Provincetown, Mass., is a small coastal town on the tip of Cape Cod. Its year-round population is just less than 3,000, but grows to 60,000 every summer thanks to its popularity as an LGBT destination.
It was originally a fishing and whaling center populated by Portuguese sailors until the 1898 Portland Gale destroyed the town’s fishing industry. In turn, local artists adopted the abandoned buildings, eventually garnering an international reputation for its art community and theater productions. The Provincetown Players, the first modern theater company to produce original American plays, was born out of this community and their legacy continues today at the Provincetown Theater, which has been showcasing productions for more than 50 years. If film is more your style, you can also check out Waters Edge Cinema and support the Cape Cod film community.
By the mid 60s, Provincetown began to grow as hippies started moving in to start families, attracted by cheap property that would later become Commercial Street, the town’s main street containing a variety of cafes and shops. The next few decades saw P-Town developing a significant LGBT community, especially during the summer months. In 1978, the Provincetown Business Guild was formed in order to promote LGBT tourism, and the city is now considered to be one of the most popular gay destinations in America.
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