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Provincetown is a
New England town The town is the basic unit of local government and local division of state authority in the six New England states. Most other U.S. states lack a direct counterpart to the New England town. New England towns overlay the entire area of a state, ...
located at the extreme tip of
Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
in
Barnstable County, Massachusetts Barnstable County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 census, the population was 228,996. Its shire town is Barnstable. The county consists of Cape Cod and associated islands (some adjacent islands are in D ...
, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the
2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...
, Provincetown has a summer population as high as 60,000. Often called "P-town" or "P'town", the locale is known for its beaches, harbor, artists, tourist industry, and as a popular vacation destination for the LGBT+ community.


History

At the time of European encounter, the area was long settled by the historic Nauset tribe, who had a settlement known as "Meeshawn". They spoke
Massachusett The Massachusett were a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hil ...
, a Southern New England Algonquian language dialect that they shared in common with their closely related neighbors, the
Wampanoag The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. ...
. On 15 May 1602, having made landfall from the west and believing it to be an island, Bartholomew Gosnold initially named this area "Shoal Hope". Later that day, after catching a "great store of codfish", he chose instead to name this outermost tip of land "Cape Cod". Notably, that name referred specifically to the area of modern-day Provincetown; it wasn't until much later that that name was reused to designate the entire region now known as
Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
. On 9 November 1620, the Pilgrims aboard the ''
Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, ...
'' sighted Cape Cod while en route to the
Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (histor ...
. After two days of failed attempts to sail south against the strong winter seas, they returned to the safety of the harbor, known today as
Provincetown Harbor Provincetown Harbor is a large natural harbor located in the town of Provincetown, Massachusetts. The harbor is mostly deep and stretches roughly from northwest to southeast and from northeast to southwest – one large, deep basin with no dr ...
, and set anchor. It was here that the
Mayflower Compact The Mayflower Compact, originally titled Agreement Between the Settlers of New Plymouth, was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the men aboard the ''Mayflower,'' consisting of separatist Puritans, adventurers, a ...
was drawn up and signed. They agreed to settle and build a self-governing community, and came ashore in the West End. Though the Pilgrims chose to settle across the bay in
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...
, Cape Cod enjoyed an early reputation for its valuable fishing grounds, and for its harbor: a naturally deep, protected basin that was considered the best along the coast. In 1654, the Governor of the
Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was, from 1620 to 1691, the first permanent English colony in New England and the second permanent English colony in North America, after the Jamestown Colony. It was first settled by the passengers on the ...
purchased this land from the Chief of the Nausets, for a selling price of two brass kettles, six coats, 12 hoes, 12 axes, 12 knives and a box. That land, which spanned from East Harbor (formerly, Pilgrim Lake)—near the present-day border between Provincetown and Truro—to Long Point, was kept for the benefit of Plymouth Colony, which began leasing fishing rights to roving fishermen. The collected fees were used to defray the costs of schools and other projects throughout the colony. In 1678, the fishing grounds were opened up to allow the inclusion of fishermen from the
Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as th ...
. In 1692, a new
Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...
combined the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies into the
Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of ...
. "Cape Cod" was thus officially renamed the "Province Lands". The first record of a municipal government with jurisdiction over the Province Lands was in 1714, with an Act that declared it the "Precinct of Cape Cod", annexed under control of Truro. On 14 June 1727, after harboring ships for more than a century, the Precinct of Cape Cod was incorporated as a township. The name chosen by its inhabitants was "Herringtown", which was rejected by the
Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...
in favor of "Provincetown". The act of incorporation provided that inhabitants of Provincetown could be landholders, but not landowners. They received a quit claim to their property, but the Province retained the title. The land was to be used as it had been from the beginning of the colony—a place for the making of fish. All resources, including the trees, could be used for that purpose. In 1893 the
Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...
changed the Town's charter, giving the townspeople deeds to the properties they held, while still reserving unoccupied areas. The population of Provincetown remained small through most of the 18th century. The town was affected by the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
the same way most of Cape Cod was: the effective British blockade shut down most fish production and shipping and the town dwindled. It was, by happenstance, the location of the wreck of British warship at the Peaked Hill Bars off the Atlantic Coast of Provincetown in 1778. Following the American Revolution, Provincetown grew rapidly as a fishing and
whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industr ...
center. The population was bolstered by numerous Portuguese sailors, many of whom were from the
Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
, and settled in Provincetown after being hired to work on US ships. By the 1890s, Provincetown was booming and began to develop a resident population of writers and artists, as well as a summer tourist industry. After the 1898
Portland Gale The Portland Gale was a storm that struck the coast of New England on November 26 and 27, 1898. The storm formed when two low pressure areas merged off the coast of Virginia and travelled up the coast; at its peak, it produced a storm surge of abo ...
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 productions. The Provincetown Players was an important experimental theatre company formed during this period. Many of its members lived during other parts of the year in
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
in New York, and intellectual and artistic connections were woven between the places. In 1898
Charles Webster Hawthorne Charles Webster Hawthorne (January 8, 1872 – November 29, 1930) was an American portrait and genre painter and a noted teacher who founded the Cape Cod School of Art in 1899. He was born in Lodi, Illinois, and his parents returned to Maine, ...
opened the Cape Cod School of Art, said to be the first outdoor school for figure painting, in Provincetown. Film of his class from 1916 has been preserved. The town includes eight buildings and two historic districts on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
: Provincetown Historic District and Dune Shacks of Peaked Hill Bars Historic District. In the mid-1960s, Provincetown saw population growth. The town's rural character appealed to the
hippies A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
of the era; property was relatively cheap and rents were correspondingly low, especially during the winter. Many of those who came stayed and raised families. Commercial Street, where most of the town's businesses are located, gained numerous cafés, leather shops, and
head shop A head shop is a retail outlet specializing in paraphernalia used for consumption of cannabis and tobacco and items related to cannabis culture and related countercultures. They emerged from the hippie counterculture in the late 1960s, an ...
s. By the 1970s, Provincetown had a significant gay population, especially during the summer tourist season, when restaurants, bars and small shops serving the tourist trade were open. There had been a gay presence in Provincetown as early as the start of the 20th century as the artists' colony developed, along with experimental theatre. Drag queens could be seen in performance as early as the 1940s in 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. The 2010 US Census revealed Provincetown to have the highest rate of same-sex couples in the country, at 163.1 per 1000 households. Since the 1990s, property prices have risen significantly, causing some residents economic hardship. The housing bust of 2005 - 2012 caused property values in and around town to fall by 10 percent or more in less than a year. This did not slow down the town's economy, however. Provincetown's tourist season has expanded, and the town has created festivals and week-long events throughout the year. The most established are in the summer: the Portuguese Festival, Bear Week, and PBG's Carnival Week. In 2017, a memorial was dedicated to those who lost their lives to AIDS.


