>>> COMING UP, WE'RE CONNECTING YOU WITH THE CREATIVITY AND CULTURE OF A NEW ENGLAND TREASURE.

AS WE EXPLORE THE BEAUTY, THE ART INDUSTRY, AND THE HISTORY OF CAPE COD.

>> THE WAVES ARE ALWAYS SHAPING, RESHAPING, BUILDING UP, TAKING AWAY.

EVERY TIME YOU GO TO THE BEACH, IT'S A REDISCOVERY.

>> WE'LL PAY A VISIT TO THE OLDEST CONTINUOUS ARTS COLONY IN AMERICA, PROVINCETOWN.

>> IF YOU'RE HERE TO GO THE BEACHES OR THE DUNES, THAT'S WHAT THE ART WAS INSPIRED FROM.

THE ART IS THE CONNECTOR BETWEEN EVERYTHING IN PROVINCETOWN.

>> AND WE'LL EXPLORE WHY THE CAPE HAS SERVED AS A DESTINATION AND INSPIRATION FOR SO MANY.

>> YOU'VE GOT HUGE EXPANSE EXPANSES GOING OUT.

THE OCEAN, INCREDIBLE SKIES, THE SAND, THE LIGHT IS CRAZY BEAUTIFUL.

>> JOIN US FOR THOSE STORIES AND MORE AS WE EXPLORE THE CREATIVITY, CULTURE, AND COMMUNITY THAT MAKE CAPE COD SO SPECIAL, UP NEXT ON "CONNECTING POINT."

>>> SUPPORT FOR "CONNECTING POINT" IS PROVIDED BY OUR CONTRIBUTING VIEWERS.

¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ >>> WELCOME AND THANKS FOR JOINING US FOR "CONNECTING POINT."

YOUR SOURCE FOR CREATIVITY, CULTURE, AND COMMUNITY.

I'M ZYDALISI'M ZYDALIS BAUER.

IF YOU'RE ONE OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF VISITORS TO CAPE COD EVERY SUMMER, IT'S DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE A TIME WHEN IT WAS SIMPLY A HOME FOR SET LERGS AND FISHERMEN.

WHILE IT HAS DRAWN VACATIONERS AND ARTISTS TO ITS SHORES FOR A LONG TIME, FOR MANY YEARS THIS PART OF THE MASSACHUSETTS COAST WAS UNPROTECTED.

THAT CHANGED ON AUGUST 7TH, 1961, WHEN NATIVE SON AND THEN-PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY FORMALLY SIGNED INTO LAW THE CREATION OF THE CAPE COD NATIONAL SEASHORE.

THE NEW PARK SET ASIDE WHAT WOULD BECOME MORE THAN 43,000 ACRES FROM THE ELBOW OF CHATHAM TO THE TIP OF PROVINCETOWN.

PRODUCER DAVE FRASER EXPLORES THE RICH HISTORY AND HOW IT INVITED VISITORS TO EXPERIENCE A DIFFERENT KIND OF SEASIDE, UNPOLISHED AND UNDEVELOPED.

>> A GRAND PLACE TO BE ALONE AND UNDISTURBED IS HOW PLAYWRIGHT EUGENE O'NEAL DESCRIBED THE OUTER BEACHES OF CAPE COD, A 40-MILE STRETCH THAT SHELTERS CAPE COD BAY OUTSIDE THE ELBOW.

>> THIS WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST TREACHEROUS AREAS ALONG THE EAST COAST BECAUSE OF THE WAY CAPE COD STICKS OUT.

>> I HAD NO IDEA YOU KNOW, LIVING IN CHATHAM HERE AS A KID, THAT THERE WAS THIS SORT OF WIDER CAPE COD.

>> THE WAVES ARE ALWAYS SHAPING, RESHAPING, BUILDING UP, TAKING AWAY.

EVERY TIME YOU GO TO THE BEACH, 80S A REDISCOVERY.

>> -- IT'S A REDISCOVERY.

>> WHEN PEOPLE GO TO THE DUNES OR RACE POINT AND HERRING COVE AND YOU WATCH A SUN SET OR A SUNRISE, YOU'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT.

>> IT CAN INDUCE A FEELING OF ENCHANTMENT THAT LEFT VISITORS, ESPECIALLY WRITERS AND ARTISTS, TO REIMAGINE WHY THEY WERE THERE.

E.E.

COUPLINGS, JACK CAIRO WRACK, MARY OLIVER AND HENRY BESTTON WHOSE BOOK "THE OUTER MOST" HOUSE CHRONICLED THE DUNES, WETLANDS, AND HARBORS AND AWOKE CAPE CODERS TO A LANDSCAPE THAT NEEDED PROTECTION.

