Going Back in Time on Route 6A
In Provincetown’s East End, Bradford and Commercial Streets intersect. If you’re heading out of town and back to the “mainland,” Bradford Street ends and merges into Commercial Street–the latter becomes a two-way street at that point, and picks up the Route 6A designation.
If you go in the opposite direction, Commercial becomes one-way for cars, heading into the center of town, and ending at the rotary near the Moors and the Provincetown Inn. Route 6A continues on as Bradford Street and then Bradford Street Extension, both of which have two-way car traffic. Route 6A ends (or starts) where Bradford Street Extension meets Province Lands Road, near the Moors.
Route 6A runs parallel to Route 6 for some of the Cape, including through all of Provincetown and part of Truro (where it ends by merging into Route 6). It starts up again in Orleans and runs for a few more towns as you head back toward the mainland.
Route 6 is a pretty busy highway (sometimes divided, sometimes not), especially late Spring through early Fall. And although Route 6A is plenty busy that time of year as well, it's a smaller road which means it generally has less traffic which moves more slowly.
It also has a lot of older cottages, motels, and other businesses that look and feel like they’re from another era.
Which makes it a photographer’s dream.
I recently headed out that way, hopping on my bike and stopping to take photos from where Bradford and Commercial merge and then along the mile or so to the Provincetown and Truro townlines.
It was early June, and the sun was bright and high in the sky even though it was well past 5pm. The beach roses were blooming on the sandy shoulder between the harbor beach and the road. Plenty of people were out biking, walking, and swimming, but it wasn’t as busy as it will be in July and August.
I got my fill of old-timey signs and old “rural route” mailboxes, as well as some stunning views looking back at the Provincetown skyline along the harbor. I also photographed for the first time (with something other than an iPhone) the famous “Marilyn” garages that are out that way.
It was a very fun hour or so, and it reminded me that I need to get out of “downtown” Provincetown more often. I mean, it’s all beautiful, but there is something unique about that 6A stretch, and I want to capture as much of it as possible before it slowly slips away.
