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Harbor
Ocean Park
Circuit Avenue
Flying Horses (oldest carousel in the US)
I love all of Martha’s Vineyard but I find that most of my favorite places and favorite things to do are in Oak Bluffs. Maybe it’s my growing up there as a summer kid. Maybe it’s because it’s the most eclectic of the six towns on MV. Maybe it’s all of the above and more.
An editorial a year or so in the Vineyard Gazette asked “which town is the wealthiest on the Island?” It goes on to say that ” there are two varieties of affluence — the wealth that is concentrated in private coffers, and the wealth that enriches the public arena.” “The leaders of Oak Bluffs often complain that their town lacks such high-tax properties as the waterfront hotels of Edgartown and the vast estates of Chilmark, but instead is home to many of the Island’s public, nonprofit facilities — the regional high school, ice arena and hospital. To this list, we would add a public park system which is arguably the jewel of Oak Bluffs, unparalleled anywhere else on the Island, and also the national treasure of the Camp Ground. None of these things are great generators of tax revenues — but think how improverished the Island would be without any of them.”
Oak Bluffs hosts two of the summers biggest events… Illumination Night in the Camp Ground on Wednesday, August 14, 2013 and the Fireworks at Ocean Park held on Friday night, August 16, 2013.
You can take a flight of fancy on the Flying Horses the oldest platform carousel in the United States… shop along eclectic Circuit Ave… or eat in many of Oak Bluffs restaurants and cafes.
Oak Bluffs is a party town and yet a family town… it’s hectic and lively and yet quiet and serene. You certainly won’t find a more interesting town on Martha’s Vineyard then Oak Bluffs.
LINKS:
(Oak Bluffs Calendar of Events)
- by Joan -
May’s calendar picture is of the steps going up (or down) to the beach in Oak Bluffs. This was my favorite beach when I was a kid. I took this picture in Oct 2010.
- by Joan -
The 10th in the series of trivia questions.
Give it a go and see how well you do. Don’t peek at the answers 
1 – Which town is the only town in the world with its name.
2 – What is the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs made of.
3 – Why did Alexander Graham Bell visit MV in 1895.
4 – Which is further north, West Chop or East Chop.
5 – What is the name of the local Portuguese sausage.
Some picture trivia.
6 – What is the name of this island off of Gay Head.
7 – What town is this.
8 – What town is this and where is this window.
9 – Where is this statue.
Let me know how you did, leave your answers in ‘comments’
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1 – Edgartown is the only town in the world with its name.
2 – brick
3 – To study the deaf community in Chilmark .. (click here)
4 – West Chop is further north.
5 – linguica
6 – the small island off Gay Head is Nomans Land (click here)
7 – Edgartown
8 – Oak Bluffs. The window is at the back of the Tabernacle.
9 – The Colonial Inn in Edgartown.
(CLICK HERE for previous trivia questions)
Full size snippet pictures ~ part 7.
1 – Oak Bluffs beach
2 – Oak Bluffs harbor
3 – Ag Hall
4 – Island Home
5 – Field Gallery
6 – Oak Bluffs wharf
7 – Trinity Methodist Church~Campground
October on the Vineyard.
The quiet and soothing greens and blues of summer are giving way to the fiery colors of autumn. Spectacular October will arrive on the Vineyard in a swirl of rusts, oranges, browns, reds and yellows. Crisp breezes whipping the air into a stunning clarity, and skies the bluest blue imaginable.
I can’t wait to be there.
Saturday, Sep 15, 2012 is Tivoli Day in Oak Bluffs.
(Click here for information on Tivoli Day)
Every year in September, Oak Bluffs hosts its annual street fair and block party known as Tivoli Day. Where did the name come from… and where can you find the Tivoli on MV ! You can’t, only memories of it remain.
The two story, full block Tivoli Dance Hall stood from 1901 until 1964 where the Oak Bluffs Town Hall is today. The entire top floor was a dance hall. The bottom floor housed shops and an ice cream parlor.
The Flying Horses, the oldest carousel in the United States, are housed in this building at the intersection of Circuit and Lake Aves in Oak Bluffs. They came to the Island in 1884 from Coney Island.
The Flying Horses are not a carousel, or a merry-go-round, they don’t go up and down just round and round. They are flying horses, like Pegasus, and fly to wherever you can imagine . They don’t actually have wings, but as you make the first circuit you feel like you’re about to fly out the open windows.
Look closely at the horse’s eyes, inside each one is a tiny hand carved animal.
(My picture didn’t capture the animal in the eye so I cheated just a little)
I flew on these beautiful horses every day when I was a little girl. The ticket taker was a young man who would never take my tickets ! We tried everything to get him to take them… we brought him candy and cookies and tried slipping the tickets in with them… nothing work. At the end of the summer I said I wanted to buy him a gift, so off my mom and I went to purchase what I thought was a novel idea .. a tie. I was 5 years old, what did I know about buying gifts for men… he, by the way was about 13 but in my eyes he was a grown up. We put the tie in the box with all of summer’s uncollected tickets. As he came around to NOT collect my ticket I handed him the box. He smiled. Ah ha, success… or so I thought. As we were leaving the Flying Horses he came over and thanked us for the tie and as we turned to leave he handed us the tickets. I won’t say who he is, just that he turned out to be an official in Oak Bluffs in later years… and someone I’ve never forgotten.
