Cape Cod History

1985: The "Tackiness" of Cape Cod

The "old media" takes its first bite out of the "New Provincetown"
And this was a quarter century ago

Twenty-three years ago today the national media was describing Provincetown as one of the least tasteful destinations possible. The Associated Press scathing article below appeared in countless newspapers across the country.  Take a deep breath and read the full report;

August 25, 1985
TAKING ON 'TACKINESS' ON THE CAPE

Provincetown, once a remote, picturesque fishing village that attracted writers and artists fleeing the material world, is fighting to rid its main street of gaudy displays and street markets that obscure its historical charm.

''Year-round residents can barely afford to live here anymore,'' he added. ''My wife and I can visit New York City and not spend any more than we do here.''
     - Selectman George Bryant

In the summer, tourists jamming the streets of the village at the tip of Cape Cod are greeted by rock music blaring from a leather boutique and vendors hawking cotton candy and fudge. Many stores cater to tourists, selling painted seashells, plastic religious statues, leather sandals, caps with rabbit ears, brass jewelry, foot-long hot dogs and dried starfish.

In front of Town Hall, a cartoonist sells drawings of the actress Joan Collins. Cabarets and nightclubs along the main thoroughfare, Commercial Street, advertise performances by transvestites.

''No denying it's tacky,'' said Candice Collins, executive secretary of the Chamber of Commerce. ''Tackiness is something we want to combat.''

The downtown area has ''a real honky-tonk look,'' says Town Manager Jim Jeffers.

The town hired two inspectors July 1 to patrol the streets and write summonses to merchants who place their wares in the street, display large or garish signs and break other building code regulations. The summonses can carry fines ranging from $50 to $300.

The inspectors have a lot of ground to cover. The 1.5-mile downtown strip has 800 shops and 100 restaurants.

''I'd say we have a five-year battle ahead of us,'' said Miss Collins, chairman of a coalition of residents and officials that opened the drive last year under the banner of the Better Business Enhancement Committee. ''When we started last winter, everyone was real gung-ho,'' she said recently. ''When we started in more seriously in the spring, we got accused of being do-gooders and trying to ruin their businesses.''

She said the inspectors issued hundreds of warnings and fines. ''It's not that we don't want little shops,'' she said. ''We just want them to be in good taste.''

''We want to look like Edgartown or Nantucket,'' she added, referring to the chic conservative island resort towns off Cape Cod.

Provincetown was not always tacky. Many sections of the six-square-mile town look just as they did before tourists started to arrive in droves after World War II.

It can still boast of pristine beaches, tall dunes, and winding streets lined with rough-hewn cottages and splendid Victorian mansions. Colorful wooden boats still crowd the harbor, although the fishing and lobster businesses have declined in recent years.

Every summer 50,000 tourists pour into Provincetown, many of them homosexuals who enjoy the community's live-and-let-live air.

The town still draws writers, such as Norman Mailer, and artists, such as Robert Motherwell, who seek the same solace once enjoyed by Tennessee Williams.

''Almost every important artist of the past 40 years has lived here at one point or another,'' said George Bryant, 48 years old, a lifelong resident who has been a Town Selectman for nine years.

Mr. Bryant said Provincetown, which has a winter population of 3,500, has gradually become dominated by the merchants who survive on summer tourists.

''Year-round residents can barely afford to live here anymore,'' he added. ''My wife and I can visit New York City and not spend any more than we do here.''

For a look at Ptown this past week, take a peek at this YouTube of the 2007 Carnival.