In this view looking down Bearskin Neck, we can see three reminders of Rockport’s bygone days. The first can be found on the building that is slightly to the left of the picture’s center. Today, this building houses The Pewter Shop. According to the shop’s website, it was founded in 1935. I estimate this photo to be from about 1934, so the shop may have opened within a year or so of this photo. Continue reading
As evidence that some things never change, here are two postcards, roughly 15 years apart, showing artists painting Rockport’s picturesque harbor from above it on The Headlands. One is just as likely to encounter the same scene today (in warmer weather, that is). Continue reading
This undated postcard shows a view of the Twin Lights of Thacher Island as seen from the Turk’s Head Inn, which formerly stood at the location of the present-day Cape Hedge Inn. The inn was originally constructed in 1888 or 1889 and operated until 1963. Fires in 1968 and 1969 severely damaged the old hotel and a 1970 fire destroyed what remained. Continue reading
I found this image on the Web. Like another I have showing Rockport harbor in winter, it was taken by photographer Arthur Griffin. The date of the photo is identified only as sometime between 1935 and 1955. Continue reading
This cottage sits at the corner of Ocean Ave. and Haven Ave. in Pigeon Cove. The caption indicates it was built in 1896. As you can see from the photo below, it is still there, now with its front porch screened in and different landscaping. Continue reading
Dave Matthews is a marketing, mergers and acquisitions consultant in Stowe, Vt., who has seen five generations of his family spend a portion of their summers on Long Beach, which straddles the Rockport/Gloucester line. Dave generously sent along these photos to share with readers of Vintage Rockport. Continue reading
Here’s one I found on the Web, showing an ice-covered Rockport harbor. In the background, you can see the old bowling alley near the foot of Bearskin Neck. The photograph was taken by photographer Arthur Griffin sometime between 1935 and 1955.
In 1918, George W. Perkins — described in news reports as a “prominent fish magnate” — constructed this freezer and cold storage building on T-Wharf in Rockport. Perkins had scouted locations along both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts before settling on Rockport to build his freezing facility. He believed that freezing fresh fish would be a vital new industry for the town. Continue reading
Even though the Life Saving Station and the Straitsmouth Inn were nearby each other on Rockport’s Gap Head, it is rare to see them together in the same postcard. This view looks across Gap Cove from along Marmion Way, and shows Straitsmouth Point before other houses were built there. Continue reading
I need your help with this one. The location depicted in this postcard is a mystery to me. I am hoping that some astute readers can provide me with more information. Some sources believe it was in the area of Pingree Park and the former elementary school on Story Street. Continue reading
Vintage Rockport 