>> HE WAS OUT THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS BEAUTIFUL NATURAL SETTING THAT HE HAD ALWAYS -- IT HAD ALWAYS APPEALED TO HIM BUT HE NEVER GOT TO EXPERIENCE IT.

AND THE MORE HE WAS OUT THERE, THE MORE HE FELL IN LOVE WITH THE PLACE.

SO HE HAD A POUS BUILT OUT -- HOUSE BUILT OUT ON WHAT IS NOW COAST GUARD BEACH.

IT HAD 10 WINDOWS.

HE SAID HE HAD A RATHER AMATEURISM ENTHUSIASM FOR WINDOWS.

I HAD 10.

I WAS TOLD BY ONE OF HIS FRIENDS THAT NATURE AND WRITING WERE SYNONYMOUS WITH HIM.

HE TALKED ABOUT THE RHYTHMS OF THE WAVES, HOW THEY CAME IN IN THREES.

HE WAS SO TAKEN BY THAT.

AND HE SAID THAT THE WRITING HAS TO HAVE RHYTHMS, JUST LIKE THE WAVES.

¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ >> THE WATER HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE CAPE'S CALLING CARD.

FISHING BUILT STOWNS LIE TURO AND -- LIKE TRURO AND PROVINCE STOINS.

ANY TEEN -- PROVINCETONE.

PEOPLE WANTED WHAT THE CAPE OFFERED, ITS RURAL CHARACTER AND ITS UNFETTERED ACCESS TO THE SEA.

BUT IN COMING HERE, THEY CHANGED THE VERY THING THEY WERE SEEKING.

>> CAPE COD WAS AT A CROSSROADS IN THE 1950s FOR SURE.

LAND WAS STILL AVAILABLE AND STILL INPENSIVE.

AND -- INEXPENSIVE AND THERE WAS A DANGER OF DEVELOPMENT TAKING OFF AND TURNING THE PLACE INTO MORE -- MORE DENSELY POPULATED COASTAL AREAS.

BUT AT THIS POINT IN THE MID 1950s, THERE WAS STILL A 40-MILE OR SO UNBROKEN STRETCH OF OUTER BEACH THAT FOR THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE WAS ENTICING BECAUSE IT OFFERED A LOT OF PUBLIC RECREATION TO PEOPLE WITHIN A DAY'S DRIVE OF THIS AREA.

>> IN 1955, A FIRST-TERM SENATOR FROM MASSACHUSETTS SPONSORED A BILL THAT WOULD LARGELY SERVE AS THE FRAMEWORK FOR THE SEASHORE LEGISLATION.

THAT SENATOR WOULD BECOME PRESIDENT AND IN 1961, SIGNED THE BILL INTO LAW, CREATING THE CAPE COD NATIONAL SEASHORE.

SOME THREE TO FOUR MILLION PEOPLE VISIT THE NATIONAL SEASHORE EVERY YEAR FOR A SMALL FEE DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS, ANYONE CAN HAVE ACCESS TO THIS PRISTINE BEACH, ITS BLUE ATLANTIC, ITS LONG SANDS AND COMMANDING HIGH BLUFFS.

THIS ISN'T A GATED PROPERTY.

IT'S THERE FOR ALL WHO CHOOSE TO COME -- TO COME.

>> I'VE WORKED OVER 30 YEARS AT THE NATIONAL SEASHORE AND WHAT I FOUND HERE WAS THE -- THAT OUTER BEACH, THAT SENSE OF SOLITUDE, THAT PLACE TO ESCAPE.

AND THAT IS MY GO-TO PLACE.

AS PARK HISTORIAN, I LOVE THE HISTORIC BUILDINGS, THE LIGHTHOUSES, THE HUMAN STORIES, THE DUNE SHACKS.

BUT IN MY SPARE TIME AND WHEN I NEED A BREAK FROM THE BUSYNESS OF WORKING AT A PARK, I GO TO THE OUTER BANK, ESPECIALLY IN ON A FOGGY DAY OR EARLY MORNING OR AT SUNSET.

THAT IS A GREAT PLACE TO REIGNITE THE PASSION OF WORKING IN A NATIONAL PARK.

¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ >>> THE LIGHT AND NATURAL COASTAL BEAUTY OF THE OUTER BEACH OF CAPE COD HAS ATTRACTED TOURISTS AND INSPIRED ARTISTS FOR OVER A CENTURY AND IT SHOULD COME AS NO SURPRISE TO FIND OUT THAT THIS AREA IS ALSO THE HOME TO THE OLDEST CONTINUOUS ARTS COLONY IN AMERICA.