Historic transportation

For nearly all of Provincetown's recorded history, life has revolved around the waterfront − especially the waterfront on its southern shore − which offers a naturally deep harbor with easy and safe boat access, plus natural protection from the wind and waves. An additional element of Provincetown's geography tremendously influenced the manner in which the town evolved: the town was physically isolated, being at the hard-to-reach tip of a long, narrow
peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...
. The East Harbor, which provided the most protected mooring place in Provincetown, had a inlet from Provincetown Harbor, and effectively blocked off access to Provincetown by land. Until the late 19th century, no road led to Provincetown – the only land route connecting the village to points back toward the mainland was along a thin stretch of beach along the shore to the north (known locally as the "backshore"). A wooden bridge was erected over the East Harbor in 1854, only to be destroyed by a winter storm and ice two years later. Although the bridge was replaced the following year, any traveler who crossed it still needed to traverse several miles over sand routes, which, together with the backshore route, was occasionally washed out by storms. This made Provincetown very much like an island. Its residents relied almost entirely upon its harbor for its communication, travel, and commerce needs. That changed in 1868, when the mouth of the East Harbor was diked to enable the laying of track for the arrival of the railroad. The railroad was completed, to great fanfare, in 1873; and the wooden bridge and sand road was finally replaced by a formal roadway in 1877. The railroad terminated at Railroad Wharf, known today as MacMillan Pier. It provided an easy means for fishermen to offload their vessels and ship their catch to the cities by rail. The railroad was not the only late arrival to Provincetown. Even roads ''within'' the town were slow to be constructed: The town's internal road layout reflects the historic importance of the waterfront, the key to communication and commerce with the outside world. As the town grew, it organically expanded along the harborfront. The main "thoroughfare" was the hard-packed beach, where all commerce and socializing took place. Early deeds refer to a "Town Rode", which was little more than a footpath that ran behind the houses. In 1835, County Commissioners turned that into "Front Street", now known as Commercial Street. "Back Street" ran parallel to Front Street, but was set back from the harbor − today it is known as Bradford Street.


