Enjoy Pilgrim Monument Holiday Lights Before They're Gone

Holiday lights on the Pilgrim Monument take on a
pinkish glow as the last of the sunset fades into twilight.

Folks say that on a good, clear night, you can see the lights of the Pilgrim Monument all the way from Boston, about 54 miles across open water, clear across Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay.
I can't swear to it, because I've never been on the shoreline of Boston for the holiday season. Maybe a reader in Boston could tell me. I do know that many people have said it is so, and it seems plausible…
We've got just a couple of days left to enjoy the sight of the Monument in strings of lights for the holidays, with more than 3,100 white lights glowing bright each night until Tuesday, the 6th of January. That's when these luminous strands will be turned off for the season, and a spotlight will once again light the Monument from below.

Here are a few of my favorite spots for a great view or photo of the Monument:
•Near the southwest corner of Commercial and Ryder Streets, in just the right spot, you can capture the view without the power lines in your way.
•On Commercial Street, between The Red Store, The Canteen, and Seamens Bank, again, step around just a bit till you find the right spot to avoid having all of those power lines in your photo. You'll have the top of the Monument, the clock tower on Town Hall and the bell tower on the U.U. Church in your view.
•On Jerome Smith Road, just east of Winslow Street.
•Next to the little chapel at the top of the big hill in the cemetery.
•About halfway down Cemetery Road, all the power lines and wires disappear.
•On the far, far east end of Commercial Street (Route 6A) near Snail Road. The view from just in front of Bay Colony condos shows the lights of the Monument reflecting on Provincetown Harbor on a calm night.
•On Beach Point, in North Truro. The beachfront at condos and motels along Shore Road (Rout 6A) gives a nice, distant view of the Monument across Provincetown Harbor. Days' Cottages, for example, are closed for the winter, and at this time of year you can get away with parking there for a few minutes and stepping between the cottages for the view of Provincetown's shoreline.
Find yourself a spot and take a few moments to enjoy this Provincetown holiday tradition before it disappears for the season.

Thanksgiving Eve is Provincetown's Annual Pilgrim Monument Lighting

The night before Thanksgiving more than 3,000 lights, strung from the top of the Pilgrim Monument to the ground 250 feet below, will light up this famous Cape Cod landmark for the holiday season, giving the appearance of a sort of gigantic Christmas tree shape that can be spotted all the way across the water from Boston on a good, clear night. Below is a blurb from the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum website inviting us all to join with hundreds of Townies and visitors alike who will enjoy free admission, music and refreshments as we usher in the 2014 holiday season with this annual community event.

Holiday Decorations Light Up PTown

The lighting of the Pilgrim Monument signals the beginning of Provincetown's holiday season.

Every year, on the night before Thanksgiving, people gather at the Pilgrim Monument, or find another vantage point where they can watch the lights go on as the monument is lit up for the holiday season. Strings of thousands of white lights form a kind of cone from the top, widening out toward the monument's base, creating a sight that many people say resembles a giant Christmas tree, which can sometimes be seen from as far away as the shoreline of Boston on a good, clear night. These lights will be lit at dusk every evening from now on into the New Year.
Other lights and trimmings have appeared around town all week as businesses and homeowners have put up decorations which raise Provincetown's holiday spirits, as well as winning a little cash for those deemed the best, in our annual Holly Folly celebration.
A few stragglers will add more decorations around the town as Christmas approaches, missing the chance for that prize money but adding to the fun and the holiday spirit here at the tip of Cape Cod. People will make trips around town to see the lights and enjoy the sights, like the now-traditional lobster pot "Christmas Tree" display that lights up Lopes Square at this time of year.

Lopes Square's "Lobster Pot Christmas Tree" has become
a favorite holiday decoration of both Townies and visitors.

Touring the town in search of all these decorations has become a tradition of the Council on Aging, Provincetown's senior center, which sponsors its fourth annual light tour on Thursday, December 19th. Folks will gather at the COA's new facilities at 2 Mayflower Street (the former elementary school) at 3:30 PM for carols and refreshments, followed by a tour around the town to see the decorations from the COA shuttle bus. Call the COA at 508 487-7080 for information, or to arrange a ride to and from this event. Watch for more info on holiday events for seniors in upcoming posts.
As more lights and displays appear around town over the next week or so, go for a stroll or gather some friends and take a drive to see the sights. Sunset this week is at 4:09 PM, so by 4:30 it's dark enough to see many of these lights, though some may not come on until folks get home from work and turn on home decorations. One way or another, get out and enjoy the sights of Provincetown during this festive season.

Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum Breathe Life Into PTown History

Photo of signing of the Mayflower Compact
was taken from PMPM website

The Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum can be found on High Pole Hill, Behind Town Hall, and beyond Bradford Street. Walk up High Pole Hill Road, right next to Alden Street, or you can walk or drive up Winslow Street, with paid parking available on the grounds.
The diorama at the left, found in the Provincetown Museum, at the base of the monument, depicts the signing of The Mayflower Compact, which was the first document in the history of the world to lay out a democracy of the people and by the people.
This charter gave rights and responsibilities to the 41 men who drafted and signed it, establishing rules that would help them govern their lives together in the New World, as they called it. All of this took place in November of 1620 aboard the Mayflower as she lay anchored in the far west end of what we know today as Provincetown Harbor, following an arduous 67 day voyage across the Atlantic.
This is just one of many fine exhibits found in the museum. A favorite of mine is the cut-away section of a ship showing the captain's living quarters on a typical ship of the whaling era. In those days, a man much over five feet in height was a very tall man, and these captain's quarters show us a very tiny bunk where the captain would have slept.
The museum contains many rooms full of wonderful exhibits, with a room or two entirely devoted to exhibits which will change for each new season of visitors.
The Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum are open daily, with summertime hours from 9 AM to 7 PM. Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and students 15 and older with ID, $4 for children 4 to 14, free for members and children 3 and under.