Chicago House | Formerly Mrs. Joseph’s
Accommodations for feathered transients. [2025, Dunlap]
[2022, Dunlap]
Why name a Provincetown guest house for a city 1,088 miles away? Because Chicago was the hometown of John “Al” Arko and Jerome Newcomer, who took over this property in 1961 and sold it in 1977. “Ownership has changed many times, always remaining the Chicago House,” said Christopher Paul Scales, who has owned the guest house since 2001. (By coincidence, Chicago was where the Rev. Dr. William Henry Ryder had his national pulpit. His family homestead is next door.) Scales said construction of the house can be documented to the period from 1820 to 1836 but that it may have been built earlier in the 19th century. James Husson-Cote said Nos. 3, 6, and 8 Winslow were identical when built. Antone and Louise Joseph, who owned the property from 1945 to 1958, offered transient lodging under the name Mrs. Joseph’s. Their granddaughter Kathleen Joseph Meads was born here.