Geography

Provincetown is located at the very tip of
Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
, encompassing a total area of − 55% of that, or , is land area, and the remaining water area. Surrounded by water in every direction except due east, the town has of coastal shoreline. Provincetown is bordered to the east by its only neighbor, the town of Truro, and by Provincetown Harbor to the southeast,
Cape Cod Bay A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. T ...
to the south and west, Massachusetts Bay to the northwest and north, and the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
to the northeast. The town is north (by road) from Barnstable,
Hyannis, Massachusetts Hyannis is the largest of the seven villages in the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is the commercial and transportation hub of Cape Cod and was designated an urban area at the 1990 census. Because of this, many refer ...
, and by road to the Sagamore Bridge, which spans the
Cape Cod Canal The Cape Cod Canal is an artificial waterway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts connecting Cape Cod Bay in the north to Buzzards Bay in the south, and is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The approximately canal traverses the neck ...
and connects Cape Cod to the mainland. Provincetown is east by southeast from Boston by air or sea, and by road. About 4,500 acres, or about 73% of the town's land area, is owned by the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...
, which operates the
Cape Cod National Seashore The Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS), created on August 7, 1961, by President John F. Kennedy, encompasses on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts. It includes ponds, woods and beachfront of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecoregion. The CCNS includ ...
, leaving about of land under the town's jurisdiction. To the north lie the "Province Lands", the area of dunes and small ponds extending from Mount Ararat in the east to
Race Point Race Point is the point on the north side of Smylie Channel forming the south extremity of Weddell Island in the Falkland Islands.
in the west, along the Massachusetts Bay shore. The Cape Cod Bay shoreline extends from Race Point to the far west, to Wood End in the south, eastward to Long Point, which in turn points inward towards the town, and provides 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. Mount Ararat was named after Noah's landing place, while Mount Gilboa, and another dune, was named for the mountain described in the book of Samuel.


Climate

The town of Provincetown has a warm-summer
Humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...
(''Dfb''). The plant hardiness zone is 7a with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of . The average seasonal (Nov–Apr) snowfall total is around . The average snowiest month is February which corresponds to the annual peak in
nor'easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below), or an East Coast low is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. The original use o ...
activity.


Demographics


United States census information

According to the U.S. census of 2010, there were 2,942 people living in the town (down 14.3% since 2000). The population density was . There were 4,494 housing units (up 15.5%) at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 91.5%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, 4.0%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.6% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 1.6% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race were 4.8% of the population. The top reported ancestries were Irish (26.7%, up 9.3% from 2000),
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
(17.4%, up 2.6%), Portuguese (14.6%, down 8.2%), Italian (13.5%, up 3.4%), and German (12.5%, up 3.6%). There were 1,765 households (down 3.9%), out of which 416 (23.6%) had families, 115 (6.5%) had children under the age of 18 living within them, and 76.4% were non-families. The average household size was 1.64 persons/household, and the average family size was 2.55. The distribution of the population, broken down by age and gender, is shown in the population pyramid. In 2010, 6.8% of the population was under the age of 18, and the median age was 52.3. There were 1,602 males and 1,340 females. For 2011, the estimated median income for a year-round household in the town was $46,547, with a mean household income of $74,840. For families, the median income was $87,228, and the mean is $84,050. For nonfamily households, the median income was $42,375, and the mean, $71,008. Median earnings for male full-time, year-round workers was $49,688, versus $36,471 for females. The per capita income for the town was $41,488. About 2.1% of families and 15.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.0% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over. Provincetown's ZIP code has the highest concentration of same-sex couple households of any ZIP code in the United States.


Demographics in a resort town

Data from traditional demographic sources like the U.S. Census, municipal voting rolls and property records may not accurately portray the demography of
resort town A resort town, often called a resort city or resort destination, is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding ...
s. They often reveal unusual results, as in this case, where the number of housing units far exceeds the Town's total population, where that number of housing units rose 15% while the population dropped 14%, and where nearly 61% of the housing stock is vacant, with 53% designated "for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use", according to the census. In the decade spanning the years 2000 through 2010, Provincetown's small year-round population declined 14.3% from 3,431 to 2,942, yet during the summer months, population estimates vary wildly, ranging from 19,000 to 60,000. Census figures are unable to capture these dynamic population fluctuations that are associated with seasonal tourism. Part-time residents, which includes non-resident property owners and seasonal residents, are not counted in the census.


