With Ocean Park on one side and Circuit avenue, Oak Bluffs’ main street, on the other, Kennebec avenue could easily have escaped the attention of visitors a century ago. But Island postcard publishers F.A. Marshall and John N. Chamberlain recognized its appeal.
Kennebec avenue ran from Lake avenue to Samoset avenue, a little more than two blocks. Park avenue divided the street, providing a link between Circuit avenue and Ocean Park.
The Great White Way, on Oak Bluffs avenue between Sea View and Lake avenues, was the heart of the summer resort’s entertainment area. Its evolution can be traced in a group of postcards from the first quarter of the 20th century.
In the second block of Circuit avenue between Park, now Healy Way, and Narragansett avenues, postcards give a glimpse at the street scene a century ago.
The Metropolitan Hotel, one of the town’s landmarks, filled the corner of Circuit, Park and Kennebec avenues. Postcards show not only the exterior of the 75-room hotel with its tall clock tower, but also its first-floor retail shops, Norton’s Pharmacy and Rausch’s confectionary.
A century ago Circuit avenue in Oak Bluffs was a heady combination of sights, sounds and smells in the summertime. Exotic souvenirs, local produce and colorful parades were a visual delight. The sound of clattering hoofbeats contrasted with the sputtering of early automobiles. The aroma of spices from all over the world blended with the smell of fresh fruits and recently caught fish.
