The genius of Robert Cray
Robert Cray in concert in 2007
PROVINCETOWN, Mass.
"To say that Robert Cray is a transformational figure for my generation, Gen-X, would not be hyperbole.’’
— "Braintree Jim," the DJ who spins for WOMR , on Cape Cod.
Cray is a singer, songwriter guitarist, known for his unique hybrid of blues and soul. He is a five-time Grammy award winner who has released 19 studio albums, along with an assortment of live recordings and compilations. The Robert Cray Band may not be a household name today, but it has achieved international recognition in the nearly 50 years it, and various iterations, have performed during that time. Cray, who turned 70 earlier this month, regularly visits New England on a relentless, annual touring schedule. He will be spending time here on the Outer Cape during August and into September.
The DJ, who hosts the radio show called Target Ship Radio, further explains his rationale. "I was attending Providence College during the mid-’80’s when Cray's breakthrough album 'Strong Persuader' was released, in late 1986. When I first heard the single 'Smoking Gun' on the radio I simply had to get the album. I was totally taken by it and played it repeatedly. I still have the cassette today."
He recalls that pivotal time for young music fans. "Back then, the ascendant genre was hip hop. Many of my friends were attracted to that whole scene. And by the late 80s, even MTV was showcasing that music. But when I heard Robert Cray, principally a blues guy back then, I went back, not forward. Not only did I buy his back catalog work, which was fantastic, he really helped me discover the blues as a whole other art form.
"Cray, along with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton -- and even Albert Collins and Billy Gibbons -- were part of this exciting blues revival in the 80s and into the early 90s. For me, Cray played an instrumental part in this movement. Cray was affable, the music was accessible. In fact, his whole persona was quite approachable. He was making MTV-style videos that both young men and women found entertaining. And remember, his first national TV debut was on Late Night With David Letterman. By the ‘90s, he was morphing into a soul and R&B performer. He could deliver searing blues numbers for sure, but his music was adapting. That's why I think he's retained this rather remarkable staying power."
Braintree Jim is planning a Robert Cray retrospective on his next show on the Provincetown radio station. "I really think," he reasons, "that Robert Cray should be a bigger name. He's got an unbelievable canon of work that I wish more people heard. So, I want to dedicate three hours of my next show and pay tribute to his music. And he has collaborated with so many people, like Tina Turner, BB King, and Chuck Berry, just to name a few. And he still rips it up on tour. His voice is still the same after all these years and his guitar chops are also still intact."
The radio host further adds that, "I may have eventually discovered the blues without Robert Cray. But It's safe to say that his music really inspired me to appreciate the art form and dig into its rich history. Many of my generation discovered the blues because of Robert Cray. That alone makes him worthy of a three-hour radio show. But the music is so good that it will be tough to boil it down into that time frame. But I'll have fun doing it! That's the great thing about WOMR. I have this incredible level of autonomy in what I can play. That's virtually unheard of in radio today. I will be representing the station at the upcoming concert, too. It doesn't get much better than this."
The Robert Cray Band will be performing at the Payomet Performing Arts Center, in North Truro, Mass., on Tuesday, Aug. 29, beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available.
Payomet is celebrating its 25th year in 2023 as one of the Cape's leading producers of live music, circus, theatre, and humanities.
The next Target Ship Radio show will be on Sunday, Aug. 20 at 1-4 p.m. The live broadcast can be heard on 92.1 FM Provincetown, and 91.3 FM Orleans, streaming on womr.org and beaming on the free WOMR app.
Rise and fall
“Fallen Tree and Wetland’’ (oil on canvas), by Provincetown artist Donald Beal, in the show, “Sky Power,’’ with Paul Bowen, at Berta Walker Gallery, Provincetown, June 16-July 9
The gallery says:
"Donald Beal's work breaks new ground in a gentle but inviting manner; his use of color and light are only devices designed to accent his unique sense of observation. What sets Beal's expression apart from those of his predecessors, however, is the lens from which he gazes. His perspective of nature is, in a sobering yet enlightening style, reflective of himself."
#Berta Walker Gallery
#Donald Beal
‘Humans, flora and fauna’
“After Rousseau’s ‘The Jungle,’ by Laura Shabott, in her show “Artist and Model’’ (paintings and collage) at Berta Walker Gallery, Provincetown, May 12-June 4.
