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“Since the 19th century, American
artists, from the amateur to the avant-garde, have been drawn to Provincetown as a site of inspiration,” says Christine McCarthy, executive director of the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. “The reasons for that are many and complex, however the lure of the sea and the desire to experience its natural beauty are certainly at the forefront. “This spit of land serves as a haven
for all that is creative and unique, spiking at 100,000 visitors in the summer months, which drops to 3,000 year-round residents during the off season. For those who are lucky enough to call Provincetown home, the off season is magical.” Magical indeed. My first visit was
20 years ago, with a new American girlfriend who wanted to show me her childhood holiday spots. I was bowled
DE CEMB E R 2 0 18
over by the beauty of the historic Cape buildings, the dazzling beaches and the chumminess of the locals. We returned the following year. I was introduced to her family. Eventually, we married. We’ve been going there nearly every year since – most recently with my extended US family – each season exploring something new: the seafood, the craft brewery bars, the cycle tracks, the secluded walks, the islands. We’ve researched buying a home and moving there, and we may do yet. The winters might be tough, but the summers are long and idyllic, making the Cape hard to resist.
MODERNISM & BEACH HOMES Provincetown might be a tourist honeypot during the summer, but its hinterland is still remarkably unspoilt. The Outer Cape, as this furthest reach is called, began
For the most impressive historical buildings of all, take the day ferry to the neighbouring island of Nantucket
attracting summer visitors for its isolation and wild beauty during the 1930s. Momentum grew as Boston bohemians bought land cheaply during the Depression years, and
fixed up shacks as summer homes. Ten things took a
rather different direction in the summer of 1937, when Walter
LEFT: Main Street in Harwich Port, Cape Cod, offers everything from boutique shops to fine dining RIGHT: Nantucket’s Brant Point Light Station overlooks the harbour
Gropius, founder of Bauhaus and then a recently appointed professor at Harvard University near Boston, stayed on the Cape and hosted a reunion of European émigrés who had fled the Third Reich; he started a trend. This community returned for summer holidays. These modernist architects and artists began building holiday homes on the shores around Wellfleet, while building was
bus ine s s tr a v el ler .c om
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