Provincetown Outdoor Elevator Now Open on Cape Cod

PROVINCETOWN — Get on, get on and go!

The outdoor elevator built to carry up to 18 people between Bradford Street and the Pilgrim Monument and Museum in Provincetown opened on Friday April 1.

The trip took about a minute.

take a ride

Riding the elevator, as Cape Cod Pilgrim Memorial Association executive director K. David Weidner said, was smooth and quiet.

“People make more noise than the elevator,” Weidner said Friday at the Bradford Street elevator kiosk.

Continued:The Pilgrim Monument’s exterior elevator passes state inspection

To ascend the hill from Bradford Street, a person can purchase a ticket with a credit card at the touchscreen kiosk next to the lift.

The elevator doors open with a low-voiced swoosh, then the ticket holder can enter and press no. 2 button to go up to the monument. The doors close as silently as they open. There is a small initial jolt as the elevator starts, like a train leaving a station.

The lift glides to the top of the hill in 40 seconds to a minute. Once at the top, the elevator car stops and the doors open.

Outside is a chance to see Provincetown from a whole new perspective.

First meeting

North Truro resident and longtime Provincetown worker Jenny Humphreys wanted to be the first person in the elevator.

She was (apart from the monument staff and the newspaper staff).

The idea of ​​doing something new in Provincetown was appealing, Humphreys said as she stood near the Bradford Street lift entrance.

“When I saw it, I felt like a little girl, like I had to get into it,” she said. “It’s just beyond my imagination.”

Humphreys told her boyfriend she wanted to be the first person in the elevator. “He was like, how likely is that to happen, Jenny? It’s not gonna happen, you know how many people want to do this? And here I am,” she said.

Humphreys entered the elevator, free for opening day, and rode it to the top with a smile on her face.

Continued:How can I take the outside elevator in Provincetown? here’s how

A new door

Pilgrim Monument employee Tim O’Connor thinks the elevator is “spectacular”.

“My first comment was that it’s awesome. I’ve been at it since the moment I saw the render. I think it’s going to be a great expansion, our new gate,” O’Connor said.

There is an exhibit of O’Connor and her late husband, John Michael Gray, at the Monuments and Museums complex under the name Hat Sisters, O’Connor said.

In Provincetown, Hat Sisters hats dominated the Commercial Street crowds and caused endless double takes. Both men became expected and expected guests as the AIDS epidemic ravaged Boston and fundraising events became a frequent part of the LGBT social calendar.

The descent was fun, he said.

O’Connor is looking forward to the summer, to see all the boats in the harbor and all the activity.

“It’s a great sight. It’s a little over a minute but it’s fun. It’s really nice,” he said.

How to ride

The ride is free for members of the monument. For those who are not members, the cost of using the elevator matches the price of admission to the monument and museum complex, which is $20 for adults; $16 for seniors 65 and older and ages 13 to 17; $9 for children 4 to 12 years old; and children 3 and under are free.

The inauguration of the elevator is scheduled for June 1 at 1 p.m.

The privately funded elevator, which lifts passengers about 80 feet, is one of the few in New England and about 30 in the United States, according to Coastal Engineering Company CEO John Bologna, whose company was the registered engineer for the project.

“To finally be able to say that our new front door is ready is just an amazing feeling,” Weidner said Friday.

“My desire to connect the institution to the community is to speak about our mission of truth, so that people understand where they are, why they are here and why we are here,” he said. “It’s a big thing, and how you relate it to access, you can get on, you can buy a ticket.”

The kiosk is really easy, Weidner said.

“It’s a touchscreen, credit card purchase that lets you enter the monument, climb to the top, enjoy the view and come back down,” he said.

TAKE THE ELEVATOR

To learn more about the elevator, visit https://www.pilgrim-monument.org/