Berta Walker noted:
“Laura Shabott makes paintings, drawings, and collages responding to the natural world – humans, flora, and fauna – with boldness, strength, and originality….And I’m continually impressed with her courage and originality in constantly stretching through new materials and sizes, subjects.”
In 1940, a beachfront art class in Provincetown, which has been a major art-creation-and-exhibition center since the 19th Century.
Refashioning ‘Chill & Dream’ for the post-COVID era
"It's really an amalgamation of ideas, experience, and forward momentum put into action," says the DJ who goes by the name Braintree Jim. He will be presenting a new music show on Sunday, April 30, on WOMR, the community radio station based in Provincetown, Mass.
The DJ was the host of a WOMR show that he conceived and hosted called Chill & Dream. "That show," he explains, "was born out of the days during the peak of the pandemic when people were confined to their homes and apartments, and constricted from social interactions on a massive scale. I think people were looking for an escape. The Chill & Dream program proved to be the perfect companion in those circumstances. The show was meant to take you to another place, in sentiment and mood. I think it captured that zeitgeist very well."
"The pandemic will likely be the defining event of our time. While the immediacy of it is starting to wane, it was dramatic and disruptive -- so many lives lost and shattered. A tragedy that still reverberates today. But we're coming out of it. There's a growing sense of moving on... there's a feeling or renewed energy. So, I wanted to reimagine, reboot, and reincarnate the old show into something new and vibrant. Target Ship Radio is the vehicle that taps into this perception."
Braintree Jim says he will not abandon the core principles of the old show, what he describes as "aural escapism" and "sonic sanctuary." The new show will be anchored in so-called "RIP Fusion," or rock, indie and pop. "That certainly constitutes the core," he allows. "I'm also really interested in discovering new -- and old -- sounds that are rooted in strong rhythm and melody. If anything, I'm expanding the sonic palette of the Chill show. I hear more brass -- the exaltant sound of horns. When you bring horns into a song, the molecules start moving differently. The mood changes. Whether it's a triumphant march or a lush interlude."
In addition to placing some soul, R&B-infused dynamics into the new show, he looks to flavor it with some world music, too. "There is so much good world music that embraces these larger ideas, that I'm excited to ferry them into the programming. I think those songs that I play will be accessible and pleasurable to a radio audience. I like the promise of the possibilities."
And what to make of the name of the show?
"We're seafaring creatures. Well before ubiquitous technological advances, we were on the go. And I think maritime vessels have a universal connection with humankind. We're fascinated by seafaring craft, whether it be for commercial or pleasure or, dare I say it, for military purposes. And they have particular resonance for people of Cape Cod."
Target Ship Radio, as a name, the DJ says, is inspired by the old target ship that for decades was visible in Cape Cod Bay, just off Eastham and Orleans. The Navy used it for target practice from the air after World War II. Operations ceased in the 1970s and the ship has since rusted away; its remnants are now only visible at very low tides, just off New Found shoal. He remembers it as "an iconic image captured in photography and artwork, and now collective memories. I wanted to pay homage to something that was such a vivid presence for those of us who spent time along the beaches back then. For me, it captures the past really well. And many still have this romantic attachment to it. I still recall witnessing those bombing runs."
The name also tips a nod to the influential pirate radio stations that sprouted up in the U.K. in the 1960s. "What a wonderful history, that pirate radio movement!", Braintree Jim declares. "I find that independent spirit and mass-audience appeal of pirate radio to be exhilarating. I'll try to bring that to the new show. Radio has a great history here. More than 100 years ago, in Wellfleet, Marconi sent a message from his Cape Cod station, the first radio transmission to cross the Atlantic from the United States. And here we are today, not far from those grounds, still trying to connect with people via radio and other means. How cool is that?"
"I also like the idea of a ship as a metaphor. Ships are about motion and movement. Coming and going. A voyage. The future and past are immediately present at sea. Ideally, I will take people on a new musical journey. That's the goal. And playing old and new music fits into the larger narrative."
