Gay head cliffs
MV Obsession
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 arrive, 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 nuts 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
Aquinnah – Gay Head
AQUINNAH, also known by its former label Gay Head, is the site of the most dramatic natural phenomenon on Martha’s Vineyard – the Gay Top Cliffs. The western portion of Martha’s Vineyard is marked by boulders, sand and clay deposits from the glacier. But nothing is more dramatic than the colorful cliffs of clay at Aquinnah (Gay Head).
The cliffs are expose for public viewing, from a lofty point near the Gay Head Lighthouse. From this vantage point, there is water on three sides, and Noman’s Land can be seen to the south and the Elizabeth Islands (both parts of Dukes County, but mostly unoccupied) are on the opposite horizon. The view from here of the cliffs and the lighthouse is breathtaking. Equally impressive, though, is to pursue a boardwalk down to the ocean, where there are a public swimming beach and a view of the cliffs from below.
Aquinnah Photo Gallery
The cliffs and the beach below, as adequately as the hills and land around Gay Head, are the property of the Wampanoag Tribe, the largest collection of Native Americans in Massachusetts. There are more than 900 members listed on tribal rolls; 300 of those live on Martha’s
Gay Head Lighthouse
“Gay Top Lighthouse represents an important part of Massachusetts coastal communities’ identity and the cultural and nautical history of the United States,” said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “With the impact of climate change and the passage of hour threatening the site, raising public knowledge and funds to relocate and return to original the lighthouse is more critical than ever before.”
The lighthouse is in immediate danger of toppling over the edge of the Gay Head Cliffs, a consequence of a century of erosion and the direct impact of climate change. The lighthouse is 50’-60’ from the edge of the cliffs and about 10 feet away from losing its future. The rate of erosion is about 2 feet per year, and that rate can be accelerated by significant storms. It is estimated that in two years, or less, there will not be enough land left to accommodate the machinery and equipment needed to move the tower.
The Gay Chief Lighthouse was included on the Trust's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list for 2013.
[Gay Head Cliffs, Martha's Vineyard, for Fortune Article "Clay: The Commonest Industrial Raw Material"]
Crop your artwork:
Scan your QR code:
Gratefully built with ACNLPatternTool
Walker EvansAmerican
Not on view
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:[Gay Head Cliffs, Martha's Vineyard, for Fortune Article "Clay: The Commonest Industrial Unprocessed Material"]
Artist:Walker Evans (American, St. Louis, Missouri 1903–1975 New Haven, Connecticut)
Date:1950
Medium:Color film transparency
Dimensions:11.9 x 16.9 cm (4 11/16 x 6 5/8 in. )
Classification:Transparencies
Credit Line:Walker Evans Archive, 1994
Object Number:1994.259.4.1
Rights and Reproduction:© Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public