Tag Archives: vintage postcard

Provincetown Race Point beach shipwrecks

Fishing Schooner "Buema" wrecked near Race Point Light in Provincetown, Cape Cod

Fishing Schooner “Buema” wrecked near Race Point Light in Provincetown, Cape Cod

Race Point Beach in Provincetown, now a part of the National Seashore is a favorite spot for swimming, fishing, and nature watching where one might catch a glimpse of a seal or whale, depending on the season. But Race Point is also the site of many shipwrecks and between 1873 and 1902 had a Lifesaving station known as Race Point Station. Unfortunately the station was no longer in operation when the fishing schooner Buema crashed into the surf and was wrecked on January 7, 1908.  The above postcard, purchased in 1924 tells the story.  During the time the Race Point Station was in operation they had three surfboats which aided hundreds of seafarers. Among the names of men who served at the lifesaving station and lost their lives aiding others were Captain Dave Atkins and Frank Mayo. Is that where the name for the road Atkins Mayo, the dirt road where two characters in the mystery novel Remaining in Provincetown  live, comes from?  Curious to read the new murder mystery set in Provincetown, the book everyone’s talking about.  You can pick up a signed copy at the Provincetown Book Shop while they last or buy a book online at Amazon.com in trade paperback or ebook. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

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Remaining in Provincetown By S.N.Cook. Truro Works. 306 pages $12.95 Trade Paperback

Remaining in Provincetown
By S.N.Cook.
Truro Works. 306 pages
$12.95 Trade Paperback

The Provincetown approach to wooing shoppers

purchased in 1940 This antique postcard shows the Town Crier Gift Shop.

purchased in 1940
This antique postcard shows the Town Crier Gift Shop.

Provincetown, Massachusetts has always been a mecca for shopping. It’s one of the busiest towns on the Outer Cape.  This postcard shows 265 Commercial Street, when it was the Town Crier Gift Shop. Prior to that time, this location was the home of the Advocate Gift and Souvenir Shop according to John Wright Hardy the author of Provincetown Vol. I. The gentleman in the pilgrim outfit standing outside the shop, which boasts itself as being the largest gift shop on Cape Cod, was not the official Town Crier for the town of Provincetown but was hired by the store to attract business. His name was Charles Walton. To learn more about Town Criers in Provincetown read some of our previous postings. To be entertained by a Provincetown mystery story read Remaining in Provincetown , available at bookstores and online in trade paperback and as an ebook. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Provincetown to Boston ferry come back soon!

Boston Boat from Provincetown Departing

Boston Boat  Departing from Provincetown, Massachusetts

This antique postcard, circa 1900, was not as popular a card as the one tourists arriving from Boston to visit Provincetown. That’s when the excitement begins. These folks, although they are so nicely dressed with those handsome hats, long dresses, vests, and waist coats, look a little downcast. Their friends are on their way to Boston after a fun time in Provincetown.  They’re leaving.  Hope they get to come back soon. Times have changed, but a boat– the Fast Ferry– still travels the same route.  And some of us still send postcards, although often we do so by email. The Fast Ferry is having a postcard contest, so check it out on their website.  Meanwhile, if you haven’t visited the Remaining in Provincetown facebook page, we are also having a contest. We want you to like our page, if you haven’t already, and tell us your favorite month to visit Provincetown and why. We’ll be sending the winner a signed copy of Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook specially inscribed to the winner. So play the game and enjoy the town.

Provincetown Cape Cod your heart’s desire

Old Cape COd That Land of Heart's Desire by John Chipman

Old Cape Cod That Land of Heart’s Desire by John Chipman

Cape Cod is often referred to as “God’s Country” as it is in the poem by John Chipman printed on the above  antique postcard. The top illustration shows the steamer Dorthy Bradford (the Boston Boat ) heading from Boston to Provincetown,  the best town from which to start your Cape Cod visit.   Today you can visit via the Fast Ferry. Chipman writes of hearing the waves pounding on the short  and says “no place in the world shines the sun so bright or the moon so full on a summer’s night.”

“”They make you as welcome as flowers in Spring                                               A hand clasp that thrills way down to the toes                                                       In the greeting one gets whereever he goes.”

