(2016)
There are three entirely separate buildings and tax lots with 61 Commercial in their address. The main house, a Long Point floater and classic full Cape, carries the plain number 61. Behind it, on the water, are two cottages: this former fish house, which has been owned by the Alemany family since 1946, and No. 61B, an entirely reconstructed version of an old fish house that used to stand in its spot.
To judge from old atlases and property records, 61A Commercial had been split off from the main property no later than 1908, when it was sold to Henrietta A. Murray and Margaret E. Flynn.¹ After Murray’s death, Flynn sold the house to José Bori Alemany (1895-1951) and his wife, Alta Costen Alemany (1894-1988), of Pittsburgh.² Alemany was an instructor in comparative literature and romance languages at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (forerunner of Carnegie Mellon University). But more important for our story, he was an accomplished photographer who trained his lens on Provincetown subjects, creating moody — dare one say noir-ish? — views of the waterfront and of the fishery. The Alemany family, now in the person of Luanne Alemany, still owns the house.
For a view of the main house, please see 61 Commercial Street.
For a view of the original 61B Commercial Street, please see 61B Commercial Street.
For a view of the new 61B Commercial Street, please see 61B Commercial Street.
¶ Last updated on 2 July 2018.
¹ Tarrant to Murray et alia, 3 July 1908, Barnstable County Registry of Deeds, Book 289, Page 304.
² Murray to Alemany, 6 May 1946, Barnstable County Registry of Deeds, Book 646, Page 163.