Arts and culture

In 1940, Catharine Sargent Huntington, Edwin Pettit, and Virginia Thoms founded the Provincetown Playhouse on the Wharf. The playhouse replaced an older structure that existed between 1915 and 1924. Huntington served as owner and manager of the playhouse until 1973. During her time as manager, a Eugene O'Neill drama was produced each summer season, and the theater hosted an O'Neill Festival in 1966, during which ten of his plays were produced. From 1955 to 1959, the Sun Gallery was run by Yvonne Andersen and Dominic Falcone. It was an art exhibition that took place during the summer where young and up and coming artists could show their work. The Fine Arts Work Center is a nonprofit educational enterprise, located in Provincetown since 1968. Its stated mission is to encourage the growth and development of emerging visual artists and writers through residency programs, to propagate aesthetic values and experience, and to restore the year-round vitality of the historic art colony of Provincetown. Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) is a nationally recognized, year-round cultural institution that celebrated its Centennial in 2014. PAAM mounts 35 art exhibitions each year, offers workshops in the fine arts for children, youth, and adults, and hosts an array of programs and events to enrich visitor experience. The PAAM Permanent Collection consists of 3,000 objects, which are displayed throughout the year in the PAAM galleries. Between 2004 and 2007, PAAM received four Rural Development grants and loans totaling $3 million to increase the museum's space, add climate-controlled facilities, renovate a historic sea captain's house (the Hargood House) and cover cost overruns. As the mission of the Rural Development program is "To increase economic opportunity and improve the
quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...
for all rural Americans", the USDA considered Provincetown's residents in the 2000s to still be rural and to still require such
federal assistance In the United States, federal assistance, also known as federal aid, federal benefits, or federal funds, is defined as any federal program, project, service, or activity provided by the federal government that directly assists domestic governm ...
. In 2003, Provincetown received a $1.95 million low interest
loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...
from the Rural Development program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help rebuild the town's MacMillan Pier. It primarily serves the town's active fishing fleet, and also tourists and high-speed ferries. The Atlantic House in Provincetown is considered the oldest gay bar in the US and Frommer's calls it "the nation's premier gay bar". The Art House provides a venue for numerous entertainers and shows during the summer season, in particular Varla Jean Merman, Miss Richfield 1981, Ms. CoCo Peru, and other town favorites. In off season, the Art House remains open providing nightly entertainment that includes a Wii Bowling League, Trivia Night, and similar events. Provincetown is the setting for the annual Women's Week festival. Held in mid-October since 1984 and attended by almost 2,000 women, it is the "longest running lesbian cultural event in the Northeast". Since 1975, Provincetown has been the host city to Fantasia Fair, the world's first and longest-running annual conference that focuses on gender diversity and transgender issues. The Provincetown International Film Festival, honors the best in independent and avant-garde film. Among the honorees for 2014 were actress
Patricia Clarkson Patricia Davies Clarkson (born December 29, 1959) is an American actress. She has starred in numerous leading and supporting roles in a variety of films ranging from independent film features to major film studio productions. Her accolades in ...
and director
David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation ...
. Previous honorees include
Matt Dillon Matthew Raymond Dillon (born February 18, 1964) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including an Oscar and Grammy nomination. Dillon made his feature film debut in '' Over the Edge'' (1979) and established himself as a te ...
, Harmony Korine, Parker Posey, Roger Corman,
Vera Farmiga Vera Ann Farmiga ( ; born August 6, 1973) is an American actress who is best known for portraying paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren in the Conjuring Universe films ''The Conjuring'' (2013), ''The Conjuring 2'' (2016), ''Annabelle Comes ...
, Darren Aronofsky,
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...
, Jane Lynch, Gael García Bernal,
Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition t ...
,
Kathleen Turner Mary Kathleen Turner (born June 19, 1954) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, and two Tony Awards. Turner became widely ...
,
Jim Jarmusch James Robert Jarmusch (; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director and screenwriter. He has been a major proponent of independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films including ''Stranger Than Paradise'' (1984), '' Down by Law'' (19 ...
, Todd Haynes,
Gus Van Sant Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American film director, producer, photographer, and musician. He has earned acclaim as both an independent and mainstream filmmaker. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultu ...
, and John Waters. Waters, a summer resident, is a major participant in the festival. In November 2011, the Provincetown Theater Company became the first theater company in New England to stage a live-action dramatic theatrical presentation of horror-fantasy author H.P. Lovecraft. The story was Lovecraft's 1919 classic, "The Picture in the House," and was described as "...the macabre come to life." The adaptation was produced for the 22nd Fall Playwright's Festival.


Parks and recreation

Veterans Memorial Community Center serves as the area community center. By 2012 Veterans Memorial Elementary School closed and was being refurbished to be a community center. In 2014 the town government considered building a second floor on the facility to add affordable housing.