That sense of intimacy is one of the characteristics of a small town. It’s one reason why so many people gravitate towards places like Provincetown. Want to experience more of what it’s like to live in Provincetown, who maybe what it could have been like for some residents in the 1990’s.  Buy a copy of the fabulous new novel,  Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook available at bookstores and online in trade paperback and ebook.  Like us at Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Provincetown inns and guest houses offer quality lodging

Provincetown Cape Cod The Bradford Inn when postcards costs one penny to mail.

Provincetown Cape Cod
The Bradford Inn when postcards cost one penny to mail.

Inns or what have long been referred to as “Bed n” Breakfasts” and “Guest Houses”  enable Cape Cod visitors when staying in Provincetown to fully grasp the unique flavor of the town. As shown in the above postcard circa 1900,  gracious well maintained Inns have long been a Provincetown tradition. We have dozens of wonderful such places to stay in Provincetown, although you are cautioned to make your reservations early because the best ones fill up fast. One of our favorites is the Revere Guest House which has  been  featured on the HGTV  TV show “If Walls Could Talk”, The HGTV episode provides some insight into the history of the building, revealed by some unusual documents the owners found during renovations, not unusual in a town filled with history. Each room at the guest house  has a different name to characterize its slightly different amenities.    Decorating rooms to have a unique personality is something that one of the characters, Bruno Marchessi,  in the mystery novel Remaining in Provincetown is very proud of accomplishing in his own guest house “The Willows”. Set in Provincetown in early spring, before the start of the busy tourist season, this is a book that will get you in the mood for your visit. Curious to learn more? Visit our page on Facebook and become a fan. We’ll keep you posted with colorful snippets of Provincetown history. Buy a copy of the book, Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook, available online and at bookstores. Purchase your copy now and become transported to another time and place.

Boston boat to Provincetown a vacation experience

Steamer dockingThe above postcard was mailed in 1912, over 100 years ago, and shows the steamship the Dorothy May Bradford, pulling up to the dock in Provincetown harbor on the tip of Cape Cod. At the begiinning of the 20th century, taking what was referred to as the “Boston Boat” was the most efficient way to get from Boston to Provincetown and from Provincetown to Boston during the summer months. Back in those days the journey took a good half of the day, but today the Provincetown Fast Ferry makes the trip back and forth two and three times a day in 90 minutes.  While the Dorothy Bradford was named after one of the first Pilgrim travelers who traveled across the ocean on the Mayflower and then drowned in Provincetown Harbor after she slipped and fell off the boat, the newest Provincetown Fast Ferry Salacia, is named after the Neptune’s wife and goddess of the sea. Salacia’s name, derived from the  Latin word for salt, was thought to personify the calm and expansiveness of the sea. A beautiful sea nymph who bore three sons with Neptune, including Triton, she is usually personified in sculptures as having a crown of seaweed and driving alongside Neptune in a shell chariot drawn by dolphins.  Certainly the sleek and fast Salacia looks quite different in contour and shape from the more stalwart Dorothy Bradford. But different time periods in history call for different experiences. If you like postcards, you may want to enter the Boston Harbor Cruise “Design Your Own Postcard Contest” 
If reading a book during your vacation is more your idea of fun while relaxing on the beach, pick up a copy of Remaining in Provincetown, the new murder mystery everyone’s talking about. Now available at bookstores and online in trade paperback and ebook. Buy your copy today at Amazon .com or purchase a signed copy at the Provincetown bookshop while supplies last.  Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Remaining in Provincetown By S.N.Cook. Truro Works. 306 pages $12.95 Trade Paperback

Remaining in Provincetown
By S.N.Cook.
Truro Works. 306 pages
$12.95 Trade Paperback

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

HIghland Light Cape Cod’s famous Lighthouse

HIghland lightStanding on the unusual formation called Clay Pounds, one of the largest on the East Coast, the Highland Lighthouse in Truro, Cape Cod was built in 1797 and was the 7th lighthouse to be constructed in the United States.

Built on the highest cliff on Cape Cod, its location has been subject to severe erosion, as much as three feet per year! In 1996 to save the historic lighthouse, it was moved back 450 feet. When you visit, there is a museum on the property, the Highland House Museum with rotating exhibits and local history displays, maintained by the Truro Historical Society. 