PRODUCER DAVE FRASER VISITS PROVINCETOWN TO LEARN THE HISTORY OF THIS COMMUNITY AND TO MEET ONE THE WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS ARTIST WHO HAS BEEN PAINTING ON THE OUTER CAPE FOR CLOSE TO 30 YEARS.

¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ >> WHEN I LOOK BACK ON MY LIFE AND I THINK, THIS IS -- THIS IS MY JOB.

I'M ALWAYS TELLING PEOPLE THAT.

YOU KNOW, I'M AT WORK RIGHT NOW!

¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ >> I FEEL REALLY FORTUNATE I GET TO GO OUT AND PHOTOGRAPH AND EVERY SO OFTEN I STEP BACK AND GO, MAN, ARE BUYING MY WORK.

THAT'S PRETTY COOL.

THAT'S PRETTY COOL.

>> WITH ITS INCREDIBLE LIGHT AND COLORFUL SURROUNDINGS, THE OUTER BEACHES OF CAPE COD HAVE BEEN ATTRACTING ARTISTS FOR OVER 100 YEARS.

AT THE TIP, THE TOWN OF PROVINCETOWN, AN ECLECTIC COMMUNITY THAT'S BEEN DESCRIBED AS A PLACE OF CONTRASTS, RUGGED AND RURAL WITH A VIBRANT TOWN CENTER.

IT SIMULTANEOUSLY PROVIDES ARTISTS WERE OPPORTUNITIES FOR BOTH SOLITUDE AND SOCIALIZING.

>> IF YOU ASK PEOPLE IF THEY KNOW ABOUT PROVINCETOWN, MASSACHUSETTS, THEY'LL USUALLY SAY THAT'S THAT GAY PLACE WHERE PEOPLE COME FOR CARNIVAL AND THIS AND THAT.

WHAT I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE IS THAT THIS IS THE OLDEST CONTINUOUS ART COLONY IN AMERICA.

NO ONE ELSE CAN SAY THAT EXCEPT PROVINCETOWN.

AND WHEN YOU CROSS THAT LINE INTO PROWFNSTOWN, YOU'VE ENTERED KNEE AN ART MECCA.

¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ >> THE TIP OF THE CAPE FACES NORTH.

AND THAT NORTH LIGHT IS WHAT -- WHAT ARTISTS WERE ALWAYS SEEKING.

SO IF IF YOU GO BACK WHEN THERE WERE NO ARTIFICIAL LIGHTS, ARTISTS WOULD BUILD STUDIOS NORTH TO GET THE LIGHT.

I LIKE REALLY CLEAN COME POSITIONS.

I DON'T LIKE A LOT OF COMPLICATION.

SO FOR ME IT'S ABOUT NEGATIVE SPACE.

IT'S ABOUT GETTING ESSENCE OF WHAT I'M SEEING AND TRYING TO GET THE VIEW TO UNDERSTAND -- VIEWER TO UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SEEING AND IF IT'S QUIET, I WANT IT TO BE QUIET.

IF IT'S VIE BRARNT, IT SHOULD BE -- VIBRANT, IT SHOULD BE SPRAY BANT.

-- VIBRANT.

PEOPLE COME HERE FOR ART SO I GET TO BENEFIT FROM ALL THE PEOPLE WHO CAME BEFORE ME AND THERE WERE BIG, BIG ARTISTS.

PLAYWRIGHTS.

[INAUDIBLE] IT'S GREAT TO BE IN THAT SORT OF ENVIRONMENT.

>> TO BE AN ARTIST IN PROWFNSTOWN MEANS YOU ARE PART OF A COLONY.

CHARLES WEBSTER HAWTHORNE COINED HIS CAPE COD SCHOOL OF ART IN THE SUMMER OF 1899.

AND TAUGHT HIS PLENNAIRE METHOD ON THE TOWN'S WASHINGTON FRONT.

OFTEN AS MANY AS 100 PEOPLE WATCHED AS HE DRAMATICALLY DEMONSTRATED HIS THEORY OF COLOR AND EFFECTS OF LIGHT TO AN OBJECT, SOMETHING ARTISTS TODAY STILL RECOGNIZES.

-- RECOGNIZE.

>> THE WAY THE LIGHT BOUNCES OFF THE SAND, THE SAND DUNES AND THE SANDBARS ON THE BAY.

