143A Bradford Street

143 Bradford Street Condominium (Units D-E).

Who would build a perfectly nice house directly behind a large commercial garage and automotive shop? Well, practically no one. And that’s certainly not what happened here, at what is now designated 143A Bradford (but was 141 Bradford once upon a time). The house precedes the garage by many decades. Up until the 1920s, it faced the street across an open lot, with an unobstructed view. Then two long parking garages, parallel to one another, were constructed on the lot. They were replaced in the mid-1930s by the 63-by-52-foot building that is now known as 141 Bradford Street and currently houses the Provincetown Brewing Company. It hides the house almost completely.

Nathaniel L. Browne (1883-1970), a carpenter, lived here in the 1950s and early ’60s with his wife, Ethel E. Browne (1884-1976). Lillian C. Shepard (1894-1976) was shown as the resident in Provincetown’s first telephone directory, published in 1966 when direct dialing was introduced on the Lower Cape. Her brother, Albert W. Shepard (1900-1968), an Army veteran who had worked as a cook and bartender, lived with her after both of his legs were amputated over the winter of 1964-1965. Shepard made for an impressive figure in town by getting about in a gasoline-powered golf cart custom modified by Clarence Kacergis. The Advocate noted: “A motorist here who finds a golf cart ahead of him in street traffic and may wonder about it, should know that its operator is a resourceful man who’s making the most of his opportunities.” Walter D. Gonsalves, a fisherman, and Deborah J. Gonsalves lived here in the 1980s and ’90s.

Hidden by the Provincetown Brewing Company is 143A Bradford, seen here in a 2009 photo by the Town Assessor, Key 9541

In 2008, Joseph M. Days sold the property, including 143 Bradford Street, for $860,000 to Geraldine K. “Jerry” Anathan and Cassandra “Cass” Benson, doing business as Anathan Benson L.L.C. This partnership was responsible for several projects in town, including the conversion in 2008 of the Gull’s Nest Motel, 6 Sandy Hill Lane, into the 12-unit Gull’s Nest Condominium. In 2008, Anathan opened the Yoga East studio, 43 Race Point Road. Two years later, Benson opened the Harbor Lounge at Merchants’ Hall, 359 Commercial Street.

Anathan Benson’s Bradford Street condo project, converting two buildings into a five-unit complex, was completed in 2009. Three units are in the main building, while two are in this house. They’re owned by residents of Boston and Meriden, Conn.

¶ Last updated on 15 October 2020.

143-143A Bradford Street on the Town Map.

Also at 143-143A Bradford Street:

• 143 Bradford Street Condominium (Units A-C).

Thumbnail image: Photo, 2009, by the Town Assessor, Key 9541.

In memoriam:

• Ethel E. Browne (1884-1976)

Find a Grave Memorial No. 191655350.

• Nathaniel L. Browne (1883-1970)

Find a Grave Memorial No. 191655349.

• Albert W. Shepard (1900-1968)

Find a Grave Memorial No. 191184639.

• Lillian C. Shepard (1894-1976)

Find a Grave Memorial No. 137937116.

Sources for the slideshow

1889: Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Provincetown, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the Library of Congress Geography and Map Division, Digital ID http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3764pm.g038261889.

1912: Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Provincetown, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the Library of Congress Geography and Map Division, Digital ID http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3764pm.g038261912.

1929: Town of Provincetown, 1929 Sanborn Map, Plate 8.

1938: Town of Provincetown, 1938 Sanborn Map, Plate 8.

2015: Town of Provincetown, Cadastral Maps, Map 12-1.