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Rockport By Nancy and Richard Woodworth They certainly don't need more crowds, these habitués of Bearskin Neck, Pigeon Cove and Marmion Way. Nor do those who cater to them. But bargain-conscious travelers seldom do better than in Rockport, the seaside Cape Ann resort town from yesteryear, where the costs of food and lodging consistently remain behind the times – and only lately have started to catch up. Why such values? Because Rockport was developed earlier, when costs were lower, than many such coastal resorts. “We were bed and breakfast long before the craze started,” notes Dwight MacCormack of Seacrest Manor. Inns here traditionally could keep their prices down because they didn’t carry hefty mortgages, although recent turnover in ownership has upped the ante. Rockport's century-old ban on the sale of liquor has influenced prices, if only in lowering restaurant tabs when patrons BYOB. And no national chain stores or motels have sullied Rockport’s center to drive up market values. Its old-fashioned attributes help swell Rockport's year-round population of 7,500 to 35,000 in summer. Most folks, it seems, are on the streets near Dock Square and Bearskin Neck, the rocky fishing and commercial promontory that juts into the harbor. Parking is usually a problem. Arrive early or expect to park on distant side streets and walk. Or better yet, take the Cape Ann Trolley. Visitors are drawn by the rocky coast more typical of Maine, the atmosphere of an old fishing village crammed with shops, the quaintness of a “dry” town in which Sunday evening band concerts are the major entertainment, and the lively arts colony inspired by a harbor listed by Walt Disney Productions as one of the nation's most scenic. In fact, Motif No. 1, a fishing shack on the wharf, is outranked as an artist's image only by the Mona Lisa. When it collapsed in the Blizzard of 1978, villagers quickly rebuilt it – such is the place of art (and tourism) in Rockport. All around Rockport are the varied assets of the rest of Cape Ann. They range from the English look of quiet Annisquam, which is New England at its quaintest, to the commercial fishing flavor of busy Gloucester. The allure of Rockport is so strong that its devotées
return time and again. Material excerpted from Inn Spots & Special Places in New England, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2004. Wood Pond Press E-mail feedback to: Home
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