Braintree Jim anticipates that there will be some changes or, as he phrases it, some mid-course adjustments. He expects to feature new segments that include playing classic, largely forgotten, albums in their entirety. And he also looks to see how he can pour listener playlists into the show. "I'm intrigued by playlists," he insists. "There are everywhere. Anybody can make one. There are algorithms to help curate them, and I would’t be surprised if AI isn't already spitting them out. I'm interested in cracking the glass on people's phones and getting inside them as the human face and human soul behind those lists. Part of my mission isn't to thwart them but to embrace them by allowing listeners to submit their ideas. I think engaging listeners in this way is a bit experimental but it's a way to bring listeners on board, so to speak." He also plans to occasionally interview artists, musicians and authors. One guest is already tentatively booked. Local author and historian Don Wilding will soon have a new book published. Cape Cod and the Portland Gale of 1898 tells the story of the fearsome late November storm that devastated the New England coast, including Provincetown Harbor. It was a storm by which many future storms were measured against. The story centers on the steamer Portland, which sank to the depths of Massachusetts Bay off Cape Cod, claiming nearly two hundred lives.
The inaugural Target Ship Radio show airs on Sunday, April 30, from 1-4 p.m. It can be heard on 92.1 FM-Provincetown and 91.3 FM-Orleans, and streaming live on womr.org. You can also hear it on the new WOMR app.
The S.S. Portland
From P-Town, Robert Cray in a ‘lodestar’ show; looking at the Portland Gale
DJ Braintree Jim has returned to the airwaves this month on Provincetown, Mass.-based radio station WOMR with special one-hour shows. He calls these shorts "lodestar" shows or offshoots of his full-fledged Chill & Dream program.
"Most vinyl records play between 40 and 45 minutes," Braintree Jim observes. "So, they fit nicely into a 60-minute show, along with some concise commentary and station announcements." He said he enjoys these shows as they let him showcase a single artist or a notable album that otherwise "wasn't given their due."
His next show, tonight (Jan. 11) from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., will feature the work of singer, songwriter, blues guitarist and five-time Grammy award winner Robert Cray, commemorating the 40th anniversary release of his breakthrough album "Bad Influence." (Cray's next area appearance is on Feb. 28, at the Narrows Center for the Arts, Fall River, Mass.)
Braintree Jim surmises that "Robert Cray is such an ineffably engaging singer that it is easy to forget how protean and important a musician he is to the blues. He revitalized the idiom and modernized it, especially in the 1980s with the advent of music video. Nearly 70, he hasn't lost that unique voice nor his guitar chops. 'Bad Influence' is one of his earliest albums, and you can just hear the potential in it. The album was the spark that lit the fuse to greater success. Cray is also a study of endurance. The first Robert Cray Band started playing almost 50 years ago. I think for many people in my generation he made the blues fun and accessible. That's no easy feat!"
The DJ is also putting together special shows for 2023. One show he has planned for this spring is with local author Don Wilding. His new book Cape Cod and the Portland Gale of 1898 will be published in May. The Thanksgiving weekend storm is remembered as one of the deadliest weather events in New England maritime history. The story centers on the doomed steamer S.S. Portland, and also recounts the devastation wrought by the storm along the Massachusetts shore, particularly Provincetown Harbor.
As Braintree Jim says, "I am really excited to do a show with Don. He is such a font of local history and storytelling. I'm already thinking of ideas for the appropriate soundtrack."
Speaking of storms, the east end of Provincetown on Commercial Street, where the WOMR studios are located, is still recovering from the powerful winter storm that hit the area right before Christmas. Fifty decks were destroyed and Fanizzi's Restaurant by the Sea had to be closed for repairs after waves breached the waterfront dining room near high tide on Dec. 23. The full extent of the property damage is still to be determined, according to town officials.
You can live stream programming on womr.org and now on the new WOMR app. All music shows are archived on both platforms for two weeks from airdate for music shows, and in perpetuity for spoken word shows. The broadcast signal can be reached on 91.3 - FM Orleans, Mass., and 92.1 - FM Provincetown, Mass. And to learn more about Braintree Jim, go to chillanddreamradio.com
The doomed steamer The Portland
Joy from the cloud
“Last night
the rain
spoke to me
slowly, saying,
what joy
to come falling
out of the brisk cloud,
to be happy again…’’
— From “The Rain Spoke to Me,’’ by Mary Oliver (1935-2019), American poet. She spent much of her life in Provincetown, of which wrote: , "I too fell in love with the town, that marvelous convergence of land and water; Mediterranean light; fishermen who made their living by hard and difficult work from frighteningly small boats; and, both residents and sometime visitors, the many artists and writers….’’