The radio tower referred to as Radio Beacon in the postcard description was erected by the Navy as a communication station in World War II. The postcard was printed by E D. West and Company. More postcards of this beautiful lighthouse will be seen in subsequent postings on this Remaining in Provincetown website. Haven’t read the book yet? If you love the Outer Cape, Provincetown, or mysteries that involve old postcards and quirky people , this mystery novel is for you. Check us out on Facebook and Amazon. Join the conversation. Signed copies are currently available at the Provincetown Bookshop on Commercial Street in Provincetown as well as a variety of bookstores and online sites.  Happy Summer and enjoy the fireworks.

Long Point Lighthouse Provincetown Fishing Colony

Longpoint

This handsome antique postcard showing Long Point Lighthouse in Provincetown Massachusetts on the tip of Cape Cod shows houses set back beyond a lighthouse keeper’s building and the lighthouse itself. If you hike across the Provincetown breakwater on the west end of town, just beyond the Provincetown Inn and hike across the sand or visit Long Point by boat, you won’t see any  such buildings. The fishing village first settled in 1818, was at its height of prosperity in 1846.  There were 200 residents and 38 houses. They used cisterns to gather water and had their own salt works for fish processing. The lighthouse itself was established in 1826 and the current tower built in 1875. Automated in 1952 and currently solar powered, it shines a fixed green signal and blasts out a fog alert every 15 seconds.
So what happened to the village of Long Point and all those houses?  Most of them were floated across the bay during low tide on barrels and repositioned in Provincetown. Ceramic blue and white plaques identify some of the houses in town that were floated across the bay from Long Point.
There are many interesting stories about the town and if you were born in the town or have lived and worked in Provincetown for a number of years you learn thiings.. Curious to learn more? Read Remaining in Provincetown, the new mystery novel just released and available at bookstores, including the Provincetown Bookshop, and online in trade paperback and as an ebook at Amazon. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Provincetown’s Town Hall vintage postcard pre Meat Rack

Meat RackThe scene in the above antique postcard shows the center of Provincetown, Cape Cod, and its Town Hall. Notice there are no benches in front of Town Hall. They were added mid 20th century. Those benches have become known as the “Meat Rack” for two reasons. During the daytime it’s a place to watch everyone walking by and check out who is in town. At night, particularly after the bars close,  it’ a meet-up spot for singles, particularly gay men looking to run into an old friend or meet someone new.   In the recently released mystery novel Remaining in Provincetown, with all -the clandestine meetings between the Publisher/Editor of the weekly newspaper and the Town Manager–there’s a fair amount of action that takes place near and around Town Hall.

Also notable in this photograph is the view of the Congregational Church, as it originally appeared before it became a movie theater (the old Art Cinema) and then shops, a sidewalk cafe, bakery, and restaurant — during the 20th century. Want to read a book that “captures the town to a T” ? Pick up a copy of Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook available at  bookstores including The Provincetown Bookshop and online in trade paperback and on kindle. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

Remaining in Provincetown By S.N.Cook. Truro Works. 306 pages $12.95 Trade Paperback

Remaining in Provincetown
By S.N.Cook.
Truro Works. 306 pages
$12.95 Trade Paperback

Vintage Cape Cod postcard circa 1930

Vintage Cape Cod postcard circa 1930

Provincetown Cape Cod Vacation Season

Board of Trade Building Provincetown, Cape Cod

Board of Trade Building
Provincetown, Cape Cod

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

Beautiful beaches, a monument to climb, numerous art galleries and shops to visit, all make Provincetown the gem of Cape Cod. Shown above in this antique postcard is the Board of Trade Building, founded in 1899, which became incorporated a the Provincetown Chamber of Commerce in 1957. If you arrive by Boat, it should be the first place you stop, located at the base of MacMillan Pier, for tourist information. The Mission of the Provincetown Chamber of Commerce  “This organization shall encourage and promote the civic, commercial, and social betterment of the Town of Provincetown for residents and visitors.”

Providing visitor information that focuses on the GLBT  tourism (Gay, Lesbian, bisexual and transgender) is the Provincetown Business Guild located downtown at 3 Freeman Street.  The Provincetown Business Guild sponsors the famous Carnival week of events, that started back in 1978.

There’s a lot of do for visitors, whatever your sexual orientation. Provincetown has always been a town where you can be yourself. Ever wonder what the town is like in the off season when all the tourists have gone home? Read the new mystery novel Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook, sold at stores and online at  the Provincetown Bookshop and at Amazon in trade paperback on kindle. Like us on Facebook. Keep the conversation going.