SO YOU JUST GET THIS ABUNDANCE OF SUNLIGHT HITTING THE AREA AND THEN JUST SPREADING OUT AND IT'S BEAUTIFUL.

I LIKE ARCHITECTURE AND NATURE TOGETHER.

NOT JUST PURE NATURE.

IF I PAINT A SEASCAPE, I SEND TO LOOK FOR SOME ARCHITECT WRIEWRL ELEMENT IN THAT.

AND I JUST LOVE THE COMBINATION.

>> THIS IS AN ATTRACTIVE SPOT, BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT THE SKY, MAN-MADE STRUCTURES WHICH I LOVE, AND THE WATER AND THE REFLECTIONS AND THE BEACH.

YOU HAVE ALL THE ELEMENTS TO MAKE A BEAUTIFUL PAINTING.

I'VE PAINTED THIS SCENE AT SUNRISE, SUNSET.

I'VE PAINTED THIS SCENE AND HAD PEOPLE COME AND BUY IT RIGHT OFF MY EASEL.

BELT BELL.

>> -- .

[BELL RINGING] >> O'YEAH!

GREETINGS FROM PROWFNSTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS.

>> ART IS EVERYWHERE IN THIS SMALL THREE-SQUARE MILE TOWN AT THE TIP OF THE CAPE.

AND ARTISTS WHO COME HERE TODAY ARE STILL LOOKING AT THE SAME THINGS THAT ART DRIFTS WERE LOOKING AT -- ARTISTS WERE LOOKING AT 100 OR SO YEARS AGO.

HOW THEY DEPICT IT DPEDGEDS ON THEIR STYLE AND INTERPRETATION.

BUT THE LANDSCAPE AND THE LIGHT REMAINS THE SAME.

>> ANY PLACE YOU WALK INTO PROWFNSTOWN, THERE'S -- PROVINCETOWN, THERE'S ORIGINAL ARTIST, WHETHER IT'S A RESTAURANT, ONE OF THE 50 OR 60 GAL RIGGS.

AND IF YOU'RE HERE TO GO TO THE BEACHES OR THE DUNES, THAT'S WHAT THE ART WAS INSPIRED FROM.

SO THE ART IS THE CONNECTOR BETWEEN EVERYTHING IN PROIVESTOWN.

-- PROVINCETOWN.

>>> OUTSIDE OF THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF ITS THRIVING DOWNTOWN LIES THE OUTER DUNES OF PROVINCETOWN.

WITHIN THIS PROTECTED LANDSCAPE, THERE ARE 19 SHACKS OF VARIOUS SHAPES AND SIZES THAT HAVE DRAWN WRITERS AND ARTISTS TO THEM AND HAVE SERVED AS THE INSPIRATION FOR MARN GREAT WORKS OF AMERICAN LITERATURE.

WE JOIN PRODUCER DAVE FRASER AS HE TAKES US ON A TOUR OF THIS HISTORIC REGION OF THE OUTER CAPE.

¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ >> THE DUNES ON THE OUTER BEACH OF CAPE COD WERE FORMED AS A RESULT OF EARLY SETTLERS CUTTING DOWN THE THESE.

WITH NOTHING TO HOLD THE SANDY SOIL IN PLACE, THE SAND WAS SHAPED AND ERODED BY EACH PASSING STORM.

WHEN THE DUNES BECAME PART OF THE CAPE COD NATIONAL SEASHORE, ACCESS WAS CAREFULLY RESTRICTED TO MINIMIZE FURTHER DAMAGE.

TO SEE THEM ONE MUST EITHER HIKE IN VIA ONE OF THE PARK'S APPROVED TRAILS OR BE DRIVEN IN BY A GUIDE FROM ARTS DUNE TOURS.

THE ONLY TOUR GUIDE COMPANY THAT IS ALLOWED ACCESS TO THE DUNES BY VEHICLE.

>> IT'S ALWAYS A TREAT OUT HERE BECAUSE IT'S SO DIFFERENT.

EVERY TRIP, BETWEEN THE LIGHTING, THE CLOUDS, THE COLORS, THE VEGETATION, THE PEOPLE'S INTEREST AND THE QUESTIONS, YOU KNOW.

SO BETWEEN ALL OF THAT, EVERY SINGLE TOUR, EVERY SINGLE DAY IS DIFFERENT.

>> ROB COSTA AND HIS FAMILY HAVE BEEN TAKING PEOPLE ON TOURS OF THE DUNES SINCE 1946.

HIS DAD STARTED THE BUSINESS AFTER RETURNING HOME FROM WORLD WAR II.

