Cape Cod: Articles: History, Provincetown -- post an article

The Romantic Past

For centuries the rendezvous of pirates, freebooters, fishermen, smugglers, adventurers of all nations, have contributed to Provincetown’s romantic past.

This romantic past is evident even in the present day in the crowded houses, narrow foreign-looking streets, the diverse population of old-time Yankees, Portuguese fishermen, actors, artists, tourists, sailors, costumes of every description and its generally carefree and almost “carnival-like” atmosphere.

Provincetown is the artist colony of the Cape. It is also here that Eugene O’Neil, the famous playright and author first produced the plays for which he was later to become famous.

Long piers stretch into the harbor and the fishing fleet may be seen at anchor when it is not out on the seas getting the ocean harvest. No one can truly say he has been to Cape Cod unless he has travelled from one end of the Cape to the other and has included Provincetown in his travels, for “P” Town, as it is known to some, is the most cosmopolitan town on the entire Cape.

The Town was incorporated comparatively late in the Cape’s history as it was first a part of the Province Lands, from whence it derived its name.

There is plenty to do and see in “P” Town, with its annual summer art exhibits, its fine bathing, the nightly presentations of the Provincetown Players, and the constantly changing panorama of its busy streets.

The Boston boat comes in every day during the summer and returns late in the afternoon, which provides for a fine day’s cruise and a profitable few hours of enjoyment in “PTown”.

If you feel like a climb, go to the Provincetown monument, where from the top there is a magnificent view of the town stretched out below and of the entire Cape as it swings around from the mainland.

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