Government

Provincetown is governed, like most
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
towns, by the open town meeting form of government. The citizens, gathered in the town meeting, act as the
legislative branch A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...
and approve the budget and amend the town's bylaws, while the popularly elected Board of Selectmen act as the
executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems ...
and hire and oversee the Town Manager, meet regularly to determine policy, and appoint members of other boards and commissions. Provincetown is represented in the
Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...
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 seat is held by Democrat Sarah Peake, a former Provincetown selectman. 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 A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...
and a portion of Barnstable. The Senate seat is held by Democrat
Julian Cyr Julian Andre Cyr is an American politician, who was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate in 2016.Yarmouth) Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police. On the national level, Provincetown is a part of
Massachusetts's 9th congressional district Massachusetts's 9th congressional district is located in eastern Massachusetts. It is represented by Democrat William R. Keating. The 9th district is the least Democratic congressional district in Massachusetts, according to the PVI. Redistric ...
, and is currently represented by Bill Keating. Following the death of
Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...
, the state's senior (Class I) member of the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...
was
John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...
(last re-elected in 2008) until he became Secretary of State; that seat has been occupied by
Ed Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American lawyer, politician, and former Army reservist who has served as the junior United States senator from Massachusetts since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. represent ...
since July 16, 2013. The other (Class II) senate seat is held by
Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as ...
, a Democrat, elected in the November 2012 elections and sworn in as senator in January 2013. 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 Shank Painter Road. The town's post office is located on Commercial Street, near the town's Fourth Wharf. The Provincetown Public Library is a member of the Cape Libraries Automated Materials Sharing library network and is also located on Commercial Street, in the former Center Methodist Episcopal Church building since 2005. In the
2020 US Presidential Election The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala H ...
Democrat Joe Biden received 91.9 percent of the vote to Republican
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
's 7 percent.


Education

Provincetown Schools operates the public schools for elementary and middle school levels, with the main facility being the grade 1–8 International Baccalaureate World School, verified in 2013 in the Primary Years Program and in 2014 in the Middle Years program. Provincetown Schools educates approximately 120 children in grades Pre-K–8. The Veterans Memorial Community Center houses Provincetown Schools Early Learning Center (Wee Care and Preschool ages 3–5 and kindergarten). In 2010, the Provincetown school board elected to phase out the high school program of Provincetown High School, at the end of the 2012−2013 school year, and send students to nearby Nauset Regional High School (of Nauset Public Schools) in North Eastham, beginning with the 2013−2014 academic year. Provincetown students in grades 9 and 10 were already attending Nauset by 2012. There are no private schools in Provincetown; high school students from the town will now attend Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich or Nauset Regional High School in
North Eastham North Eastham is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Eastham in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,806 at the 2010 census. The main visitor center of the Cape Cod National Seashore is located in North ...
. Prior to its closing, Provincetown High School (PHS) served students from seventh through twelfth grades (and for a time also accepted students from Truro). In 2012, Provincetown High School was recognized as one of the smallest high schools in the country with a student population of 32 students in grades 10–12. In 2018 there were about 45–50 students at the high school level from Provincetown. There are private scholarships for students from Provincetown and Truro: the John Anderson Francis Family Scholarship Fund and the Captain Joseph F. Oliver Scholarship Fund. Circa 2019 each year the number of applicants ranged from 6–10, a figure the organizers consider to be low.


Infrastructure


Transportation

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 by its junction with Route 6A. The state-controlled portion ends with a "" sign as the road enters the Cape Cod National Seashore, after which the road is under federal maintenance. Route 6A passes through the town as well, mostly following Bradford Street (whereas US 6 originally followed Commercial Street before the bypass was built and Commercial Street was switched to one-way westbound), and ending just south of the Herring Cove Beach. Provincetown is served by two seasonal ferries to Boston and one to Plymouth. They all dock at MacMillan Pier, located just east of the Town Hall in the center of town. When operating at full capacity, the pier accommodates in any given day: 11 ferry trips carrying over 5,000 passengers; five whale watch vessels each running up to three trips a day with a total capacity of 3,600 passengers; the town's commercial fishing fleet of 55 vessels; and many other excursion and visiting vessels. It also plays host several times per year as a destination port-of-call to passengers of organized cruise ship tours, whether themed towards the gay traveller, or towards eco-tourism, arts and other aspects of Provincetown and the outer cape. The town has no rail service; the Provincetown Train Station opened to service by the Old Colony Railroad in 1873. The successor operator of the Old Colony lines, New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, served the station until 1938. (Service was briefly restored in 1940.) The line was formally abandoned in 1960. A large portion of the "road" later converted into three roads (Harry Kemp Way, Railroad Avenue and Rear Howland) plus the "Old Colony Nature Pathway", a pedestrian path and greenway. The Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority offers flex route buses between MacMillan Pier and Harwich and a shuttle to Truro. Plymouth & Brockton Street Railway and Peter Pan Bus Lines provide daily bus service to Hyannis Transportation Center with connecting service to Boston, New York, and Providence and the Cape Flyer. Provincetown is at one end of the scenic "Bike Route 1" from Boston called the Claire Saltonstall Bikeway. The town earned a Silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community Award from the League of American Bicyclists in 2018. Provincetown has the highest rate of year-round bicycle commuters in the state, at 14%, according to the PeopleForBikes City Ratings. The
Provincetown Municipal Airport Provincetown Municipal Airport is a public airport located at the end of Cape Cod, two miles (3 km) northwest of the central business district of Provincetown, in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. This airport is operated by t ...
is located just east of Race Point. This airport is surrounded by the Cape Cod National Seashore, and is used mostly for General Aviation, but does receive regular scheduled service to Boston or
White Plains, New York (Always Faithful) , image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png , seal_link = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...
(with optional car service to
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
) via
Cape Air Hyannis Air Service Inc., operating as Cape Air, is an airline headquartered at Barnstable Municipal Airport in Hyannis, Massachusetts, United States. It operates scheduled passenger services in the Northeast, the Caribbean, Midwest, and Eas ...
, which also operates code-share flights for JetBlue. The airport is a well-equipped, if small, general-aviation airport with a single runway, an ILS approach, and full lighting. The nearest national and international service is from
Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partial ...
in Boston.