Simplified sailing
“Allegory (San Bicola di Bari)’’ (oil on canvas), by Paul Resika (born 1928), in his show “Allegory,’’ at Berta Walker Gallery, Provincetown, Mass., Aug. 26-Sept. 17
Cross-generational music from the Outer Cape
Hot summer? Check. Cool tunes? Check.
The Chill & Dream radio show returns to the airwaves on Friday, July 22, at 7-9 p.m., heard exclusively on WOMR (92.1 FM Provincetown, Mass.) and WFMR (91.3 FM Orleans, Mass.) and streaming everywhere on womr.org.
"I just saw the CEO {Chris Cocks} of Hasbro on CNBC the other day," DJ "Braintree Jim," the show's host, said. "And he was talking about this very basic idea that struck a chord with me. The company is having success with what he called 'multi-generational' play and entertainment. If you look at the games, the cars and even the music that is resonating with people today, it is rooted in nostalgia."
He senses that the CEO must have been listening to one of his shows. "The music I play also has this cross-generational appeal to it. Some of the older music is new to Millennials and Gen-Z. Conversely, some of the newer music is old to these very generations. It's fun to see that first light of discovery in music for people. A song may be an oldie but it might be new to someone just hearing it for the first time."
"I find it amusing that not long ago, kids would use their generation's music to rebel against their parents," he muses. "Now, it seems like kids are rebelling against their parents but using their parents' music. We've come full circle. That's the universal appeal with music. And the great thing about WOMR is that there is music for virtually every kind of taste. Whether you are rebelling or not."
WOMR is launching its summer pledge drive beginning July 22 and running for two weeks. It celebrated being on the air for 40 years this past spring. The majority of its operating budget comes from individual listeners and small businesses.
"We'll certainly be in a celebratory mood Friday," Braintree Jim said. "This is a sonic sanctuary. All are welcome. This is radio of the people, by the people, and for the people. And my show is multi-generational."
Provincetown patroness of art
“Mary Heaton Vorse” (maquette, mixed media), by Penelope Jencks, in the show “Mary’s Friends: An Artists Renunion,’’ at Berta Walker Gallery, Provincetown, Mass., through Aug. 7
The gallery explains:
“Mary Heaton Vorse (1874-1966) was a journalist, labor organizer, war correspondent and arts patron, co-founding the Provincetown Players, and donating her old fishermen’s tackle house on Cape Cod Bay in 1915 as a home for their plays. Penelope Jencks is an internationally renowned sculptor, commissioned over the years to create numerous portraits, including those of Eleanor Roosevelt, Serge Koussevitsky, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copeland, and Seiji Ozawa.
“In her book Time and the Town Mary Heaton Vorse writes about the fascinating and very different schools of art in Provincetown in the early 20th Century — Traditionalists and Modernists She notes: ‘The profound gulf between the two schools in Provincetown is so deep that the respective members fight freely together, pound tables, and even heads...The old school shouts the loudest, but the new school flies its nose highest.”
The staying power of ‘70s and ‘80s popular music
"Everything new is old again," says Provincetown, Mass., DJ Braintree Jim.
“So much of today's new music longs for nostalgia, this quest to regain or relive some semblance of what is believed to be better times from a bygone era. It's quite remarkable. You can hear it in the tunes, a steadfast reverential pastiche for ‘70s and ‘80s music. I think many of today's younger artists realize the staying power of music from that period. The evidence is all around us.
"If you look at the big streaming services it is the back catalog music that is getting all the attention. So it makes sense, therefore, that a lot of the new music I am listening to has this derivative aesthetic attached to it. I suppose each generation has pinched ideas from previous generations. Still, it's fun hearing new material infused with some of the old effects or instruments or even production techniques that were present back then. It's a hybrid mash-up for sure."
He believes that the recent resurgence and renaissance of English musician Kate Bush, now 63, and popular in the 1980s, is further proof.
Her song, "Running Up That Hill," released in 1985 on the “Hounds of Love’’ album, was recently featured on season 4 of the massively watched Netflix series Stranger Things. Ever since the song was featured it has rocketed back to the charts, both in the U.S. and U.K. It reached the top five in a recent Billboard Hot 100 chart in America, and hit no. 1 in the U.K. The recent chart success has broken all sorts of records. And a three-week period in June saw the song streamed a staggering 137 million times on Spotify.
