August 2021 – Splash! Enjoy photographs of Grimdrops jazzy hometown portrait off the Elm Street side of Action, Inc. **new** Harbor Village apartment building in downtown Gloucester, Massachusetts. The large scale commission heralds Gloucester’s upcoming 400th celebration in 2023. The artist was born and raised in East Gloucester.
Hopefully NSCDSC will consider commissioning an extra add on for Grimdrops so the artist can extend his characterful water motif ideas straight to the top (and maybe add a gal for history! His vibrant notes brought Virginia Lee Burton Mike Mulligan Mary Ann and folly cove pattern references readily to mind). Come winter the mural might be visible from Chestnut Street. Bonus: if it’s topped off it will be visible year round from that vantage.
Gloucester Mural Map | Public Art
Grimdrops mural is on the map! Gloucester murals | Public art Gloucester, Massachusetts.
The Gloucester Sea Serpent is like a Massachusetts Loch Ness monster though an ocean rather than freshwater creature. Alleged sightings date back to 1638; see excellent research by Lise Breen for the HarborWalk marker #19 “The Sea Serpent”.
In 2017, the Cape Ann Museum (CAM) celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Sea Serpent’s peak folklore moment when hundreds of accounts were published in newspapers. (In comparison, the first written record of a monster in Loch Ness dates way back to 565, picks up popular speed by 1802, and on to global recognition by 1933). Swampscott and North Shore sightings surged as competition with Newport and other summer tourism hotspots increased. Sea serpent inspired art across media continued into the 20th and 21st centuries.
photo caption: Cape Ann Museum – street banners heralding Sea Serpent Exhibition 2017
Below: A Sea Serpent at Cressy Beach Stage Fort Park in Gloucester was originally painted by fine artist Robert Stephenson circa 1960 and is kept fresh by adoring community. Many moons ago, a free standing climber serpent was a favorite element at the Stage Fort Park playground. My photos in this post span years/seasons, roughly 2011-2019. Hover for descriptive details or double click & enlarge.
July 20, 2019
The new sculpture commission, Gloucester Sea Serpent, by Chris Williams at Cape Ann Museum was dedicated July 20, 2019, to honor Ronda Faloon, distinguished Cape Ann Museum Director (2006-2019) who retired in 2019.
Before
Look for the serpent’s nocturne visage: the Williams sculpture is the first one on museum grounds to incorporate light amidst its mixed media.
The Gloucester Sea Serpent at the entrance joins other sculptures on view in the Cape Ann Museum Courtyard and Sculpture Garden, a special public space dedicated to the memory of Harold Bell, President of Cape Ann Museum (1979-2003).
ALBERT HENRY ATKINS (1880-1951) Spirt of the Sea 1915 bronze [fun fact courtesy Alex Monell: architect (Cape Ann Museum & CAM board) Don Monell held this sculpture on his property until the best re-siting]
ROBERT AMORY, Reflection, 1970 gift of the artist
KEN HRUBYUneasy Crown, Uneasy Chair, Uneasy Piece, 1986 (cast 2008) Gift of Judith McCulloch in memory of Harold Bell
And dappled today, GEORGE DEMETRIOS bronze fountain, Spring
Across the street, the Cape Ann Museum sculpture park and gardens designed by Clara Batchelor, CBA Landscape Architect Principal, opened in 2011. Its centerpiece features
JOHN RAIMONDI sculpture, Dance of the Cranes
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A wonderful family from Missouri. We had a great conversation about Gloucester’s history, we even talked about the famous Sea Serpent in Gloucester. I truly enjoyed speaking to this family and hope they come back to Gloucester.
See Previous posts about the Famous Sea Serpent by Wayne Soini.
Here’s the list of Gloucester events at City Hall, Cape Ann Museum, Maritime Gloucester, Gloucester HarborWalk, Rocky Neck, Magnolia Library, Cape Pond Ice, and Pauline’s Gifts:
Since Gloucester had its own Sea Serpent, I thought it appropriate to post this news story from New Jersey. It’s a scary serpent-like monster, but not even close to the size of ours (or as good looking). This bloody photo went viral on the internet. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions and ID it in the comments box:
I wonder if Joey ever off-loaded one on the dock? Recipes?
Fred
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The Cape Ann Museum is pleased to present a book signing and reading with Wayne Soini, author of Gloucester’s Sea Serpent (History Press, 2010). Mr. Soini will be at the Museum on Saturday, December 18 at 3:00 p.m. This program is free and open to the public. Books will be available to purchase through the Museum Shop. Surprise a loved one this holiday season with an autographed copy of this new publication!
In 1817, as Gloucester, Massachusetts was recovering from the War of 1812, something beneath the water was about to cause a stir in this coastal community. It was a misty August day when two women first sighted Gloucester’s sea serpent, touching off a riptide of excitement among residents that reached a climax when Matt Gaffney fired a direct shot at the creature. Local historian Wayne Soini explores the depths of Gloucester harbor to reveal a treasure-trove of details behind this legendary mystery. Follow as he tracks Justice of the Peace Lonson Nash’s careful investigation—the world’s first scientific study of this marine animal—and judges the credibility of numerous reported sightings.
Wayne Soini was born in Gloucester in 1948, regrettably too late to see the sea serpent swim into or out of the harbor. He graduated from Gloucester High School in 1966. His most recent degree, a master’s degree in history from the University of Massachusetts-Boston, was awarded in 2009. Soini coauthored the biographical sketch and local sports history book, Judge Fuchs and the Boston Braves, with the late Robert Fuchs in 1998. Soini is a member of the National Writers Union, Local 1981, Boston Chapter, and of the Boston Athenaeum. He makes his living as a lawyer and lives with his partner, Anne, in Brookline, where he basically reads and watches his weight. Mr. Soini is donating the proceeds of his book to benefit the Cape Ann Museum and the Gloucester High School Scholarships Fund.
The Cape Ann Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Museum is closed during the month of February, on Mondays, and on major holidays. Admission is $8.00 adults, $6.00 Cape Ann residents, seniors and students. Children under 12 and Museum members are free. The Museum is wheelchair accessible. For more information please call: (978) 283-0455. Additional information can be found online at www.capeannmuseum.org.
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Wayne Soini a Gloucester native wrote a book about the Gloucester Sea Serpent – Book signing will be held Saturday October 16th 6:00 PM at River’s Edge Fine Gifts Ipswich Ma.
Also Serving Wine and Cheese
Yours truly also contributed to the book with current photos of Gloucester and Roseanne Cody provided from her old postcard collection, areas where the Sea Serpent was spotted.
View Slide_show of people already enjoying the book.
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NOTE: Gloucester’s Sea Serpent by History Press tells the story of the sea serpent that came into Gloucester Harbor in August, 1817. Gloucester’s Justice of the Peace Lonson Nash gathered affidavits for a book edited by an ambitious, serious committee composed of Judge John Davis of the Federal District Court in Boston, president of the Linnaean Society of New England, Francis Calley Gray, former diplomat and member of the Massachusetts Bar, and Dr. Jacob Bigelow, M.D., a University of Pennsylvania graduate who taught at the Harvard Medical School. Their book was universally rejected because they concluded that a mutant, rumplebacked black snake found in September, 1817 in a hay-field off of Loblolly Cove in Gloucester (today: Rockport) was the sea serpent’s baby.
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Good Morning Gloucester 