Measured mile south targets
The long-lost foundations of the shoreline south target re-emerged after the brutal storms of 2018. [2018, Dunlap]
A postcard aerial view of the Provincetown Inn shows the southern pair of target towers, circled in yellow. [Scrapbooks of Althea Boxell 6:42 / Dowd Collection / Provincetown History Preservation Project Page 1838]
[2018, Dunlap]
[2018, Dunlap]
Text last updated on 10 September 2018 | To permit naval vessels to accurately gauge their speed over a short distance, three pairs of target towers were built along Herring Cove coastline, where the sea floor falls sharply off to a depth of 150 feet off Shank Painter Bar. A vessel proceeding on a course of 311 degrees 11 minutes could track its progress with reference first to the southernmost target towers, one on the shoreline, one farther upland. When the upland and shoreline target towers aligned, the vessel was at the beginning of a course extending one nautical mile (1.15 statute mile) to the alignment point of the center targets or one-and-a-half nautical miles (1.73 statute miles) to the alignment point of the northern targets. None of the towers still stand.
The brutal storms of January 2018 all but leveled dunes at the southern end of Herring Cove, opening a breach in the beachfront and revealing the long-lost footings of the outermost south target. Their runic quality instantly took hold of the popular imagination. Jay Critchley transformed the three ragged concrete stubs into an environmental artwork called Shrouded Rainbow.
¶ Republished on 19 December 2023.