Provincetown

Provincetown is a New England town at the extreme tip of Cape Cod. It is known for its beaches, harbor, artists, tourist industry, and as a popular vacation destination for the LGBT+ community. It has a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, and a summer population as high as 60,000. It was the location of the British warship HMS Somerset, the wreck of which is still visible from the U.S. coast. The town was affected by the American Revolution, the effective shut down of most fish production and shipping and the town dwindled. The population of Provincettown remained small through most of the 18th century. It grew rapidly as a fishing and whaling center, bolstered by numerous Portuguese sailors, many of whom were hired to work on US ships after being hired by the Azores, and settled in the town's harbor. In 1890, many members of the community abandoned their homes and began to develop a booming art and writers' community. In 1993 the Massachusetts General Court changed the Town's charter, giving the townspeople deeds to the properties they held, while still reserving unoccupied areas. The first record of a municipal government with jurisdiction over the Province Lands was in 1714, with an Act that declared it the "Precinct of CapeCod", annexed under control of Truro. The name chosen by its inhabitants was "Herringtown", which was rejected by the Massachusetts general Court in favor of "Provincettown".

History

Cape Cod was first named "Shoal Hope" by Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602. In 1654, the Governor of the Plymouth Colony purchased this land from the Chief of the Nauset tribe for a selling price of two brass kettles, six coats, 12 hoes, 12 axes, 12 knives and a box. In 1727, after harboring ships for more than a century, the Precinct of Cape Cod was incorporated as a township. The name chosen by its inhabitants was "Herringtown", which was rejected by the Massachusetts General Court in favor of "Provincetown" In 1898, Charles Webster opened the Cape Cod School of Art, said to be the first outdoor school for painting. The town was affected by the American Revolution, when the effective British blockade shut down most fish production and shipping and the town dwindled. It was, by happenstance, the location of the wreck of British warship HMS Somerset at the Peaked Hill Bars off the Atlantic Coast of Provincettown in 1778. By the 20th century, Cape Cod had acquired an international reputation for its artistic and artistic productions. Many members of its artistic community lived during other parts of the year in Greenwich Village in New York, New York and Greenwich Village, Connecticut. Many of its members of this group also lived during this period in Greenwich, Greenwich Village and Greenwich, Connecticut, during the 1920s and 30s. In the 1950s, the town began to develop a resident population of about 2,000.

Geography

Provincetown is located at the very tip of Cape Cod, encompassing a total area of 17.5 square miles (45 km²) The town is bordered by water in every direction except due east, the town has 21.3 miles (34.3 km) of coastal shoreline. About 4,500 acres, or about 73% of the town's land area, is owned by the National Park Service, which operates the Cape Cod National Seashore. To the north lie the "Province Lands", the area of dunes and small ponds extending from Mount Ararat in the east to Race Point in the west, along the Massachusetts Bay shore. The town has a warm-summer Humid continental climate (Dfb) The plant hardiness zone is 7a with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 4.9 °F (15.1 °C) The average seasonal (NovApr) snowfall total is around 30 inches (76 cm). The average snowiest month is February which corresponds to the annual peak in nor'easter activity. It is 45 miles (72 km) north (by road) from Barnstable, Hyannis, Massachusetts, and 62 miles (100 km) by road to the Sagamore Bridge, which spans the CapeCod Canal and connects Cape Cod to the mainland. It's 45 miles east by southeast from Boston by air or sea, and 115 miles (185 km) from the mainland by road.

Demographics

Provincetown's ZIP code has the highest concentration of same-sex couple households of any ZIP code in the United States. In 2010, 6.8% of the population was under the age of 18, and the median age was 52.3. The estimated median income for a year-round household in the town was $46,547, with a mean household income of $74,840. For families, the median income was $87,228 and the mean is $84,050. Median earnings for male full-time, year- Round workers was $49,688, versus $36,471 for females. About 2.1% of families and 15.4% of residents were below the poverty line, including 26.0% of those under age 18 and 7.5% ofThose age 65 or over. The town's population declined 14.3% from 3,431 to 2,942, yet during the summer months, population estimates vary wildly, ranging from 19,000 to 60,000. Part-time residents, which includes non-resident property owners and seasonal residents, are not counted in the census. The number of housing units far exceeds the Town's total population, where that number of Housing units rose 15% while the population dropped 14%, and where nearly 61% ofThe housing stock is vacant, with 53% designated "for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use" According to the census, the town's year-Round population is 3,427.

Arts and culture

Provincetown Art Association (PAAM) is a year-round, non-profit art gallery. It is located in the heart of the city. The Art House is open to the public during the summer months. It also hosts a number of other events, such as a bowling league and a film festival. It was founded in 1940 by a group of artists who were inspired by the work of H.P. Lovecraft. The story was adapted into a play, "The Picture in the House" in the early 1960s. The play was one of the first in the world to be adapted by a playwright. It has been shown in the U.S. and Europe since the 1970s, and is still being shown in some parts of the world. It's the first of its kind to be held in the United States, and it's held every year in the same place as it was in the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1990s, it was moved to a new location, which is now called the Art House, which was built on the site of the old Art House. It now houses a permanent collection of artworks, as well as a collection of memorabilia from the town's history and culture, including photographs of the founder of the Art Gallery of New York City, and the first time it has been used as a venue for an art exhibition. The town is also home to a large number of museums and galleries, including the National Gallery of Art, the National Museum of American History, the Museum of Fine Arts, and The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences.

