Provincetown, MA from the air, circa 1930

About this postcard

An aerial view looks down on Provincetown, Massachusetts, where tightly packed rooftops sit between wooded dunes and the curving harbor. Long timber piers with red-roofed sheds reach into the water, and a steamer lies alongside one of them. The tall granite shaft at left is the Pilgrim Monument, completed in 1910 to mark the Mayflower Pilgrims' first landing and five-week stay at Provincetown in 1620. The waterfront reflects the town's long dependence on fishing and coastal steamer traffic, while the growing tourist trade and art colony were already changing Provincetown in the early twentieth century.