On the Market: A Cozy and Eclectic Cottage in P-town
This Cape Cod home has a long, storied history: communal sailor hearth, rumored Underground Railroad stop, and Norman Mailer haunt.
Photos courtesy of Lukas Scott, Nauset Media
157 Commercial St., Provincetown
Price: $2,950,000
Size: 2,121 square feet
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 3 full
This antique property might draw eyes, thanks to its convenient location in the West End of Provincetown, on Commercial Street. Who doesn’t want to live near the town’s beaches, harbors, restaurants, and bars? But even more appealing might be this home’s history.
You wouldn’t be able to tell, thanks to the meticulous maintenance, but the cottage dates back to roughly the mid-1700s, before Commercial Street’s construction. Back then, the harbor and beach were the oceanside community’s main thoroughfares—hence why the house’s front door faces the Atlantic. By the entrance, there are also three chimneys, a makeshift communal hearth where, as the property listing puts it, “sailors and fishermen would stop in to warm up.”
Over the centuries, this abode has been home to a sea captain’s family, an artist, and a string of successful local restaurateurs. It’s even rumored to have been an Underground Railroad safe house. But more recently, it was The Martin House, a restaurant and bar Norman Mailer famously frequented, which closed in 2005. Five years later, a New York City-based couple bought the place for $600,00 and rezoned it as a residential building, adding a 19th-century clawfoot bathtub, fixing up the home’s five fireplaces, and repurposing the dining rooms into living spaces.
Today, the home sports old-world charm with a modern twist in its golden-pine flooring, beamed ceilings, and wood-paneled walls. The kitchen is fit for the chefs who once worked there, with custom-built cabinetry brought in from England, a six-burner griddle/double oven, and a wine fridge. Upstairs are three bedrooms, one with water views, and the grounds hold a brick courtyard with 1,200 square feet of outdoor space and harbor scenery. It’s Cape Cod living at its finest, all with vintage flair, eclectic taste, and monumental history.
For more information, contact Emily Flax, Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty, gibsonsothebysrealty.com.
Photos courtesy of Lukas Scott, Nauset Media
Photos courtesy of Lukas Scott, Nauset Media
Photos courtesy of Lukas Scott, Nauset Media
Photos courtesy of Lukas Scott, Nauset Media
Photos courtesy of Lukas Scott, Nauset Media
Photos courtesy of Lukas Scott, Nauset Media
Photos courtesy of Lukas Scott, Nauset Media
Photos courtesy of Lukas Scott, Nauset Media
Photos courtesy of Lukas Scott, Nauset Media
Photos courtesy of Lukas Scott, Nauset Media
Photos courtesy of Lukas Scott, Nauset Media
Photos courtesy of Lukas Scott, Nauset Media
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