Braintree Jim's radio show Chill & Dream returns to the airwaves on Wednesday, July 6, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on WOMR (92.1 FM) the community radio station in Provincetown that recently celebrated 40 years on the air. It’s simulcast on sister station WMFR (91.3 FM) in Orleans.
Perhaps tellingly, the new show will showcase music from the 1980s. "It's very much a roots show," he says. "You can't escape the roots. And yes, I will be playing Kate Bush." The show can be streamed live on womr.org.
The building that houses WOMR, at 492-494 Commercial St., has a fascinating history. Hit this link to read about it and see photos from its history.
‘Made fugitive with light’
“New Day”(oil on canvas), by Provincetown-based Cynthia Packard, in her show at Berta Walker Gallery, Provincetown.
The gallery says:
“A Cynthia Packard painting may start from a live model, flowers from her garden or a boat lulled by the waves. An overall textured canvas may at first sight appear purely abstract, only to reveal with further viewing, the movement of seagulls returning at dusk, or a figure emerging from the canvas. Light flows and brings alive the atmosphere around them. The works are bold, yet innocent, edgy, and deep. ‘The figures in her paintings routinely seem caught in the act of moving from one dimension to another, the body made fugitive with light,’ wrote poet Melanie Braverman. Art writer Deborah Carr writes that Packard’s paintings ‘explore paradox and contrast; consider moody interiors and verdant spaces. She juxtaposes graceful curves and sharp edges, dark contours and amorphous boundaries. The viewer of Cynthia Packard’s [painted] world realizes that remaining aloof from her powerful images is not an option.”’
‘Chill & Dream’ in a sonic sanctuary on the Cape
The Pilgrim Monument in the gloaming of Provincetown.
The radio show Chill & Dream returns to the airwaves on WOMR, in Provincetown, Mass. (92.1) and on its sister signal, WFMR, in Orleans, Mass., (91.3) and streaming worldwide on womr.org on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 9 a.m. WOMR is celebrating 40 years on the air. Where were you in 1982? Need an escape in 2022? Chill & Dream is, says creator and DJ "Braintree Jim," your sonic sanctuary, exploring old and new dimensions of sight and sound. Exclusively on WOMR.
In 1940, a beachfront art class in Provincetown, long an internationally known art center.
The Jonathan Young Windmill, a restored, working 18th-Century windmill next to Town Cove in Orleans.
— Photo by ToddC4176
Memory and dream ‘in transit’
“Allan in Bathtub” (oil and mixed media on unstretched canvas), by Alexandra Thompson, in her show “Returning Trains,’’ at Gallery 444, Provincetown, Mass., through Dec. 6.
The gallery says:
“In paint, sculpture and drawing, {she creates a} landscape of memory and dream in transit between the Midwest and the Atlantic…’’ employing “a rawness of material and image.’’
Enjoy sonic escapism at nonprofit station on the Cape
WOMR, in Provincetown, Mass., is a unique volunteer-driven and member-supported community radio station that broadcasts a wildly eclectic range of music and talk programming at 92.1 FM, in Provincetown, and also via its sister station, WMFR, at 91.3 FM, in Orleans, and streams live on womr.org. Next spring it will celebrate 40 years of continuous broadcasting, a remarkable achievement for a non-commercial station. The station recently added new programs as the pandemic waned. (Let’s hope the waning continues!)
One show caught our particular attention. It is intriguingly called Chill & Dream. The DJ, who goes by "Braintree Jim," recently told us that the music he plays is a form of sonic escapism and aural nostalgia. "People are searching for a refuge from the storm," he said. His show recalls pop tunes from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s and mixes those classics with a modern spin, what he calls a fusion of "chill wave" (a nod to so-called yacht rock of the 70s) and "dream pop" (a derivative form of ‘80s pop music). As he says, "it is a safe space from politics, pandemics and put-downs."
His live show on Saturday, Oct. 30, at 9 a.m, will capture that spirit. He plans on something that recalls the ‘70s. "It feels like we are reliving the ‘70s all over again -- talk of stagflation, higher energy costs, comparisons of Afghanistan to Vietnam. What's next? Browns and burnt oranges?" he wonders.
