Arrive Magazine - July/August, 2010

First Class

TRAVEL TOOLS, GREAT GADGETS & COOL STUFF TO DO

The National Board of Historic Preservation has just formalized what visitors to Provincetown, Mass., have known since 1620: the Cape Cod seaport town is now a Distinctive Destination, one of 12 selected by the board as o;ering an authentic visitor experience through architecture, culture, diversity and a commitment to historic preservation. Provincetown meets each of these criteria. It is, of course, the site of the signing of the Mayflower Compact, but it also has a rich history of attracting artists from all walks of life as well as being second home to a large and vibrant lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population that coexists harmoniously with the fishing families that have called the town home for decades.

Provincetown claims some 1,500 properties on the National Register of Historic Places, the oldest artists’ colony in the United States and the Pilgrim Monument, a towering spire that marks where the Mayflower first touched American shores and that celebrates its centennial this year with a rededication ceremony in August.

Lest you think that “P-town” is a museum piece, consider the rows of art galleries, specialty shops and restaurants on Commercial Street, which stretches along the town’s beaches, or the renovation of the Provincetown Town Hall and development of a 50-site walking tour, both of which are timed to coincide with the kicko; of the 2010 summer season and the Pilgrim Monument anniversary. The collision of past and present, of history and future, is front and center in every step one takes in Provincetown.