History of The Bradford

This 19th century Victorian Colonial house was built by Rueben Brown, a prosperous coal and lumber merchant from Provincetown. The house was built for his bride to be, Albina Brooks, in 1888. The free-standing circular front staircase was built by a cabinet maker in Salem, MA. It was to be his wedding gift for Albina from her father who was a noted sea captain from Salem. It was brought by one of his ships to Provincetown, where it was painstakingly constructed. The staircase is featured in Cape Light, a book by Joel Meyerowitz, a renowned photographer whose photographs are exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide. The Victorian house has the elegance and grandeur of the late eighteen hundreds.