"We got through that period with music so I think recalling the music from 40-50 years ago may help us deal with the present. It will be a fun show, as the ‘70s were a fertile period of creativity. And the music still resonates, which is the main point. Music then had something to say. And it still connects. And we all need an escape. I am not sure I would look good in bell bottoms and platform shoes. But that's OK. We all need to chill and dream."
All shows are streamed live and you can go to womr.org to view the schedule of all the programming.
They only look dangerous
“The Gift No. 21,’’ by Han Feng, in the Schoolhouse Gallery of Provincetown’s group show “All Possible Worlds’’, through Dec. 5
But you never find it
“In Search of Lost Time,’’ by Salvatore Del Deo, in the group show “The Mysterious’’, at Berta Walker Gallery, Provincetown, Mass., through Sept. 12.
The gallery says:
“{Provincetown-based} Salvatore Del Deo is a painter engaged in a spirited dialogue with his work, responding to the deep questions presented by the paintings themselves. It is this challenge that has held Del Deo's passion through the over 50 years of his painting career and has resulted in an immense and diverse body of work. His is a style that seems to traverse the continuum from the realistic to the abstract, with a natural fluidity available only to one who is thoroughly centered. Del Deo has painted all the familiar scenes of his life at land's end – fish, dunes, figures on the back beach, boats moored at the town wharf, trap sheds and lighthouses – made new for the viewer through the painter's rich palette and soulful perspective. It is as if he is focusing long-stored energy through the lens of pure color – the color concentrated, coagulated by that intense focus.’’
Mr. Del Deo also has a beloved Provincetown restaurant called Sal’s Place.
Seek higher ground!
“Black Sea” (painting), by Peter Watts, in his joint show with Brenda Horowitz, “Truro & Wellfleet Motifs,’’ at Berta Walker Gallery, Provincetown, Aug. 21-Sept. 12
And keep it that way
“Secrets Never Told” (acrylic and ink on paper), by Deb Mell, in a group show through July 17 at the Berta Walker Gallery, Provincetown, Mass.
The gallery says:
“Deb Mell’s paintings and sculpture surprise at every turn, incorporating fantastic creatures, imaginative figures, beads, snake skins, feathers secured from hunters, metals and recycled material. ‘There is
nothing I won’t use. I think of the stuff I use as ‘my palette’’.
"Mell’s art defies easy categorization, much as did the now-famous ‘Chicago Hairy Who’ artists”.
'Nothing is isolated'
“Personalia’’ (oil on wood panel), by Mike Carroll, in his show “Hidden Forces at Play,’’ at Berta Walker Gallery, Provincetown, Aug. 15-Sept. 5. The gallery says: “Carroll paints stillness and subtle shifts in space in conversation. His multi-colored and ‘colored’ black and white paintings ‘embrace imperfection, impermanence and the passing of time.’ Mike Carroll's paintings reflect his sense that ‘nothing exists by itself independently of the rest. Everything is related to everything else; nothing is isolated, a philosophy of Buddhism’’’.
See:
https://galleryschoolhouse.com/mike-carroll/
http://www.bertawalkergallery.com/
'City of sand'
Dune shack in Provincetown
“Provincetown is by nature a destination. It is the land’s end; it is not en route to anywhere else. One of its charms is the fact that those who go there have made some effort to do so. Provincetown is three miles long and just slightly more than two blocks wide. Two streets run its entire length from east to west: Commercial, a narrow one-way street where almost all the businesses are, and Bradford, a more utilitarian two-way street a block north of Commercial. Residential roads, some of them barely one car wide, run at right angles on a semiregular grid between Commercial and Bradford streets and then, north of Bradford, meander out into dunes or modest hollows of surviving forest, as the terrain dictates. Although the town has been there since before 1720 (the year it was incorporated) and has survived any number of disastrous storms, it is still possible that a major hurricane, if it hit head-on, would simply sweep everything away, since Provincetown has no bedrock, no firm purchase of any kind. It is a city of sand, more or less the way Arctic settlements are cities of ice.”
― Michael Cunningham, in Land's End: A Walk in Provincetown
On Commercial Street, in Provincetown
Until the late 19th Century, East Harbor opened into Provincetown Harbor, and there were no roads into Provincetown. East Harbor was diked in 1868, making way first for the railroad and then the automobile.