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History
Commercial Street in an
1890s postcard
Provincetown was incorporated in
1727 after harboring ships for more
than a century.
Bartholomew Gosnold named
Cape Cod in
Provincetown Harbor in
1602. In
1620, the
Pilgrims signed the
Mayflower Compact in the harbor and
came ashore in the West End, agreeing to
settle and build a self-governing
community. Though the Pilgrims chose to
settle across the bay in
Plymouth, Provincetown was
eventually settled as a fishing village
in
1700.
The population of Provincetown
remained small through most of the
18th century. Following the
American Revolution, however,
Provincetown grew rapidly as a fishing
and
whaling center of
Cape Cod. The population was
bolstered by a number of
Portuguese sailors who, hired to
work on US ships, came to live in
Provincetown. By the
1890s, Provincetown was booming, and
had begun to develop a resident
population of writers and artists, as
well as a summer
tourist industry. When the
1898
Portland Gale severely damaged the
town's fishing industry, members of the
town's art community took over many of
the abandoned buildings. By the early
decades of the
20th century, the town had acquired
an international reputation for its
artistic and literary output. The
Provincetown Players was one example
of intellectual and artistic connections
to
Greenwich Village that began during
this period.
The town includes eight buildings
and the
Provincetown historic district on
the
National Register of Historic Places.
In the mid-1960s, Provincetown saw
population growth. The town's rural
character appealed to the
hippies of the era; furthermore,
property was relatively cheap and rents
were correspondingly low, especially
during the winter. Many of those who
came stayed and raised families.
Commercial Street gained numerous cafes,
leather shops,
head shops -- various hip small
businesses blossomed and many
flourished.
In the mid-1970s members of the gay
community began moving to Provincetown.
In 1978 the Provincetown Business Guild
{PBG} was formed to promote gay tourism.
Today more than 200 businesses belong to
the PBG and Provincetown is perhaps the
best-known gay summer resort on the east
coast.
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Notable past Provincetown residents
and summer visitors
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Modern day
Since the 1990s, property prices have
risen significantly, with numerous condo
conversions causing some residents
economic hardship. The recent housing
bust (starting in 2005) has so far
caused property values in and around
town to fall by 10 percent or more in
less than a year.[1]
This has not slowed down the town's
economy, however. Provincetown's tourist
season has expanded to the point where
the whole year is dotted with festivals
and weeklong events. The most
established are in the summer: The
Portuguese Festival and PBG's Carnival
Week.
For those who follow the gay travel and
event circuit, Provincetown is currently
a destination of choice during the week
surrounding the July 4th holiday. The
town is successful enough to now offer
two full series of events that compete
during "Circuit Week" for best boat
cruise, most elaborate dance event, and
most famous DJ - and for tourist
dollars.
Other notable festivals during the year
include the
Christmas-themed "Holly Folly",
"Bear Week", "Mate's Leather Weekend",
"Women's Week", "Family Week", "Single
Men's Weekend", "Provincetown Film
Festival" and the "Provincetown Jazz
Festival."
Provincetown is also home to three
contemporary resident theater companies:
The
New Provincetown Players,
Shakespeare on the Cape (SOTC), and
Ryan Landry's
Gold Dust Orphans. Shakespeare on
the Cape is a relatively new company
formed by graduates of The Guthrie
Theater/University of Minnesota BFA
Actor Training Program. In 2005, SOTC
performed "Twelfth Night" and "A
Midsummer Night's Dream" at The
Schoolhouse, owned by WOMR, 92.1 FM
Outermost Community Radio. In 2006, SOTC
performed "Romeo
& Juliet" and "As
You Like It" at The Art House in
downtown. SOTC performed a world-premier
Tennessee Williams one-act play, "The
Parade or Approaching The End of A
Summer" on October 1st, 2006 at The Art
House as part of the 1st Annual
Provincetown Tennessee Williams
Festival. Original company members: Eric
Powell Holm, Elliot Yingling Eustis,
Raphael Richter, Tessa Bry, Ben
Griessmeyer, and Vanessa Caye Wasche.
The
Gold Dust Orphans have been
performing in Provincetown and Boston
for 10 years. Notable summer productions
have included: The Gulls, Scarrie, The
Septic Wives, Golden Squirrels,
Cinderella Rocks! and Cleopatra. Current
and past company members include founder
Ryan Landry, Penny Champayne, Olive
Another, Afrodite aka Andre Shoals,
Windsor Newton, P.J. McWhiskers, David
Hanbury, Adam Berry, Megan Ludlow,
Ariana Schulman, Mark Meehan, Gene
Dante, Billy Hough, Larry Coen, Cheryl
Singleton and many others.
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Geography & Transportation
Provincetown is located at the tip of
Cape Cod. The town's total area is 17.5
mi˛ (45.2
km˛), 9.7
mi˛ (25.0
km˛) of it being land and 7.8
mi˛ (20.2
km˛) of it water. The town is
bordered by the town of
Truro to the east, Provincetown
Harbor to the southeast,
Cape Cod Bay to the south and west,
and
Massachusetts Bay to the north. The
town is 45 miles north (by road) from
Barnstable, 62 miles by road to the
Sagamore Bridge, and 115 miles from
Boston.