Notable people

*
Murray Bartlett Murray Bartlett (born 20 March 1971) is an Australian actor. His roles include Dominic "Dom" Basaluzzo in the HBO comedy-drama series '' Looking'', Michael "Mouse" Tolliver in the Netflix revival of ''Tales of the City'', and Armond in the HBO s ...
(born 1971), actor *
Anthony Bourdain Anthony Michael Bourdain (; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author, and travel documentarian who starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition. Bourda ...
(1956–2018), chef, author, television host * Alice Brock (born 1941), subject of Arlo Guthrie's 1966 song "Alice's Restaurant" * Walter P. Chrysler Jr. (1909–1988), art collector, museum founder * Barry Clifford (born 1945), underwater explorer, discovered '' Whydah Galley'' pirate ship *
Kate Clinton Kate Clinton (born November 9, 1947) is an American comedian specializing in political commentary from a gay/lesbian point of view. Early life and education Clinton was born in Buffalo, New York. She was raised in a large Catholic family in the ...
(born 1947), comedian, writer * Robert Duffy (born 1954), co-founder of
Marc Jacobs Marc Jacobs (born April 9, 1963) is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for his own fashion label, Marc Jacobs, and formerly Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, which was produced for approximately 15 years, before it was ...
fashion line *
Alan Emtage Alan Emtage (born November 27, 1964) is a Bajan- Canadian computer scientist who conceived and implemented the first version of Archie, a pre- Web Internet search engine for locating material in public FTP archives. It is widely considered the ...
(born 1964), internet pioneer, photographer *
Judy Gold Judy Gold (born November 15, 1962) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, podcaster, television writer, author and producer. She won two Daytime Emmy Awards for her work as a writer and producer on ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show''. Life and care ...
(born 1962), stand-up comedian *
Al Jaffee Allan Jaffee (born Abraham Jaffee; March 13, 1921) is an American cartoonist. He is notable for his work in the satirical magazine '' Mad'', including his trademark feature, the ''Mad'' Fold-in. Jaffee was a regular contributor to the magazine ...
(born 1921), cartoonist for
MAD Magazine Mad, mad, or MAD may refer to: Geography * Mad (village), a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia * Mád, a village in Hungary * Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, by IATA airport code * Mad River (disambiguation), several ...
, famous for the ''Mad'' Fold-In * Donald B. MacMillan (1874–1970), arctic explorer * Jason Moore (born 1970), director *
Howard Mitcham James Howard Mitcham (1917 in Winona, Mississippi – August 22, 1996 in Hyannis, Massachusetts) was an American artist, poet, and cook best known for his books on Louisiana's Creole and Cajun cuisines and that of New England, with an emphasis ...
(1917–1996), artist, poet, cook *
William Emery Nickerson William Emery Nickerson (November 5, 1853 – June 5, 1930) was an American engineer and inventor. He worked with King C. Gillette at the onset of the The Gillette Company and was later elected to Gillette's board of directors. Nickerson has bee ...
(1853–1930), inventor with The Gillette Company; namesake of Nickerson Field * Sarah Peake (born 1957), state representative for the
Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled a wide cadre of politicians in every state behind war hero A ...
, 4th Barnstable District * Susan J. Swift Steele (1822–1895), social reformer * Prescott Townsend (1894–1973), early LGBT activist * John Waters (born 1946), filmmaker of '' Hairspray'', ''
Serial Mom Serial may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media The presentation of works in sequential segments * Serial (literature), serialised literature in print * Serial (publishing), periodical publications and newspapers * Serial (radio and televis ...
'', '' Pink Flamingos'' * Frances L. Whedon (1902–1998), meteorologist, US Army * Channing Wilroy (born 1940), actor, Dreamlander * Ruth Marie Terry (1936–), murder victim discovered in 1974, known as Lady of the Dunes until her identification in 2022


