27/06/2025
How did Ptown become the artsy, progressive retreat that it is today? The answer is found in over 100 years of history that centers around progressive ideas, acceptance and art.
Provincetown finds a new life as an art colony
At the turn of the 20th century, Provincetown was in shambles, according to a history provided by the Provincetown Business Guild. A historic storm, which became known as the Portland Gale, tore through New England in 1898, and Provincetown was devastated. Because of the extensive damage to the town's fishing fleet, the economy was at a standstill. Plus, many fishermen died in the storm, leaving behind a lot of widows.
Around that same time, a man named Charles Hawthorne was looking for a place to open an art school. He looked all around New England for the ideal location, and when he came upon Provincetown, decided that was the place for it. Many women in town offered up housing for artists.
The Cape Cod School of Art was founded in 1899, and in the years that followed, a strong connection formed between New York City and Provincetown, with more and more artists hopping onto the train to the Outer Cape. Others began to go to Ptown, too, including writers and actors, as well as thinkers who were open minded to ideas on sexuality and expression. Many of the locals took to the ideas, and a strong allyship formed.
By the 1920s, it was becoming more widely known around the country that Provincetown was a morphing into a haven for LGBTQ+ people. More people began to visit and even move to the town, and over the decades that followed, a number of milestones furthered its reputation and culture within the arts and gay communities.
Provincetown is a famous destination at the very end of Cape Cod, known for its expansive beaches, thriving art scene and long history of welcoming the LGBTQ community.