Parks and recreation

Veterans Memorial Community Center serves as the area community center. In 2014 the town government considered building a second floor on the facility to add affordable housing. By 2012 Veterans Memorial Elementary School closed and was being refurbished to be a community centre. The center is located on the site of a former elementary school. It is located in the town's central business district. It was built in the early 1900s as a community center for veterans. It has been used for community activities since the 1950s. The community center is open to the public for events and events. It also serves as a place to socialize with friends and family. The town has a number of other community centers in the area, including a pool and a fitness center.

Government

Provincetown is governed by the open town meeting form of government. It is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a part of the Fourth Barnstable District. The town is also a member of the Cape Libraries Automated Materials Sharing library network and is also located on Commercial Street, in the former Center Methodist Episcopal Church building since 2005. In the 2020 US Presidential Election Democrat Joe Biden received 91.9 percent of the vote to Republican Donald Trump's 7 percent. The town has its own police and fire departments, both of which are stationed on Shank Painter Road, near the town's Fourth Wharf. The public library is located in a former Methodist Church building on Commercial St. It has a collection of more than 2,000 books and magazines, including more than 1,000 children's books. It also has a number of non-fiction books and e-books, many of which have been translated into English. The library's website can be found at: http://www.capelibraries.org/pubs/public-libraries/provincetOWN-public-library.html. In the Massachusetts Senate, the town is represented by Julian Cyr, a Democrat. The state's senior (Class I) senator is John Kerry, who was last re-elected in 2008. The other (Class II) senate seat is held by Elizabeth Warren, elected in the November 2012 elections and sworn in as senator in January 2013. In Massachusetts's 9th congressional district, and is currently represented by Bill Keating.

Education

Provincetown Schools educates approximately 120 children in grades Pre-K8. High school students will now attend Cape Cod Regional Technical High School or Nauset Regional High School in North Eastham. In 2018 there were about 4550 students at the high school level from ProvincetOWN. There are private scholarships for students from Provinetown and Truro. Circa 2019 each year the number of applicants ranged from 610, a figure the organizers consider to be low. The town is home to the International Baccalaureate World School, verified in 2013 in the Primary Years Program and in 2014 in the Middle Years program. It is also the home of the Veterans Memorial Community Center (Wee Care and Preschool ages 35 and kindergarten), which houses the Early Learning Center. In 2010, the school board elected to phase out the high-school program of ProvIncetown High School, at the end of the 2012-2013 school year, and send students to nearby Nauset Regional High School. In 2012, ProvinceTown High School was recognized as one of the smallest high schools in the country with a student population of 32 students in grades 1012. In 2013, the town had a population of about 5,000 people, and in 2018, the number was about 6,000. There is no private school in the town, but there are two private scholarships. The John Anderson Francis Family Scholarship Fund and the Captain Joseph F. Oliver Scholarship Fund are available to students from the town.

Infrastructure

Provincetown is the eastern terminus of U.S. Route 6, both in the state and in the nation. The town is served by two seasonal ferries to Boston and one to Plymouth. The nearest national and international service is from Logan International Airport in Boston. It is at one end of the scenic "Bike Route 1" from Boston called the Claire Saltonstall Bikeway. It also plays host several times per year as a destination port-of-call to passengers of organized cruise ship tours, whether themed towards the gay traveller, or towards eco-tourism, arts and other aspects of ProvincetOWN and the outer cape. It has the highest rate of year-round bicycle commuters in theState, at 14%, according to the PeopleForBikes City Ratings. The airport is a well-equipped, if small, general-aviation airport with a single 3,500-foot (1,100 m) runway, an ILS approach, and full lighting. It does receive regular scheduled service to Boston or White Plains, New York (with optional car service to Manhattan) via Cape Air, which also operates code-share flights for JetBlue. A large portion of the "road" later converted into three roads (Harry Kemp Way, Railroad Avenue and Rear Howland) plus the "Old Colony Nature Pathway", a 1.3-mile (2.1 km) pedestrian path and greenway. The train station opened to service by the Old Colony Railroad in 1873. It was formally abandoned in 1960.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Provincetown, Barnstable County, Massachusetts = 13. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 40. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 59. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Provincetown = 3.4 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 3,828 individuals with a median age of 48.7 age the population dropped by -1.44% in Provincetown, Barnstable County, Massachusetts population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 377.7 residents per square mile of area (145.8/km²). There are average 1.63 people per household in the 1,731 households with an average household income of $45,233 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 13.40% of the available work force and has dropped -1.18% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 24.24%. The number of physicians in Provincetown per 100,000 population = 262.6.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Provincetown = 42.5 inches and the annual snowfall = 19.5 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 107. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 197. 79 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 23.3 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 59, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Provincetown, Barnstable County, Massachusetts which are owned by the occupant = 24.03%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 15.5 years with median home cost = $379,660 and home appreciation of -2.48%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $9.92 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $16,716 per student. There are 5.9 students for each teacher in the school, 212 students for each Librarian and 212 students for each Counselor. 8.60% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 23.07% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 15.54% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).