Writers and journalists

*
Louise Bryant Louise Bryant (December 5, 1885 – January 6, 1936) was an American feminist, political activist, and journalist best known for her sympathetic coverage of Russia and the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution of November 1917. Born Anna ...
(1885–1936), journalist, author *
Michael Cunningham Michael Cunningham (born November 6, 1952) is an American novelist and screenwriter. He is best known for his 1998 novel '' The Hours'', which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award in 1999. Cunningham is a senior lectur ...
(born 1952),
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
-winning author of '' The Hours'' *
Mark Doty Mark Doty (born August 10, 1953) is an American poet and memoirist best known for his work ''My Alexandria.'' He was the winner of the National Book Award for Poetry in 2008. Early life Mark Doty was born in Maryville, Tennessee to Lawrence a ...
(born 1953), poet, author *
David Drake David A. Drake (born September 24, 1945) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now a writer in the military science fiction genre. Biography Drake graduated Ph ...
(born 1963),
Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the ...
-winning playwright, stage director *
Susan Glaspell Susan Keating Glaspell (July 1, 1876 – July 28, 1948) was an American playwright, novelist, journalist and actress. With her husband George Cram Cook, she founded the Provincetown Players, the first modern American theatre company. First know ...
(1876–1948),
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
-winning playwright, author * Frank X. Gaspar (unknown), poet, author *
Harry Kemp Harry Hibbard Kemp (December 15, 1883 – August 5, 1960) was an American poet and prose writer of the twentieth century. He was known as (and promoted himself as) the "Vagabond Poet", the " Villon of America", the "Hobo Poet", or the "Tramp P ...
(1883–1960), "poet of the dunes", author of ''Tramping on Life'' and ''More Miles'' * Stanley Kunitz (1905–2006), former
United States Poet Laureate The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate—serves as the official poet of the United States. During their term, the poet laureate seeks to raise the national cons ...
in 1974, and then again in 2000 *
Ryan Landry The Gold Dust Orphans are a fringe theater company based in Boston and Provincetown, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1995 by writer/performer Ryan Landry, Scott Martino, Afrodite (aka Andre Shoals), and Billy Hough. It is a group of actors, music ...
(unknown), playwright, painter *
Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, activist, filmmaker and actor. In a career spanning over six decades, Maile ...
(1923–2007),
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
-winning author, co-founder of ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
'' *
William J. Mann William J. Mann (born August 7, 1963) is an American novelist, biographer, and Hollywood historian best known for his studies of Hollywood and the American film industry, especially his 2006 biography of Katharine Hepburn, ''Kate: The Woman Who W ...
(born 1963), author, historian * Cookie Mueller (1949–1989), writer, performer, Dreamlander * Ryan Murphy (born 1965), television screenwriter, director, producer *
Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earli ...
(1888–1953),
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
and
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
-winning author * Mary Oliver (1935–2019),
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
-winning poet * Mark Protosevich (born 1961), screenwriter of ''
The Cell Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life Cell may also refer to: Locations * Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery w ...
'', '' I Am Legend'', ''
Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as ...
'' * John Reed (1887–1920), journalist, poet,
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
activist *
Andrew Sullivan Andrew Michael Sullivan (born 10 August 1963) is a British-American author, editor, and blogger. Sullivan is a political commentator, a former editor of ''The New Republic'', and the author or editor of six books. He started a political blog, ' ...
(born 1963), author, writer, blogger *
Andy Towle Andy Towle is an American writer, publisher, and media commentator based in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Background Towle holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees from Vassar College in Art History and English. He was awarded the 1989 W.K. Rose ...
(unknown), poet, writer, founder of Towleroad.com * Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007),
Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...
-winning author * Mary Heaton Vorse (1874–1976), journalist,
labor activist A union organizer (or union organiser in Commonwealth spelling) is a specific type of trade union member (often elected) or an appointed union official. A majority of unions appoint rather than elect their organizers. In some unions, the orga ...
, social critic, novelist *
Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...
(1911–1983),
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
-winning playwright


