Quick History Stops: Gloucester, MA

On the same day I took the lighthouse cruise around Cape Ann, I walked around Gloucester to see public art and learn the history of the maritime town. Along the way, I found carillon bells, a historic boat, beached buoys, and a silly sign.

A sculpture of a black and white orca while in front of stairs by a parking lot. Painted on the side of a building under a porch are ships, a breaching whale, and fish in a realistic style. A three-story, Gothic Revival style stone house on top of a hill

At the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce, I found an orca statue and a mural of boats, buoys, and whales on the water. While its headquarters is located in Gloucester, it also serves Essex, Ipswich, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and Rockport, all places I have visited and plan to return. Nearby were stops on Gloucester HarborWalk, a self-guided outdoor tour that started in 2012. Black-and-white signage indicates important stops in the area. The first I found was the twin bell towers of Our Lady of Good Voyage Church, which had a sculpture of the Virgin Mary between the towers. The church has one of the oldest sets of carillon bells in the United States; I will have to return to hear them play! It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1990.

In the background is a church with a pair of towers. Many trees and buildings stand between the viewer and the church, which are both at the top of hills. A black and white sign with the a photograph of statue of Saint Mary and the history of Our Lady of Good Voyage Church A bronze statue of a man in mid-19th century clothing sitting with a sketchpad and gazing at the nearby harbor.

Other signs in the near vicinity described Beauport Sleeper-McCann House, the dory-fishing schooner Adventure and related Schooner Festival hosted by Maritime Gloucester, and the Gloucester Sea Serpent allegedly spotted from 1638 through 1975. A weather-worn map of the Gloucester HarborWalk showed the loop of stops, which I will surely complete on my next trip. At the top of a small hill was Fitz Henry Lane House named for local artist Fitz Henry Lane, who had the Gothic Revival stone building constructed in 1849. The house has been on the National Register since 1970.

A mural of ships in a harbor at sunset. Construction vehicles block some of the mural. A green buoy about twenty feet tall standing in a square paved with red brick. A green buoy about twenty feet tall standing in a square paved with blond brick.

A nearby statue depicts the artist looking towards the ocean. A seemingly eccentric figure, he was born Nathaniel Rogers Lane and was long assumed to call himself Fitz Hugh Lane, a name that was accidently put on his gravestone. Lane was best known for creating the Luminist style, an American painting technique for showing light and atmosphere, especially over the water. The area including the house, statue, and signs has been known as Solomon Jacobs Park since 1975. It is named after Gloucester mariner Captain Solomon Jacobs, colorfully known as “King of the Mackerel Killers”. Jacobs was originally from Newfoundland but spent most of his adult life based in Gloucester.

A manhole cover depicting the Schooner Adventure in the middle of a compass-like sun A large medal medallion of a compass rose about fifteen feet across A red building behind a black metal fence with a vinyl sign reading in part United States Coast Guard Station Gloucester

Closer to the water, I spotted the mural Ship in Fog on Harbor Loop commissioned by Awesome Gloucester, part of micro-grant funding organization The Awesome Group. All grants given by the organization are $1,000 per month with “no strings attached”. Visual artists Josh Falk and Dana Woulfe depict sailing boats on the harbor at sunset and were inspired by “Ship in Fog” by Fitz Henry Lane. The piece is now held by Princeton University.

At a dock is a two-mast early 20th century boat painted black. A large metal flower pot with decorative fish. A blue and white sign with the silhouette of a sailor at a ship wheel

I found a pair of beached buoys, each with a plaque of fun facts. The first buoy was in front of the Maritime Gloucester building and near U.S. Coast Guard Station Gloucester described the boats of the Coast Guard. The station opened in 1901 and is still in operation. Near the buoy is the Gloucester Compass Rose donated by Matthew F. Collins in 2014 and created by artist Mark W. Read with designer Jeffrey M. Harbinson. Also in the area, the schooner Adventure docked between trips. The ship has been on the National Register since 1989. The second buoy was at St. Peter’s Square and gave information about St. Peter’s Fiesta along with the history of the docks.

A green metal statue of a fisherman wearing late 19th century clothing standing with his hands grasping a ship wheel. He stands on the base with the words "They that go down to the sea in ships 1623-1923". Flowers surround the base. A metal plaque describing the history of Ten Pen Island Lighthouse. Flowers surround the plaque. A metal sign on a pole with other signs. The sign reads “Carry In Carry Off” and shows the sailor tossing his garbage in a nearby bin.

My final stop was the famous Gloucester Fisherman’s Memorial, which includes the sculpture Fisherman at the Wheel by Leonard Craske. On the base is the quote “They that go down to the sea in ships” taken from Psalm 107:23 KJV. Below is are the years 1623, indicating the first European settlement in Gloucester, and 1923, the year the memorial was erected, making it over a hundred years old. Besides the visually arresting sculpture, the park has flower pots decorated with metal fish and a plaque describing the Ten Pound Island Lighthouse, which I saw on the lighthouse cruise. I also spotted a delightful sign reminding visitors to “Carry In Carry Off” their trash and showing the sailor tossing his garbage in a nearby bin.

Location: Gloucester, MA, USA