>> HE ENDED UP BUYING A 1936 FORD WOODY AND HE STARTED HIS OWN COMPANY BECAUSE HE LOVED IT SO MUCH, YOU KNOW.

AND HE STARTED RUNNING PEOPLE OUT HERE IN THE DUNES AND GIVING THEM KIND OF A THRILL RIDE.

¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ >> TUCKED INTO THE DUNES OF PROVINCETOWN ARE A NUMBER OF SMALL SHACKS WITH A RICH HISTORY.

THESE DUNE SHACKS WERE ORIGINALLY CONSTRUCTED AS LIGHT-SAVING HUTS FOR COAST GUARDS IN THE LATE 18 90S.

BUT MOST WERE USED BY THE ARTISTS' COLONY IN PROVINCETOWN.

THE SHACKS PROVIDED SOLITUDE AND A CHANCE FOR CREATIVE INSPIRATION.

>> TO GO OUT TO EASTERN A DUNE SHACK IS A ONCE -- EXPERIENCE A DUNE SHACK IS A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY.

IT'S MAGICAL.

SORE SOMEONE TO GIVE YOU THE SOLITUDE ON THE NATIONAL SEASHORE, I CAN'T IMAGINE HOW YOU COULDN'T BE INSPIRD.

>> IT'S ABOUT A TWO-MILE WALK THROUGH SOFT SAND FROM YOUR CAR TO REACH THE DUNE SHACKS.

THEY HAVE NO RUNNING WATER AND NO ELECTRICITY.

THERE ARE KEROSENE LAMPS FOR LIGHT AND WELLS FOR HAND PUMPING DRINKING AND WASHING WATER.

ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS EARLY RESIDENTS OF THE DUNE SHACKS WAS PLAYWRIGHT EUGENE O'NEIL, BUT THEY HAVE ALSO DRAWN THE LIKES OF TENNESSEE WILLIAMS, JACKSON POLLOCK, NORMAN MAILER, AND E.E.

COUPLINGS.

-- COUPLES.

THEY REP WITH SUMMER -- THEY 4E7 ARE SUMMER RESIDENT DIS.

>> YOU'VE GOT HUGE EXEXPANSES GOING OUT.

THIS IS ABOUT 5:00 IN THE MORNING AND THE MOON -- MOON SETTING AND THE SUN RISING WERE HAPPENING WITHIN LIKE BETWEEN MINUTES OF EACH OTHER.

SO THE SUN IS JUST HITTING THE TOP AND YOU CAN SEE IT HITTING THE TIPS OF THE FENCE.

THE SUN IS STILL ON 2 WAY UP AND THE MOON -- ON THE WAY UP AND THE MOON IS ON ITS WAY DOWN.

SO THAT WAS A KIND OF A NICE BONUS.

>> ROB COSTA AND HIS CREW CONTINUES TO INTRODUCE VISITORS TO THIS BACK SHORE ENVIRONMENT OF PROVINCETOWN.

[AUDIO DIFFICULTIES] THE INSPIRATION AND CREATIVITY SEEM TO GO HAND IN HAND ON THE OUTER BEACH.

ARTISTS FLOCK HERE FOR THE SOLI TUTTED, THE LOVE OF THE LAND, AND THE CREATIVITY IT ENTICER AND FAMILIES STILL COME AND RAISE THEIR CHILDREN.

>> I TOOK MY MOM ON A DUNE TOUR MANY YEARS AGO.

WE DRIVE BY THE SHACK AND SHE TELLS EVERYBODY IN THE TRUCK I WAS CONCEIVED BEHIND IT.

AND OH, MY GOD, MOM THAT.

WAS A MIC DROP MOMENT.

BUT IT WAS A TRUE STORY.

SO LIKE I GOT MARRIED OUT HERE TO MY HUSBAND ROB.

AND THAT'S WHY, BECAUSE I WAS CONCEIVED AND YOU KNOW, GOT MARRIED.

AND YOU KNOW -- WHEN I DIE, IF I CAN GET SOME ASHES OUT HERE, THAT WOULD BE GOOD, TOO.

¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ >>> EVERY WEEK "CONNECTING POINT" EXPLORES THE CREATIVITY, CULTURE, AND COMMUNITY THAT MAKE US WESTERN NEW ENGLAND.

BUT IT DOESN'T STOP THERE.

YOU CAN FIND US ONLINE ANYTIME FOR EXCLUSIVE FEATURES AND CONTENT.

