A 178-Year-Old Provincetown House Just One Block From the Beach Lists for $3.8 Million

If you’ve been looking to pick up a beach house for the summer, now’s your chance to snap one up that’s almost right on the water in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Built in 1847, this East End property has only had three owners—and you could be the fourth. The $3.8 million abode sits just one block from the beach and from Commercial Street, P-Town’s main drag that’s loaded with stores, galleries, and restaurants. Nick Hanneman and Chris Gonzales at Compass hold the listing.

The four-bedroom, three-bath residence has retained many of its original details, including wide-plank floorboards and warm wood detailing on the ceilings and around the windows. The charming living room is centered around a brick fireplace and an oriel window that is one of just 26 windows that let natural light in throughout the home. The kitchen has been updated with modern appliances, and it opens into a dining room that can seat up to 10.

Upstairs, the primary suite has access to a wrap-around deck with peek-a-boo views of the ocean. And outside, the large, flat yard is landscaped with old-growth and specimen plantings. There’s also an outdoor shower for washing up after a day at the beach, and the driveway has enough space for four cars, a rarity in this part of town.

Provincetown, which sits at the very tip of Cape Cod, has long been a favorite of artists and the LGBT community. The director and actor John Waters is a longtime summer resident, and the TV writer Ryan Murphy undertook a years-long restoration of the painter Hans Hofmann’s studio there. It may feel a bit sleepier than other summer hot spots like the Hamptons or Nantucket, but it’s filled with a spirited, artistic energy that you won’t find in every beach town.

While the humble homes in P-Town can reach into the millions of dollars, as evidenced by this beach house, they don’t tend to be as splashy as is common with some other destinations where local and international glitterati gather during summers. For example, a 19th-century estate in the Hamptons sitting on more than an acre was listed for $18.5 million last year, while crooner Harry Connick Jr. listed his Lower Cape Cod spread for $12.5 million almost a year ago, although it appears the home was taken off the market late last year.