History Archives

Rolling Through Time: The Story of Art’s Dune Tours

July 14, 2025

If you’ve ever stood on the edge of Provincetown’s windswept dunes, you know the landscape feels like another planet—golden hills undulating under vast skies, dotted with lonely shacks and bent pines clinging to life in the sand. It’s raw, surreal,...

The Mayflower Cafe of Provincetown: A Legacy of Family and Community

July 7, 2025

The Mayflower Cafe, located on bustling Commercial Street in Provincetown, has been a cherished gathering place for locals and visitors alike since it opened its doors in 1930. Its story begins with two Greek immigrant brothers, Mike and Sam Janoplis, who...

Wheels of Time: The Legacy of Arnold’s Bike Shop in Provincetown

June 30, 2025

Arnold’s Bike Shop in Provincetown, is more than a place to rent a bike—it’s a beloved local institution with a legacy that spans generations. The shop was founded in 1937 by Arnold F. Dwyer. It began as a small radio and bicycle business inside a...

A (Black) Flash in the Pan: Provincetown’s Boogeyman

June 6, 2023

The 1930s were a difficult time. The Depression which had followed the stock market crash was still a factor. Across the Atlantic, Adolf Hitler was building an evil empire. And in Provincetown, a strange creature was sighted abroad at night: The Provincetown...

Governor Bradford Sold & to Reopen

April 29, 2022

History

The Governor Bradford, an Institution in Provincetown, has changed ownership for the first time in 80 years. First a little history from our friend David Dunlap from Building Provincetown: Governor Bradford- Building Provincetown Familiar as the Governor...

The Lemonade Girl

April 21, 2022

For more years than many of us can remember, summers in Provincetown weren’t complete without the sight of a little girl walking up and down Commercial Street, calling out in a lovely singsong voice, “Lemonade! Fifty cents! Lemonade!” That little girl...

Provincetown History Snippet: Lobster

December 1, 2021

History

The lobster industry in North America started here, and Provincetown was the first lobster center of New England. In 1740, large Provincetown lobsters were selling in Boston for three half-pence a piece! But the industry really got going around 1800 when...

Provincetown History Snippet: Bellamy’s Bride

October 21, 2021

History

Most of us know the story of the pirate Black Sam Bellamy, whose flagship, the Whydah, sank just off Provincetown during a nor’easter in 1715. Bellamy was heading north to Maine to hide out for a while after a successful season in the Caribbean. So...

Provincetown History Snippets: Is It Carnival Time?

August 10, 2021

History

Provincetown’s carnival began in 1978 as a fundraiser for the brand-new Provincetown Business Guild, which was seeking to make the town more of an LGBT vacation destination. We love themes here in Ptown, and so The first theme was A Night in Rio, and since...

Ptown History Snippet: The Sidewalk

August 2, 2021

History

Provincetown History Snippet: Walking Down the Sidewalk Provincetown’s sidewalks were originally four-plank wide boardwalks, stipulated as “wide enough for two” in the late 1800s. When summer visitors arrived, crowds of people walked in the streets...