IF YOU WERE CAPTIVATED BY THE BEAUTY OF THE OUTER DUNES OF PROFNTOWN, THEN WE HAVE -- PROVINCETOWN, THEN WE'VE A DIGITAL TREAT FOR YOU AS WE VISIT THE 3,000-ACRE PROVINCE STOWNS.

THIS AREA IS HAILED AS ONE OF THE OLDEST COMMON LANDS IN THE COUNTRY.

AND PRODUCER DAVE FRASER TAKES US ON A TOUR OF THIS UNIQUE AREA OF CAPE COD.

>> I CALL IT THE OUTBACK OF PROVINCETOWN BECAUSE IT'S SO VAST, IT'S THOUSANDS OF ACRES OF DUNES, BEACHES, AND FOREST LAND THAT STRETCHES AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE AND HAS A LOT OF WILD ANIMALS.

IT'S GOT THESE LITTLE DUNE SHACKS THAT HAS SO MUCH HISTORY.

SO WE GOT HISTORY, WE GOT CULTURE.

WE HAVE FLORA, FAUNA, WE HAVE TUNES 110 FEET TALL SURROUNDING US.

>> DON'T MISS THIS DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE AT NEPM.ORG/CONNECTINGPOINT/ "CONNEC TING POINT."

>>> ONCE KNOWN AS THE BIGGEST AND MOST POWERFUL LIGHT ON THE EAST COAST, CAPE COD'S OLDEST LIGHTHOUSE, THE HIGHLAND LIGHT, SITS PERCHED 120 FEET ABOVE THE OCEAN IN TRURO, MASS.

MOVED TO ITS PRESENT LOCATION IN JULY OF 1996, DUE TO THE ERODING SHORELINE, THE CAPE'S TALLEST LIGHTHOUSE IS NOW OWNED BY THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AS PART OF THE CAPE COD NATIONAL SEASHORE AND STILL SERVES AS AN ACTIVE AID TO NAVIGATION TO THIS DAY.

PRODUCER DAVE FRASER TAKES US THERE.

¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ >> THE HIGHLAND LIGHT.

WAS AT ONE TIME THE BIGGEST AND MOST POWERFUL LIGHT ON THE EAST COAST.

I THINK IT'S PART OF OUR AMERICAN HERITAGE, AND I THINK PEOPLE TEND TO BE DRAWN TO IT FOR THAT REASON.

BUT I ALSO TEND TO THINK THERE'S AN ATTRACTION OF A LIGHTHOUSE TO THE SEA TO MOST PEOPLE, BECAUSE PEOPLE DO CLIMB IT I.

IT PUZZLES ME BECAUSE I'M AN OLDER GUY AND WHEN I WAS A KID THIS LIGHTHOUSE AND THE OTHER LIGHTHOUSES WERE VERY BIG PARTS OF OUR MARITIME HARTAJ, BECAUSE GLOBAL POSITIONING SOMETIMES HAVEN'T GONE -- SYSTEMS HAVEN'T COME IN YET AND THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS CRITICAL TO NAVIGATION.

WE ARE SITTING RIGHT NOW ON 42 NORTH LATITUDE AND 70 WEST LATITUDE.

2,900 MILES DEAD EAST IS PORTUGAL.

840TH THE TITANIC.

SO THERE'S FOUR LIGHTS TELLING YOU HOW TO NAVIGATE AROUND CAPE COTTED.

NOW, WHY?

BECAUSE WE STICK OUT TO SEA.

AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE THOSE KINDS OF NAVIGATIONAL LIGHTS, THEN YOU COULD RUN INTO THE CAPE THINKING YOU'RE HEADED FOR BOSTON AND MANY, MANY SHIPS DID.

WHAT YOU SEE IS TWO BALCONIES.

THE LIGHT IN THE LIGHTHOUSE IS SWINGING ROUND AND ROUND.

SO THAT IT GLOWS ON THE HORIZON ALL THE TIME.

AND EVERY FIVE SECONDS IT FLASHES BRIGHT.

AND IF YOU'RE A SHIP CAPTAIN COMING IN FROM EUROPE AND A SAILING SHIP AND YOU'RE WAY OUT TO SEA, THAT FIVE-SECOND FLASH IDENTIFIES THAT YOU ARE ON THE HIGHLAND LIGHT.

RIGHT NOW AT 65 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND.

BUT THE GROUND IS 120 FEET ABOVE THE OCEAN.

SO WE'RE 184 FEET ABOVE THE OCEAN.

AND THIS LIGHT CAN PROJECT 16.3 MILES TO SEAWARD.

