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Provincetown: From Pilgrim Landing to Gay Resort (American History and Culture)

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There probably have been more books written about Provincetown than any other place on Cape Cod. The almost mystical need for authors to set down their impressions, feelings and notions about this small spit of land defies logic. From Eugene O'Neill to Tennessee Williams, from Norman Mailer to Michael Cunningham J. Mann, the spirit of Provincetown remains a ghost to be chased. Is the tip of Cape Cod a stern mistress, a hard master, a riddle wrapped in an enigma? Is it more of a place in the mind than a geographical position? It is, without question, a community of infinite interest to everyone. Authors, painters, sculptures, theatre-folk, tourists, bohemians, ne'er-do-wells and do-gooders have flocked here, apparently, for close to a thousand years. Thorwald Eriksson, Lief's brother, possibly dropped by around 1004 CE. And last Thursday, it was probably my Uncle, in a strapless indigo Givenchy, who stopped by for a spin on the dance floor.
Life certainly isn't a drag here.
Now comes a new history of the place, Provincetown: From Pilgrim Landing to Gay Resort, by Karen Christel Krahulik (New York University Press, $29.95). It's an infinitely readable history, mostly sociological and mostly interesting. Krakulik, a sometimes Provincetown citizen and historian, has a great many details at her fingertips, and zips along at good speed. And it is undeniably fascinating to realize that apparently all who came to live in Provincetown were eventually supplanted by the laborers and the consumers they were determined to attract. Thus were the Yankees supplanted by the Portuguese sailors and their families, to be supplanted by the artists and the lesbian/gay/transgendered, to be supplanted recently by the entitled super rich. To be sure, it is a story of gentrification that can be seen in a number of place, cities and towns, including New York's Upper West Side and Boston's South End went through similar periods of Yankee money supplanted by ethnic minorities supplanted by gays and lesbians supplanted by the super rich. Closer to Provincetown in feel, Key West, that southernmost spit of our country, almost mirrors the experience.
But, in many ways, Krahulik's book illustrates a microcosm of this displacement phenomenon, and it is fascinating. Implicitly an economic history, what has happened --- and is happening --- in Provincetown in many ways is what has happened --- and is happening --- in our country. It's no longer the do-gooders versus the ne'er-do-wells, but, frankly, the "haves" versus the "have nots." As rich and rewarding as the experience of Provincetown may be, very soon, as Krahulik points out, it may be well beyond the means of most people. Gay, straight, Portuguese, Yankee may all be squeezed out by the economic realities.

I highly recomment this book to all readers interested in the social history of unique places, but ESPECIALLY to people who visit Provincetown themselves. The author writes very well, avoiding academic jargon in favor of plain language that still captures the many social forces that made this small town what it is today.

She has succeeded at a daunting task: Explaining how Ptown evolved over the years into the gay resort town it is today and revealing the winners and losers in the process of trasnformation that brought Ptown from an obscure and isolated "Land's End" to being an international tourist spot. If you know Ptown, this book will change your understanding of what you THOUGHT you knew. And it will take a bit of the shine off of what many people, especially gays and lesbians, think of as a sort of perfect place. Krahulik captures the unintended consequences of Ptown's deliberate decision to change into a tourist location when the fishing industry collapsed, and how the original "historical" tourism evolved into the gay tourism that powers the local economy today. She documents the precise people, places, and rituals that made Ptown's evolution happen in a straightforward way. And most fascinating of all, she shows how Provincetown's role as the original landing site of the Pilgrims gave the town a permanent identity as a place of "freedom" from its earliest days, and how each generation of immigrants, racial as well as sexual, have claimed and re-envisioned what "freedom" means and how it should be lived out.

But perhaps the most valuable service this book provides is showing that modern Ptown is no paradise, that an economy based on tourism and gentrification has serious economic consequences that reward wealth and punish those with little means, and create social tensions that continue to roil this beautiful little town, tensions that are totally hidden from the tourists who flock here and are literally loving the town to death.

Everyone who cares about Ptown, what it is and what it stands for, should read this book.

This book is a fascinating study of the shifting sands of power in Provincetown. During the 20th century first the Yankees, then the Portuguese had power. With the introduction of gay men and lesbians at mid-century, the power equation became more complex. Class, race, gender and sexual preference-- the author parses out the sometimes elusive meanings of many events. This book is for someone who wants an interpretation rather than a simple history of that interesting town at Cape's End.

Thoughtful and detailed, if not sometimes repetitive, history of one of the most popular gay resorts in the country. Knowing about the amazing past of "P'Town" makes visiting there all the more enjoyable.

Provincetown, Massachusetts began as a typical New England fishing village, but evolved to become a gay Mecca: how did this happen? Provincetown: From Pilgrim Landing To Gay Resort follows the influences which led to this transition over the decades, using a blend of personal stories and historical accounts to reveal how the city's charm as an early artist's colony lead to a dramatic economic change to a resort town, then a gay boom town. A lively survey of different cultural and social interactions makes for more than just a history: any with an interest in Massachusetts regional events will find Provincetown compelling.

Karen Christel Krahulik knows Provincetown and leads the reader through the various stages of its development, from before the Pilgrim landing to a Yankee outpost to a Portugeuse fishing village to an artist's colony, and, finally but not inevitably, to a gay resort. The author brings a broader perspective to play in her discussions as she shows that the changes in Provincetown, in many ways, mirrored the changes in America at the same time. But she also shows the ways in which Provincetown was, and is, unique. At times the book can be a little dry and could have used a little more colour in its history (such as Provincetown's 19th spiritualist movement) and less focus on almost everyone who owned a guest house in the last couple of decades. A nice portrait of a great town.