cream for around $4 at Lewis Brothers, before gorging on some of the freshest seafood in Massachusetts at the Lobster Pot.


Fast ferries run from Boston between May and October, with Bay State Cruises and Boston Harbour Cruises both taking around 90 minutes to reach Provincetown, or the Plymouth and Brockton bus line takes just over three hours from the city, via Hyannis.

A Streetcar Named…Provincetown Trolley

Pick-up: Right in front of Town Hall, 260 Commercial Street


Cost: $13 for adults, $12 for seniors and $6 for children

Duration: 40-minute narrated tour 

Frequency: Every hour on the hour and every half hour on weekends (May thru October)

One purchases tickets before boarding from the trolley driver

Pat has been a trolley driver for over 20 years and her knowledge about Provincetown history amazed me throughout the tour.  After a friendly “Welcome aboard, folks!” followed by safety instructions she went ahead and briefly talked about Provincetown: THIS is the place where the Pilgrims landed first in 1620 (not Plymouth); the town has a very rich Portuguese heritage as it used to be a whaling and fishing village; and that Provincetown has been an important American art colony for the past century.

She rings the bell and off we go. I heard that bell on several other occasions throughout the ride and it was almost as if its sound awoke me from the different, soothing dimension I let myself fall into while on that old wooden trolley bench.

We pass the famous Atlantic House (knows as the A-House), where Tennessee Williams wrote his Streetcar Named Desire as we gently slide through the sea of people on narrow Commercial Street, while keeping Long Point, the very tip of Cape Cod, in sight to our left.  It was then when I learned that up until the 1940s Commercial Street used to have two-way traffic with parking.

We slowly reach the West End and Pat tells us that  Seth Nickerson built the oldest house in town in 1746 at 72 Commercial Street. We also learn that many houses here were floated over from Long Point by boat, often times with people inside them. 

 
Beyond the seemingly never-ending breakwater, which divides Provincetown Harbor from the Moors, Wood End Lighthouse, one of the three lighthouses in town, rises majestically. The Pilgrims first set foot where the breakwater begins today on November 16, 1620 after leaving the Netherlands on July 20^th. Once ashore they drafted the Mayflower compact, named after the boat they came on, which served as a model for the modern US Constitution. Due to the lack of fresh water and harsh living conditions they moved to Plymouth after five weeks here.

 














Driving down Moors Road towards Herring Cove Beach there is a sign welcoming us to the Cape Cod National Seashore. On August 7, 1961 President John F. Kennedy signed the bill authorizing the creation of the CCNS in order to preserve its natural beauty, fauna and vegetation. Happy 50^th Birthday, CCNS!

Bike trails lie along Province Lands Road from Herring Cove Beach to Race Point Beach and interesting vegetation cannot but catch your eye. Pat tells us there are a lot of wild beach plums which make tasty jam and that National Seashore planted beach grass in the sand dunes to stabilize them.

The Visitors Center by Race Point Beach displays a variety of exhibits and it also has a great observation deck up-top where one can enjoy the beautiful panorama of the seashore and the Atlantic Ocean. Few people know this area of the beach used to be called the “Peaked Hill Graveyard” due to the amount of shipwrecks drifting ashore. Once operated manually, but automatized nowadays, Race Point Lighthouse was a beacon for the hard-working fishermen.

The Pilgrim Monument dominates the skyline. The tower is 101 this year and it is the tallest granite building in the US with 252ft7” that was built to commemorate the first landing of the Pilgrims. President Roosevelt laid the cornerstone in 1907 and President Taft dedicated the Monument in 1910.

 
Race Point Rd is like an oasis in the dessert. It is cool under the tall, bushy trees covering the road and one is surrounded by beautiful scenery, sand dunes, vegetation and bike trails.  Beech Forest demarcates the end of the National Seashore and Beech Forest Lake is a great destination for bird-watching and bird-feeding enthusiasts. Whether on foot or on two wheels this quiet area offers a nice escapade into the wildlife just yards from Provincetown.  

The East End is the town’s main gallery district with over 30 art galleries and studios. Charles Hawthorne established his Cape Cod School of Art here in 1899, which initiated Provincetown’s becoming one of the most important art colonies in the US. Additionally, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum hosts over 2,000 works of art by local and national artists and the Fine Arts Work Center offers fellowships to national as well as international artists.

The Public Library lives between the East End and downtown Provincetown. This old heritage museum welcomes everybody with impressive collections, complimentary Wi-Fi and computers for anyone to use. On the second floor there is one of the largest indoor model boats in the world- a replica of historic Rose Dorothea, the famous schooner boat.

Back at Town Hall more people wait to catch the next trip.

rdl