August 1982 was my first trip back to the Vineyard in too long a time. I was excited, anxious and also looking forward to showing my family the place I love so much. Both my teenage daughters were supposed come, however, my older daughter Patty decided she didn’t want to, so that meant my younger daughter, Deb would have to face the vacation alone with her parents. Not a situation a teenager really looks forward to, especially when your mother turns into a crazy woman for most of the trip. Talk about embarrassing, I was the definition of it in her eyes… and quite frankly, I was a tad embarrassing once in awhile. Deb survived the trip mainly by escaping into her books… she can tell you what she was reading and where we were at the time… she still does that.
Aug 1… We drove to Falmouth and stayed there overnight. Why? I don’t know. The fact of being so close to the Vineyard and not actually on it seemed like torture. We actually drove to Woods Hole that evening just so I could look at the ferries and see the Vineyard.
Aug 2 - 6… I awoke early, okay, not really awoke since you can be sure I didn’t sleep much at all. After a quick breakfast, we drove to Woods Hole to await the arrival of the ferry. I was thrilled to be landing in Oak Bluffs, the town I grew up in as a summer kid.
(All pictures in this post are from 1982, the originals are 3×3.. they are somewhat blurry and the colors are not vivid. I took pictures of them with my digital camera today and have not altered them).
We drove into Edgartown and checked into the Kelley House. The Kelley House hasn’t changed much at all but the buildings that we saw from our window definitely have.
Unpacked, rested maybe 10 minutes and then back to Oak Bluffs to see the sights and maybe do a little reminiscing… maybe a lot.
Lower Circuit Ave… and Circuit Ave
Ocean Park… the Flying Horses.. and yes, I did take a ride on them
Then into the Campground where seeing the Tabernacle for the first time in so many years was kind of emotional for me. Anyone who reads reads my blog or knows me knows I have a deep attachment for the Tabernacle.
After dragging leading my little group around town for quite awhile I took pity on them and back to the hotel we went to relax. It had been a long first day and there were still 4 more to go. Yippee.
The next morning we headed Up-Island to see Gay Head. Look closely at the pictures to see the difference in the cliffs from 1982 to 2010. There’s been erosion and the colors have changed but they’re always an awesome sight to behold.
1982
2010
On our excursion the next day out to Menemsha we drove past my mother’s relatives house in Indian Hill. This is where I unknowingly at the time, embarrassed my daughter Deb. I wanted to get a picture of the house and while doing so notice a man in the backyard I thought I knew. To get the picture of the house I was standing half in the car and half out… I thought I was being inconspicuous. The man in the back yard didn’t see me but my daughter did and buried her nose deeper into the book she was reading. I can safely say she laughs about it now, but back then, major mother embarrassment.
On arriving on the Vineyard I was thrilled to find out we’d be there for Illumination Night. It had always been my favorite event of the summer (still is) and I was beyond excited to be there for it. (Cue another embarrassing moment or two) When the community sing began I was amazed at how quickly the words to all the songs came back to me. I sang, clapped my hands, and was 8 years old again… and my daughter sat as far away from me as she could get… can’t say I blame her, I was a little on the excited side. I cannot believe I only took ONE picture.
Our four days on the Vineyard came too quickly to an end. I was sure that I would never get back again… I still feel that way after each trip. There have been 46 trips since then and one schedule for October so I think that fear was unfounded.
Was I a little on the frenzied side? Yes. I had dreamed about being back on the Vineyard for a long time and the reality of it was intense for me. Quite frankly I still get a touch of it each trip. My heart still beats quicker the closer to Woods Hole I get and try as I might I just can’t not burst into smiles.
Has my daughter Deb gotten over the embarrassment of her mothers behavior? Yes she has. She and I have made more than 20 trips to MV by ourselves and she smiles at, and enjoys my Vineyard persona.
Did my daughter Patty ever make it to the Vineyard? Yes, finally in 1996 she, her husband Mike, their daughter Tiffany, and son Tyler joined me on the Vineyard. I loved showing them everything and passing my love of the Vineyard on to my grandchildren.
I cannot believe the paltry number of pictures I took in ’82… I mean really. ONE picture of Illumination Night. ONE picture of the Tabernacle. ONE picture of Gay Head. Well, things have definitely changed and now with digital cameras I can snap up a storm… and I do… and sometimes with two cameras.
The Bandstand ~ Oak Bluffs ~ Martha’s Vineyard
The Island Theatre (Eagle Theatre) circa 1910.
The Island Theatre – Oak Bluffs
The Strand 2009
The Capawock 1996 – Vineyard Haven.
Movies have been a big part of Island entertainment since the early 1900′s. At one time there were as many as 8 theatres down-Island… of those only the Island, The Strand and The Capawock remain. In 1927 the Island theatre in Oak Bluffs was showing the talkie “Wings” starring the “It” girl Clara Bow. The price of admission was 50 cents on a Saturday night, 30 cents if you sat in the balcony.
For me, as a summer kid on the Vineyard in the 1950′s, a night at the movies was a very big deal. The movies I remember the clearest are the musicals, like “Summer Stock” with Judy Garland, and “Showboat” with Howard Keel. Before even getting to the theatre there was a stop at …
…Darling’s for popcorn. A bag would be fine for an afternoon treat but for going to the movies the choice was always a popcorn bar in such flavors as chocolate, strawberry,vanilla, caramel, and butterscotch. After the ‘show’ a stop at the Frosty Cottage on Circuit Ave for a pistachio ice cream cone finished off the evening. Many nights on the way home I morphed into a singing, dancing movie star…at least in my head
