Sunday, November 9, 2008

Goodnight to Town Hall and Veterans Day, 2008

Goodnight, dear friend

Thursday November 6th our historic Town Hall was emptied for a complete renovation.
She is going to sleep and in a couple of years this beautiful lady will be sturdy and sound once again. When you are over 100 your bones begin to need a bit of a lift!
We are proud to share the same land parcel donated by the Ryder family
where Gabriel's and Town Hall presently reside.

Thank you to the family of Godfrey Ryder

Godfrey Ryder ( 1797 - 1876)

Ryder was one of the citizens of Provincetown that donated High Pole Hill to the town. The Ryder family owned from High Pole Hill all the way down to the water. It was the site of the old Town Hall which mysteriously burned in 1877 and became the site of the Pilgrim Memorial Monument in 1907. The current Provincetown Town Hall stands on the site of the Ryder Homestead which was donated to the town by his son Rev. William Henry Ryder in 1885.

Built in 1885, Town Hall is the seat of Provincetown's government. Paintings from the town's large collection of work by local artists hang in its corridors, offices and meeting rooms. In 1915 the Art Association presented its first exhibition here and, until 1921, scheduled two major Town Hall shows each year. For decades the Artists' Costume Ball also was held here.

In the main corridor hang two paintings by Charles Hawthorne. By establishing his Cape Cod School of Art in 1899 Hawthorne brought into being the Provincetown art colony. "The Crew of the Philomena Manta" was painted in his studio at Days Lumberyard where students, fellow artists and townspeople posed for him.

This painting and "Fish Cleaners" on the opposite wall reflect Hawthorne's abiding interest in the life of the local Portuguese fishermen.

Ross Moffett studied with Hawthorne and was one of the first year-round painters in Provincetown, moving into Days Lumberyard in 1914.

"Gathering Beach Plums" and "Spreading Nets," his large murals in the Town Hall entrance were painted in 1934 under the federal Public Works of Art Project of the Depression era.

More than thirty other paintings from the Provincetown art collection can be seen in Town Hall offices and hallways. Demonstrating a variety of styles, most of the work was produced in the first half of the 20th century and many of the pieces depict Provincetown scenes.

Thank you Honorable Joseph Johnson

Joseph Prosper Johnson (1814 - 1891 )

The Hon. Joseph P. Johnson was an outstanding business and civic leader in Provincetown. Johnson was a director of Provincetown's first bank, Town Moderator for twenty years, Selectman for eight years, the House of Representatives for seven terms and a State Senator for two terms. He purchased the town's first fire engine in 1836 and donated the clock in the Town Hall tower in 1885

Old Town Clock

When the four faces of Provincetown’s Town Clock took to disagreeing with one another, they started one of the old town’s liveliest Town Hall debates in many a year.

They reminded one of the man who was asked why the town clock had four faces, anyway. He answered, “So that more than one person can look at it at the same time.” Another was reminded of the old conundrum, “If the town clock runs eight days without winding, how long would it run if it were wound?”

Provincetown’s town clock is an eight-day clock, and is wound by hand. At times the high winds have caught the hands and thrown the gears out of mesh. There is some danger incurred in winding the clock. Once one of the large and heavy weights came right through the side of the building!

Thank you to everyone that has for over 100 years put your energy into all the events that have passed through this truly magnificent piece of Proivncetown's history

Artemus Paine Hannum ( 1847 - 1921 )

Hannum was presented the trowel after the dedication of the Pilgrim Monument. During the dedication of the Monument in 1910, Hannum sat at the right side of President William H. Taft and acted as toastmaster at a banquet for six hundred people that followed at Provincetown Town Hall.

George Fillmore Miller ( 1861 - 1946 )

Town Moderator for 20 years

The Selectmen under the painting
“Study for Pilgrim Mural,” by artist Max Bohm

November 6th, 2008...

Below is a quote by Town Manager Sharon Lynn
to the Editor published in the Provincetown Banner on the need to relocate

For those of you who may remember an article printed in The Advocate newspaper from September 1987 entitled “Town Hall Bones are Creaking”, rest assured that although it may have taken some 21 years or even longer to finally address these problems, we are committed to saving our historic Town home which has been the central location of Provincetown’s government since 1886!

Sleep well, dear building
We have your back, literally!

Your friends at Gabriel's

Veterans Day Provincetown, 2008