THERE'S NO DOORS IN THE LIGHT ROOM BECAUSE IF YOU WERE TO OPEN THAT DOOR, 100 YEARS AGO, AND IN A HIGH WIND, IT WOULD -- MIGHT BLOW OUT THE LIGHT.

AND IF IT BLEW OUT THE LIGHT, BIG HUGE EXPENSIVE LIGHT, AND THE SHIPS COMING IN EUROPE -- FROM EUROPE, DIDN'T PICK UP THE LIGHT, THAT WOULD BE A DISASTER.

SO YOU GO OUT THE LOWER GALLERY, WALK AROUND, CLIMB A LADDER ON THE BACK.

THE ORIGINAL LOCATION OF COURSE IS WHERE THAT STONE IS IN 1797.

IT'S MOVED BACK 16 YEARS AGO, BUT A COUPLE YEARS BEFORE THAT THE COAST GUARD GUY SITTING IN THE LIGHTHOUSE IN A BIG STORM SUDDENLY FOUND A BANKING TO OUR LEFT GOING OVER THE SIDE.

A BANKING IS STEADILY ERODING.

THE LIGHTHOUSE IS AS FAR BACK FROM THE BANKING NOW AS IT WAS FROM THE BANKING IN 1857 WHEN IT WAS BUILT.

SO THEY SEE THIS BANKING LET GO.

AND THE COAST GUARD SAYS, THIS LIGHTHOUSE IS GOING OVER THE BANKING.

AND WE'RE GOING TO ABANDON IT BECAUSE WE COULD PUT A LIGHT ON A POLE.

AND EVERYBODY GETS TOGETHER AND THEY RAISE THE MONEY TO MOVE IT BACK TO SAVE IT.

AND SO YOU SEE IT FURTHER BACK.

I DOUBT THAT THE ANCIENT CRITICAL NAVIGATION MATCHES -- BUT SOMEHOW THE LIGHTHOUSES ARE A CONNECTION WITH THE PASSION.

AND I THINK THEY'RE EMPLOYEE SERVED FOR THAT -- PRESERVED FOR THAT REASON.

THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WE TRY TO PRESERVE THIS ONE.

¶ ¶ >>> IF YOU'VE EVER VISITED CAPE COD, YOU'VE CROSSED OVER THE CAPE COD CANAL USING ONE OF THREE BRIDGES.

FOR DECADES THESE STEEL STRUCTURES HAVE BEEN A STAPLE OF DAILY LIFE FOR BOTH LOCALS AND VISITORS.

BUT IT WASN'T ALWAYS THIS WAY.

FROM WAS A TIME WHEN THE LAND WAS CONNECTED BEFORE THE CREATION OF THE WIDEST SEA LEVEL CANAL IN THE WORLD, WHICH TURNED CAPE COD FROM A PENINSULA INTO AN ISLAND.

PRODUCER DAVE FRASER TAKES US ON A JOURNEY TO EXPLORE THE HISTORY OF THE CANAL AND THE IMPACT IT HAD ON THE CAPE.

¶ ¶ >> FOR MANY OF US WHO TRAVEL TO THE CAPE, WE FEEL AS THOUGH WE HAVE NOT MADE IT UNTIL WE'VE CROSSED THE BRIDGE.

THE SAGAMORE, BUREN, AND RAILROAD BRIDGES HAVE BECOME THE UNOFFICIAL GREAT WAY -- GATEWAY TO CAPE COTTED, BUT DID YOU EVER WONDER ABOUT THE CANAL THAT THOSE BRIDGES TRAVERSED?

TODAY IT IS AN IMPORTANT WATER WAY FOR NAVIGATORS AND A RECREATIONAL RESOURCE FOR MANY.

BUT THE IDEA DATES BACK BACK TOE 1620s.

>> THERE WERE TWO RIVERS HERE BEFORE THAT BOTH WENT INLAND BUT KIND OF IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.

AND IT HAD BEEN A PLACE WHERE THE WOPINOG WOULD CARRY THEIR CANOES ACROSS FROM ONE RIVER TO THE OTHER.

WHEN THEY WERE CROSSING FROM THE CAPE COD BAY TO BUZZARDS BAY, 1623 YOU HAD MILES STANDISH SAYING WE SHOULD PUT A CANAL THROUGH HERE.

>> MEANWHILE, THE TREACHEROUS OUTER SHORES OF CAPE COD STRANDED MANY SHIPS, CLAIMING NEARLY A WRECK A WEEK ACCORDING TO HISTORIANS DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE COMMERCIAL SHIPPING ERA.

