(1929)
Western Cold Storage.
Seven enormous cold storage plants — known simply as “cold storages” or “freezers” — served the fishing fleet in the early 20th century, keeping bait fresh until it was needed and keeping the catch fresh until it could be transported to market. The freezers were strung along the waterfront from the Western Cold Storage here, at what is now the West End Parking Lot, all the way to the unmistakable Ice House condominium, formerly the Consolidated Weir Company Cold Storage, the last one that still stands. Inside, fish were kept frozen in trays on shelves within large refrigerated rooms, cooled by a network of pipes through which calcium chloride brine, ammonia, or other liquids circulated at temperatures well below zero. The Western Cold Storage was the shortest-lived of the lot. Constructed around 1917/1919 by the Cape Cod Fish Products Company, the freezer only operated a year or so. The corporation was dissolved in 1920 by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its property was seized by the Town of Provincetown for tax delinquency. The freezer was demolished in 1937, though many remnants of it were visible well into the 1950s.
For a view of the Steve Tom Nickerson Wharf, please see 55-57 Commercial Street.
For a view of the West End Boat Launch, please see 55-57 Commercial Street.
For a view of the West End Lot, please see 55-57 Commercial Street.
For a view of the West End Lot Beach, please see 55-57 Commercial Street.
For a view of Warren Witherstine Square, please see 55-57 Commercial Street.
¶ Last updated on 28 June 2018. ¶ Image courtesy of the Town of Provincetown, Document Center 2881. (1929 Sanborn Map, Plate 2.)