Towleroad’s Andy Towle
You can’t find a more New England experience than in Cape Cod Massachusetts. It’s here that the pilgrims landed first, where presidents vacation and all kinds of people flock to beach cottages along the way. Provincetown (or “Ptown”) sits at the very tip of Cape Cod and has long been a summer getaway for artists and gay men and women. Here at GayCities, it’s one of our favorites.
One person that shares our love of Ptown is former Genre Editor-in-chief and blogger Andy Towle. Andy’s Towleroad has become a daily must read for the gay community for news, technology, pop culture, travel and more. Long time readers of Towleroad know that Andy often shares his thoughts and amazing photos of Provincetown.
We caught up with Andy to learn more about where to go and what to do in this beloved summer getaway.
You blog about Provincetown a lot, what is it about this place that fascinates you so much?
Provincetown is a really interesting mix of cultures. It’s not only the gayest town you’ll probably find in America, but it has a rich history as an artist’s colony, a place in American history (the Pilgrims landed there first before heading to Plymouth), a large Portuguese population, but it’s also the quintessential New England fishing village. You’ll not find another place like it. Being out on the tip of Cape Cod, it also really does feel like you’re at the end of the earth when you go there. The quality of the sunlight and the beauty of the dune landscape are hypnotizing at times.
Can you tell us about your first time in Provincetown. When was it and what stands out in your memory about that first visit?
I remember thinking, where the hell am I? In a good way.
I drove in to Provincetown in October 1991 after getting a residence at a historic artist and writer’s colony there called The Fine Arts Work Center. I was to spend the next eight months, all winter, in this strange place I had never been before, writing. I remember parking my car and walking down Commercial Street, the main drag. It was a late fall afternoon and the street was busy, like a crazy carnival stage set. I remember thinking, where the hell am I? In a good way.
How would you describe Provincetown’s gay life to a first time visitor?
Ptown has a real mix of gay culture. Various weeks during the summer are set aside for subsets of the gay community – there’s a women’s week, a bear week, a gay family week, and the 4th of July holiday, when just about every kind of gay descends upon the town, although it has been positioned as more of a “circuit party” week. There are also plenty of year-round residents and seasonal residents, street performers, drag queens (think Cher on roller skates and a much-loved 70-something transgender singer named Ellie).
If a friend was coming to Provincetown for a weekend, where would you take him/her?
I would spend an afternoon going up and down Commercial Street visiting the art galleries, rent a bike and ride around the dunes, go to Herring Cove beach and walk down toward Hatches Harbor to watch the sunset. Then have a lobster dinner, go to the Atlantic House (A-House) bar for drinks and hit Spiritus Pizza afterwards, which is a Ptown post-bar tradition not to miss.
Where’s your favorite place to grab a meal in Provincetown?
There are a bunch but my current lowbrow favorite is Clem & Ursie’s, a seafood shack on Shankpainter Road. I can’t do without having a lobster roll when I’m there.
What part of the season is your favorite?
Definitely the time around the 4th of July because Ptown is a place that feels very, very American and I think there’s no better place to celebrate the independence that the holiday signifies.
What’s the biggest misconception you think people have about Provincetown?
I think the biggest mistake is people coming to Ptown with a preconceived notion of what they’ll find there. It can have a quaint rustic quality to it that disappoints some people if they are looking for somewhere really upscale like Nantucket or the Hamptons. People also think that they’re going to be very limited in the things they can do there, and think that it’s just about bars and clubs. While there is a great nightlife, there are also amazing seafood restaurants, tons of art galleries, bike trails through the dunes, gorgeous beaches, shopping, and whale watching.
What’s a typical day for you while you are there?
A typical day for most in Ptown begins with a good brunch somewhere like Cafe Heaven or Cafe Edwige and then some outdoor activities, whether it be heading to Herring Cove Beach to lie in the sun (HC is where the gay men go, despite the rocky quality of the sand), biking through the National Seashore, or heading out on a boat to do sailing or whale watching. Some go to the boatslip and rent a chaise lounge and lie on the deck. It can become quite a scene, but it all ends at 3pm when tea dance begins. After tea dance people typically go to dinner and then out to a party or a bar or club. On Friday nights, the galleries have openings. After the bars close at 1am, people head to Spiritus for the unofficial after-party in the street, which can get quite raucous when the crowds are large enough. After that, if you’re still up for it, you might find a late night party to go to.
This month’s Out talked about “the graying of the gay resort” and included Provincetown as a place that’s getting older and more affluent. Your reaction? Is this a place that’s welcoming to people under 35?
Definitely. I think every place goes through its cycles and Ptown is still great for people under 35, although maybe not the place you’d currently look to buy a house. Real estate has become outrageous. I agree that Ptown is changing somewhat though not to the extent that the media portrays. I’ve been going there for 15 years. Everything changes though, doesn’t it?
Thanks Andy! Is there anything else we need to know before planning our trip?
If you have an opportunity to fly in on Cape Air, in their 9-seater Cessna, do it. Once I flew in and the pilot dipped down to circle a humpback whale. The ferry from Boston is a less expensive way to get there if you don’t have the cash on hand to treat yourself to a flight. It’s relatively quick and really scenic. If you’re there for more than a couple days, make sure you rent a bike. I’d recommend Ptown Bikes.
Check out Andy Towle’s Picks for Provincetown:
- Atlantic House – The A House is Ptown’s oldest gay bar and is littered with nautical artifacts, pieces of art, musical posters (Ella Fitzgerald used to sing there back in the day), and has a hearth that burns during the cold winters. It’s open year-round and though it may not attract the trendiest DJs during the summer months it’s still my favorite place to go out.
- Clem & Ursie’s – A seafood “shack” on Shankpainter road with an enormous menu serving everything from fried clams to burgers, to corn on the cob. It’s a great post-beach stopover.
- The Lobster Pot – This restaurant is in the most unique-looking building on Commercial Street covered on the outside with red neon. While it’s something of a factory in terms of its culinary output – popular with tour groups and such, it’s definitely the place to go if all you want is a traditional Cape Cod lobster dinner with drawn butter.
- Spiritus Pizza – If you end up going out at night until the bars close, no doubt you’ll be drawn to this longstanding pizza joint where the crowds gather for the unofficial after-party. In the summer, the crowds can get so big they have to close the street down.
- The Mews – One of the more upscale restaurants in town, it’s definitely somewhere to have a “nice” meal. A clean, modern environment and windows that look out to Cape Cod Bay.
- The Boatslip – This is a popular place for tea dance from 3-6. Right on the water. Some folks spend the afternoon there laying out on deck chairs which you can rent for a few bucks.
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