GIVING THE OUTER CAPE THE OMINOUS NICKNAME OF THE GRAVEYARD OF THE ATLANTIC.

>> THIS WAS BASICALLY AN AVENUE OF COMMERCE.

SHIPS HAD TO GO AROUND HERE BETWEEN BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

IT WAS ESTIMATED THAT BETWEEN 1626 AND THE MID 20TH CENTURY, THERE WERE BETWEEN 3,000 AND 4,000 SHIPWRECKS ALONG CAPE COD'S OUTER BEACH.

>> TEMPTS TO BUILD A CANAL HAD BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL UNTIL IN 1904 A WEALTHY FINANCIER NAMED AUGUST BELMONT MOVED AHEAD WITH THE PLAN TO CONNECT THE RIVERS.

ALONG WITH CIVIL ENGINEER WILLIAM PARSONS, BELMONT WAS CONFIDENT THEY COULD SUCCEED WHERE OTHERS HAD FAILED.

IN JUNE OF 1909, CONSTRUCT WARTED -- STARTED.

-- -- CONSTRUCTION STARTED.

BAD WEATHER, CLAY, AND LARGE BOULDERS SLOWED THE PROGRESS.

A NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD WAS INSTALLED TO MOVE DIRT AND EQUIPMENT BACK AND FORTH.

>> THEY FINALLY COME TO THE CENTER POINT THAT THEY'VE SET UP, FOLEY'S DIKE, AND THAT'S THE PLACE WHERE THEY HAVE THE CEREMONY OF THE JOINING OF THE WATERS AND THEY CUT THROUGH AND SUDDENLY CAPE COD BAY AND BUZZARDS BAY ARE CONNECTED.

¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ >> SEEING VALUE IN THIS WASHWAY, THE U.S. GOVERNMENT PURCHASED THE CANAL IN 1928.

AND BEGAN CONSTRUCTION TO WIDEN AND DEEPEN THE WATERWAY AS WELL AS BUILD THREE NEW BRIDGES.

BOTH BRIDGES, THE SAGAMORE AND BOURNE, ARE THE SAME HEIGHT AS THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE IN NEW YORK.

THOUSANDS OF CARS AND TRUCKS CROSS OVER THEM DAILY, MORE SO IN THE SUMMERTIME.

THE RAILROAD BRIDGE WAS THE LONGEST OF ITS KIND WHEN IT WAS BUILT.

IT TAKES TWO AND A HALF MINUTES FOR THE CENTER SPAN TO LOWER FOR APPROACHING TRAINS.

TODAY THE CAPE COD CANAL IS NOT ONLY A NAVIGABLE WATERWAY, MAKE -- SNAKING ITS WAY, IT IS A RECREATIONAL RESOURCE FOR FISHING, BIKING, AND SIGHTSEEING.

>> IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT ENGINEERING MARVEL.

IT'S STILL THE WIDEST SEA -- LEVEL CANAL IN THE WORLD.

AND IT MADE CAPE COD AS ISLAND.

IT -- AN-RELATED.

IT WASN'T A PENINSULA ANYMORE.

>>> AND IF YOU STILL HAVEN'T HAD ENOUGH OF THE BEAUTY OF THE CAPE, GO ONLINE RIGHT NOW TO NEPM.ORG/CONNECTINGPOINT FOR AN EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL EXTRA AS DAVE FRASER OFFERS A PORTRAIT OF THE LANDSCAPE IN THIS GORGEOUS VIDEO ESSAY.

¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ >> AND THAT DOES IT FOR THIS EDITION OF "CONNECTING POINT."

REMEMBER, YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND ALL OF THE STORIES THAT YOU SAW IN THIS EPISODE AS WELL AS EXCLUSIVE FEATURES, DIGITAL-ONLY CONTENT, AND SO MUCH MORE, ONLINE ANYTIME AT NEPM.ORG/CONNECTINGPOINT.

AND PLEASE BE SURE TO JOIN US AGAIN EVERY THURSDAY AND SATURDAY AT 7:30 P.M.

RIGHT HERE ON NEW ENGLAND PUBLIC MEDIA.

FOR MORE STORIES OF THE CREATIVITY, CULTURE, AND COMMUNITY THAT MAKE US WESTERN NEW ENGLAND.

I'M ZYDALIS BAUER.

THANKS FOR WATCHING AND HAVE A GOOD NIGHT.

>>> SUPPORT FOR "CONNECTING POINT" AND PROVIDED BY OUR CONTRIBUTING VIEWERS.