The small apartment house overlooking tiny Briggs Lane shows up on an 1889 street atlas, which noted — for the benefit of insurers — that the building had a brick first floor. You can still see that brick first floor today. Inside are five bedrooms and five full bathrooms, according to town records. The property has been associated on and off with the abutting lot at 130 Commercial Street, but is currently under separate ownership.
Frank and Mary Souza bought 130A Commercial Street in 1943. Which Frank and Mary Souza, you might ask, since there were six Frank Souzas and 14 Mary Souzas in Provincetown at that time. This Frank was 47 years old in 1950 and serving in the Coast Guard, while Mary was a 43-year-old homemaker. They sold the property in 1960 to Sophie Joel, who already owned 130 Commercial. Bundled together, 130 and 130A were acquired from Joel in 1964 by Lloyd E. Sinclair of Boston. He sold them together to Jean F. Frottier in 1971. Then the parcels were divided again. This lot was purchased in 1979 by Eric Shalom and Sam Shalom, whose family owns the long-running Shalom’s Gift Shop at 251-253 Commercial Street, as well as the building itself (a historically significant surviving wharf head structure) and the equally important 255-257 Commercial.
Left: The brick first floor cited on an 1889 insurance map can still be seen at 130A Commercial Street. Right: The southwest facade overlooks tiny Briggs Lane, a four-foot-wide path running between Commercial and Bradford Streets. Both photos were taken in 2012 by David W. Dunlap.
David W. Dunlap (2008).
The Shaloms sold 130A Commercial Street in 1984, for $104,000, to Leslie J. Tiffany and Maria M. Barros of Brookline, and Mary DiNatale of Malden. Tiffany has been the sole owner of the property since 2001.
¶ Last updated on 5 January 2019.
130A Commercial Street on the Town Map
Thumbnail image: Photo, 2012, by David W. Dunlap.