Share
Previous Page
Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum
High Pole Hill
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Introduction
The 252-foot granite Monument was modeled after the larger Torre del Mangia bell tower in Siena, Italy and is the tallest all-granite structure in the United States. The Monument commemorates the Pilgrim’s first landing in the New World at Provincetown. The entire structure was built of granite blocks brought to the Cape from Stonington, Maine. Visitors reach the top through a series of 60 ramps and 116 steps and are rewarded with an incredible panorama of Provincetown and, on clear days, as far as Boston and the Bridges.
President Theodore Roosevelt attended the laying of the cornerstone in 1907 and President William Howard Taft dedicated the structure on August 5, 1910. It remains one of the most impressive public monuments in the United States. The plaque at the base of the Monument, carved in bas relief by sculptor Cyrus Dalin, commemorates the signing of the Mayflower Compact in Provincetown Harbor. It is from this historic document, signed during the Pilgrims five-week stay in Provincetown, that the fullness of America’s liberties would eventually emerge. The Provincetown Museum features maritime, natural history, Provincetown history and Cape Cod exhibits and collections of arctic explorer Donald MacMillan.
Location
Traveler Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