Nearly two-thirds of the town's land
area is covered by the
Cape Cod National Seashore. To the
north lie the "Province Lands," the area
of dunes and small ponds extending from
Mount Ararat in the east to Race Point
in the west, along the Massachusetts Bay
shore. The Cape Cod Bay shoreline
extends from Race Point to the far west
to the Wood Point in the south, eastward
to Long Point, which points inward
towards the Cape, and providing a
natural barrier for Provincetown Harbor.
All three points are marked by
lighthouses. The town's population
center extends along the harbor, south
of the Seashore's lands.
Provincetown is the eastern terminus of
U.S. Route 6, both in the state and
in the nation. Although the terminus is
directed east officially, geographically
speaking, the road, having curved around
Cape Cod, is facing west-southwest at
the point, and is marked only with a
"STATE HIGHWAY ENDS" sign as the road
enters the Cape Cod National Seashore.
Route 6A passes through the town as
well, following the original path of
Route 6, and ending just south of the
Herring Cove Beach.
Provincetown is served by two seasonal
ferries to Boston and to Plymouth. Both
dock at the Municipal Pier, located just
east of the Town Hall. The town has no
rail service, but is the home of
Provincetown Municipal Airport, located
just east of Race Point. The airport is
mostly for private and occasional
commuter service; the nearest national
and international service, however, is
at
Logan International Airport in
Boston.
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Demographics
A residential street in
Provincetown
[edit]
United States Census Information
According to the
U.S. census of 2000, which collects
data on year-round residents, there were
3,431 people, 1,837 households, and 464
families residing in the town[2].
The
population density was 137.1/km˛
(355.2/mi˛). There were 3,890 housing
units at an average density of 155.5/km˛
(402.7/mi˛). The racial makeup of the
town was 87.55%
White, 7.52%
African American, 0.32%
Native American, 0.50%
Asian, 1.08% from
other races, and 3.03% from two or
more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 2.16% of the
population. The top reported ancestries
were
Portuguese (22.6%),
Irish (13.9%),
English (10.4%), and
Italian (8.7%).
There
were 1,837 households out of which 9.0%
had children under the age of 18 living
with them, 17.7% were
married couples living together,
5.3% had a female householder with no
husband present, and 74.7% were
non-families. 53.2% of all households
were made up of individuals and 14.5%
had someone living alone who was 65
years of age or older. The average
household size was 1.69 and the average
family size was 2.65.
In
the town the population was spread out
with 8.0% under the age of 18, 5.2% from
18 to 24, 36.1% from 25 to 44, 32.9%
from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65
years of age or older. The median age
was 45 years. For every 100 females
there were 115.5 males. For every 100
females age 18 and over, there were
116.2 males.
The
median income for a year-round household
in the town was $32,716, and the median
income for a family was $39,679. Males
had a median income of $30,556 versus
$25,298 for females. The
per capita income for the town was
$26,109. About 8.5% of families and
16.3% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 22.7% of
those under age 18 and 17.0% of those
age 65 or over.
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Demographics in a resort town
Traditional sources such as the United
States Census, municipal voting rolls
and property records may not accurately
portray the demography of resort towns.
While Provincetown's year-round
population is small and has been
declining, the summer population has
been estimated at 60,000.[3]
And
economic statistics based on federal
census figures may be deceptive. For
example, the census counts 3,890 housing
units in Provincetown, but only 1,837
"households." And there is an apparent
disparity between the census figures for
median household income ($32,716) and
median home value ($323,600).
Part-time residents are not counted in
the census. These people may own a
second home in the town or pay rent for
up to six months each year. Many of them
pay property and other taxes, hold jobs
in the community and even own
businesses.
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Government, Services and Education
Provincetown is represented in the
Massachusetts House of Representatives
as a part of the Fourth Barnstable
district, which includes (with the
exception of Brewster) all the towns
east and north of Harwich on the Cape.
The town is represented in the
Massachusetts Senate as a part of
the Cape and Islands District, which
includes all of Cape Cod, Martha's
Vineyard and Nantucket except the towns
of Bourne, Falmouth, Sandwich and a
portion of Barnstable.[4]
Provincetown is patrolled by the Second
(Yarmouth) Barracks of Troop D of the
Massachusetts State Police.[5].
On
the national level, Provincetown is a
part of
Massachusetts's 10th congressional
district, and is currently
represented by
Bill Delahunt. The state's senior
(Class I) member of the
United States Senate, re-elected in
2006, is
Ted Kennedy. The junior (Class II)
Senator, up for re-election in 2008, is
John Kerry.
Provincetown is governed by the
open town meeting form of
government, and is led by a town manager
and a
board of selectmen. The town has its
own police and fire departments, both of
which are stationed on Browne Street.
The town's post office is locatd along
Commercial Street, near the town's
Fourth Wharf. The town's Provincetown
Public Library is also located along
Commercial Street, in the former Center
Methodist Episcopal Church building
since 2005.
Provincetown operates its own schools
for the approximately 200 school-aged
children in town. The Veterans Memorial
Elementary School serves students from
pre-kindergarten through sixth grades,
and the Provincetown High School serves
students from seventh through twelfth
grades (and also accepts students from
Truro). PHS's sports teams are known as
the Fishermen, and the school colors are
black and orange. There are no private
schools in Provincetown; students may
attend Cape Cod Regional Technical High
School in Harwich free of charge.
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Notable current residents
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From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Click for large map of the Islands
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