Visual artists

*
Nela Arias-Misson Nela Arias-Misson (September 8, 1915 – July 17, 2015) was a Cuban-born abstract expressionist painter and sculptor. Nela Arias-Misson was a contemporary and friend of the 20th-century painters Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Robert ...
(1915–2015),
abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of th ...
painter, sculptor * Max Bohm (1868–1923), artist *
Edwin Dickinson Edwin Walter Dickinson (October 11, 1891 – December 2, 1978) was an American painter and draftsman best known for psychologically charged self-portraits, quickly painted landscapes, which he called ''premier coups'', and large, hauntingly enigma ...
(1891–1978), painter, draftsman *
Helen Frankenthaler Helen Frankenthaler (December 12, 1928 – December 27, 2011) was an American abstract expressionist painter. She was a major contributor to the history of postwar American painting. Having exhibited her work for over six decades (early 1950s u ...
(1928–2011),
abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of th ...
painter *
Ada Gilmore Ada Gilmore (married name Ada Gilmore Chaffee; 1883–1955) was an American watercolorist and printmaker, one of the Provincetown Printers. Early life and education Gilmore was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan. As a pre-teen, she and her three siblin ...
(1883–1955), watercolorist,
printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...
, one of the
Provincetown Printers Provincetown Printers was an art colony in Provincetown, Massachusetts during the early 20th-century of artists who created art using woodblock printing techniques. It was the first group of its kind in the United States, developed in an area when ...
* Nanno de Groot (1913–1963), belonged to the New York School
abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of th ...
artists of the 1950s * Marsden Hartley (1877–1943), American Modernist painter, poet, essayist *
Charles Webster Hawthorne Charles Webster Hawthorne (January 8, 1872 – November 29, 1930) was an American portrait and genre painter and a noted teacher who founded the Cape Cod School of Art in 1899. He was born in Lodi, Illinois, and his parents returned to Maine, ...
(1872–1930), painter, founder of the Cape Cod School of Art *
Henry Hensche Henry Hensche (February 25, 1899 – December 10, 1992) was an American painter and teacher. Early years Born Heinrich Hensche, in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Henry came to the United States by way of Antwerp, Belgium. He is listed on the ship ...
(1899–1992), painter, teacher *
Hans Hofmann Hans Hofmann (March 21, 1880 – February 17, 1966) was a German-born American painter, renowned as both an artist and teacher. His career spanned two generations and two continents, and is considered to have both preceded and influenced Abstrac ...
(1880–1966), painter, artist, teacher * Edward Hopper (1882–1967), American realist painter,
printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...
*
Candy Jernigan Candy P. Jernigan (1952 – June 5, 1991) was an American multimedia artist, graphic designer, and set designer, instrumental in the avant-garde art scenes of Provincetown and New York City in the late 1970s and 1980s. She is best known for her v ...
(1952–1991), artist, graphic designer, set designer * Franz Kline (1910–1962),
abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of th ...
painter *
Karl Knaths Karl Knaths (October 21, 1891 – March 9, 1971) was an American artist whose personal approach to the Cubist aesthetic led him to create paintings which, while abstract, contained readily identifiable subjects. In addition to the Cubist painte ...
(1891–1971), artist * Willem de Kooning (1904–1997),
abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of th ...
artist * Blanche Lazzell (1878–1956), painter,
printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...
, designer * Herman Maril (1908–1986), artist, emeritus professor of painting at
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of ...
* Joel Meyerowitz (born 1938), photographer * Ross Moffett (1888–1971), artist * George Morrison (1919–2000),
Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
painter, sculptor *
Robert Motherwell Robert Motherwell (January 24, 1915 – July 16, 1991) was an American abstract expressionist painter, printmaker, and editor of ''The Dada Painters and Poets: an Anthology''. He was one of the youngest of the New York School, which also inc ...
(1915–1991),
abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of th ...
painter,
printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...
, editor * Lillian Orlowsky (1914–2004), American Modernist artist * Anne Packard (born 1933), artist * Fritz Pfeiffer (1889-1960), artist *
Mark Rothko Mark Rothko (), born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (russian: Ма́ркус Я́ковлевич Ротко́вич, link=no, lv, Markuss Rotkovičs, link=no; name not Anglicized until 1940; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Lat ...
(1903–1970), artist closely associated with the
abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of th ...
movement * Selina Trieff (1934–2015), artist, painter *
Jack Tworkov Jack Tworkov (15 August 1900 – 4 September 1982) was an American abstract expressionist painter. Biography Yakov Tworkovsky, more commonly known as Jack Tworkov, was born in Biała Podlaska on the border between Poland and the Russian Empi ...
(1900–1982),
abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of th ...
painter * Ferol Sibley Warthen (1890–1986), painter,
printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...
* Agnes Weinrich (1873–1946), artist interesting early on in modernist, abstract, and cubist styles * Edith Lake Wilkinson (1868–1957), artist * Martha Dewing Woodward (1856–1950), created Provincetown's first summer art school in 1896


Provincetown in popular culture

Provincetown features in the following productions: * Hightown (2020–) * American Horror Story: Double Feature (2021) * Bros (2022)


References


Further reading

*


External links


Town of Provincetown official website

Provincetown official tourism website

Provincetown Chamber of Commerce
{{Authority control Towns in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Gay villages in Massachusetts Landmarks in Massachusetts Populated coastal places in Massachusetts Towns in Massachusetts