This Vintage Postcard Shows the Pilgrim Monument in an Unusual Light

Provincetown's Pilgrim Monument, shown in the moonlight
in this vintage post card, is now open daily for the 2013 season

The Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum (PMPM,) once again welcomes visitors as their 2013 season gets under way with an exciting new exhibit in the East Gallery. A private collection of Eastern Rig Dragger boat models, built in 1/24 scale by late Truro resident Alfred J. Silva, Sr., is now on display. Born in Provincetown, Mr. Silva knew the local fishing fleet intimately, building tremendous detail into his models of boats that sailed in the Provincetown fleet from around 1950 to 1972.
Also featured are works of art by Provincetown artists Sal Del Deo, born 1928; Nancy Whorf, 1930 - 2009; and Arthur Cohen, 1928 - 2012. You'll find more on Arthur Cohen in the column of artists running down the right-hand edge of this page.
For a spectacular view for miles in all directions, you can climb to the top of the Pilgrim Monument, the tallest all-granite structure in the country, at 252 1/2 feet tall. It is perched on a hill that stands 90 feet above the harbor as well, so the view is superb. This is one of the great Photo Ops of Provincetown, so remember to take your camera with you, and a sweater for the breeze. Even if you don'y want to climb the monument, which takes the average person about ten minutes, from the lovely grounds at the base of the monument you'll have a splendid view of the harbor.
The museum at the base of the monument is well worth a visit as well. Learn about the Pilgrims first landing, the early theater days of Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams and others, important artists, the whaling and shipwreck days and much, much more. The gift shop there has some nice souvenirs of your visit and a wonderful variety of books about Provincetown history and lore.
At this time of the year PMPM is open from 9 AM to 5 PM, with their last admission for the day at 4:30 PM. The hours will be extended to 7 PM from Memorial Day to Labor Day, with last admissions at 6:30 PM. You'll find it in the center of town, at the top of High Pole Hill. You can walk up the hill, or there is paid parking available on the grounds, as well as wheel chair access. Enjoy your visit.

The Journey of the Mayflower Pilgrims is Commemorated in this 1920 50-Cent Piece

Plymouth Colony Governor William Bradford
appears on the 1920 Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar.

 In May of 1920 the U. S. Congress authorized the minting of a coin that would commemorate the 300^th anniversary of the arrival of the Mayflower Pilgrims on what would eventually be known as American soil. Boston sculptor Cyrus E. Dallin, known for his Appeal to the Great Spirit, a statue of a Native American on horseback which can be seen at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, was engaged to design the coin. In fact, the design of this fifty-cent piece may have been rushed a bit since the anniversary year was already half over when the notion (and then the motion) to create this new coin was approved. That may explain a few errors in the design, such as the shape of the Mayflower, on the back of the coin, along with the type of sails and their placement on the masts, making this ship look a bit more like the Santa Maria, the ship that carried Columbus to the Bahamas (not to American shores) in 1492.

This coin celebrates the 300th anniversary of the Mayflower
Pilgrims' journey to religious freedom in the New World.

The front side of the coin portrays William Bradford, the leader of the Pilgrims, who would become the governor of the Plymouth Colony and serve in that position, on-and-off, for close to 30 years. In designing the coin, Dallin invented the image of Bradford, as no known drawing of his actual likeness exists. He gave Bradford the sort of features and clothing often seen in paintings by Dutch Masters of the 1600s. Actually, most of the Pilgrims typically dressed a bit less formally rather than in the staid styles and dark colors in which they have most often been depicted over the years.

Historians will argue as to whether the book Bradford holds is a Bible or his own book, Of Plymouth Plantation, in which he details a good bit of the history of Plymouth and its people, as well as conditions and events that led 102 souls to leave their homes in England and Holland for an uncertain life in the New World. This book is where we find a great deal of our knowledge today of the journey, the lives and the struggles of the Pilgrims.

In 1920 there were 152,112 of these commemorative coins minted. Today they typically sell for about $60 to $90, depending on their condition. Half-dollar coins have been churned out nearly every year since the first U.S. Mint was built in 1792, in Philadelphia, which was the nation's capitol at the time. Should we begin lobbying Congress for a 2020 quatercentenary coin acknowledging Provincetown as the Pilgrims' first landing place? 

Provincetown's Magnificent Sunset Behind the Pilgrim Monument

If you are in the right place at the right time, and if you carry a camera with you, you can capture moments like this all around Provincwtown. I happened to be walking past the corner of Ryder and Commercial Streets on this particular evening, just as a spectacular sunset was peaking in the clouds in the western sky, and just as the lights on the Pilgrim Monument were coming on. By maneuvering a little bit, and walking about ten or twelve steps in six different directions, I got this shot between the power lines and other obstacles that can sometimes muddle up an otherwise great photograph.
The Pilgrim Monument is the tallest all-granite structure in the United States, at 252 feet, 7 and 1/2 inches tall. It commemorates the Mayflower Pilgrims' first landing, which was here in Provincetown on November 11th, 1620, and not in Plymouth as most Americans were taught in school. Construction was begun in 1907 when President Theodore Roosevelt came to Provincetown for a ceremony on August 20th where he made a speech and then laid the cornerstone for the Pilgrim Monument. Upon completion of the construction three years later, President and Mrs. William H. Taft, and the entire Atlantic Fleet of the U.S. Navy, sailed into Provincetown Harbor for the dedication ceremony of the Monument on August 5th, 1910.
During World War I the Monument was used by the federal government as a lookout tower, and during World War II it is thought to have been the site of testing some secret communication equipment. The "I Am Provincetown" website has a great deal of fascinating information and stories about the building of the Pilgrim Monument, so click on this link and learn more about it.
And carry a camera with you whenever you go out!