The Historic District Commission in Provincetown has approved plans for a new modern house at 4 Pilgrims Landing, marking a departure from the panel's usual review of traditional Cape Cod architectural elements. The commission, which typically focuses on weathered shingles and peaked rooflines of the town's older structures, reviewed the contemporary design proposal on November 5 for construction on an undeveloped lot in a gated subdivision located on a hill in the far West End.
Architect Graham Brindle of Turkel Design in Somerville presented detailed plans for a two-story, 2,700-square-foot house featuring a finished basement and one-car garage. The structure will be built on a 9,000-square-foot lot situated on top of a dune, offering panoramic views of salt marshes and Provincetown Harbor. The property forms part of a 3.5-acre tract at 2 Commercial Street that was formerly owned by Carl and Dorothea Murchison.
The site has significant architectural history dating back to 1916, when lifelong resident Joshua Payne built a Portuguese-style villa known as Castle Dune on the lot. After this original structure was destroyed in a fire, the Murchisons commissioned a modernist replacement house in 1957. The new residence was designed by the Architects Collaborative in Cambridge, with Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius, a partner in the firm, believed to have been involved in the design process.
Peter McMahon, co-author of "Cape Cod Modern" and founding director of the Cape Cod Modern House Trust, provided historical context about the Murchison house when the property went up for sale in 2008. He noted that the house was "an exception to the structures that a group of masters of modern design like Marcel Breuer and Serge Chermayeff had built for themselves and their clients on the Outer Cape. Those were mostly quite humble in size and material." McMahon described the Murchison House as "an extravagant, state-of-the-art modernist villa perched on a hill at the last point of terra firma in Provincetown," based on a Japanese temple plan.
In 2008, art collector and Southborough resident Clifford Schorer purchased the property for $6,550,000. Schorer undertook extensive restoration of the Murchison house, which had fallen into disrepair during decades when a reclusive family member lived there. As part of his purchase, Schorer secured approval to divide the property into nine lots that remain part of a private association including the original Murchison house.
The subdivision approval came with specific requirements established through an agreement between the town and Schorer. The agreement stipulates that houses built on the new lots must be "harmonious with the modern and contemporary aesthetics of the Murchison house." Additionally, all plans must undergo review by the Historic District Commission, with the panel empowered to allow modern design elements that complement the historic structure.
Brindle's proposed design for 4 Pilgrims Landing incorporates several elements that echo the original Murchison house. The structure features a flat roof with thin edges and deep overhangs similar to those of the 1957 modernist home. The exterior will combine weathered cedar vertical siding, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, and metal panels with a bronze finish used as accent elements. A large deck overlooking the West End salt marsh will include a built-in plunge pool as a distinctive feature.
The architect assured the commission that the 23-foot height of the proposed house complies with the limit established in the agreement with the town and will not interfere with views from the historic Murchison house. Commission chair John Dowd expressed strong approval for the design, stating, "I think it's spectacular, and I wouldn't say to change a thing about it." Dowd moved to approve the plan without modifications.
However, commission member Thomas Biggert raised concerns about certain aspects of the design before the final vote. Biggert specifically questioned the sides of the house, which feature essentially solid wood construction with only a single slim window. "It just seems like there's an opportunity with new construction to do something more textural," Biggert said, drawing on his experience working in design in Los Angeles. He compared the proposal to "concrete stucco boxes stuck on the side of the hill, with incredible views but no street presence."
Property owner Peter Gal, who is based in California, addressed some of these concerns by indicating his willingness to incorporate local artistic elements. Gal told the commission he is in discussions with an interior decorator about the potential of incorporating some local art into the exterior of the structure. Despite Biggert's reservations, the commission voted to approve the design, with Biggert casting the only dissenting vote.
Brindle explained in a subsequent phone interview that while contemporary building design can be used in areas outside Provincetown's historic district, this particular location presents unique opportunities and challenges. "I think this site, this hilltop, is as close as you can get to downtown and still be building modern architecture," he said. The architect noted that while his firm typically draws from modern and mid-century modern aesthetics in its designs, "with 4 Pilgrims Landing, we tried to take a lot of inspiration from the Murchison house itself and carry those themes into our house."
The approval represents just one step in the review process, with the next phase requiring a determination that the proposed design's scale fits appropriately within the neighborhood context. The Murchison house is not the only architecturally significant structure on the West End dune, as Schorer previously commissioned Hariri & Hariri of New York to design the first house in the newly established subdivision.
The 2,400-square-foot beach house designed by Hariri & Hariri was constructed in 2013 and is described on the firm's website as being "only steps away from a masterwork of 20th-century architecture by Walter Gropius." The firm's website explains that "the contours and curvature of the land combined with the city's 23-foot height limit were used to develop a snug, intimate relationship between the architecture and the site."
Architectural historian David W. Dunlap, author of "Building Provincetown: The History of Provincetown Told Through Its Built Environment," observed that the Hariri & Hariri house design "bore more than a passing resemblance to the firm's residential development in Salzburg, Austria." Dunlap praised the structure as "a welcome and needed breath of pure oxygen, a declaration that there is room in modern Provincetown for more than Ye Olde Cape Cod shingles and shutters."
However, Dunlap also noted that there was some local concern during construction of the first house in Schorer's development. Community members worried that the bold contemporary design could potentially overshadow "what ought to be the main architectural event: Gropius's quieter and more subtle Murchison House." Dunlap acknowledged in a phone interview that he had not returned to the property in several years to assess how these concerns had materialized.
