ARTS ABOUND is located in beautiful seaside Magnolia, where the ocean breezes greet the businesses on Lexington Ave – the village’s equivalent of a bigger city’s Main Street. Shops on the avenue are small and friendly; many of their patrons are well known to the proprietors. Some families have lived here for years on end, with one generation passing its housing to the next. Others stumble upon Magnolia in the course of exploratory drives.

Under the governance of the City of Gloucester, Magnolia’s population readily forms its own committees and boards to facilitate a quiet but eminently satisfying lifestyle. Its library and beach club are available to the residents – and everywhere the magic of the ocean, the sunrises and sunsets, and the breath of the sea winds create an enviable life for the residents.

Magnolia’s fame really dates from the late 1800s, when an entrepreneur named Daniel Fuller bought  up much of the land in the southern part of Gloucester. He quickly saw the potential of the seaside property then known as Kettle Cove. Roads were built, elegant homes constructed, even a railroad put in place in nearby Manchester. By 1890 Magnolia had its own postal substation and library, and before long a small boarding house here grew into a huge hotel known as the Oceanside. The beauty of seaside Magnolia became famous, and before long wealthy patrons from Boston and farther away flocked to enjoy its comforts. The massive Hammond Castle attracted many visitors, as it still does today.  Elegant New York stores opened branches here, and before long the village was known far and wide as “the Gold Coast.”  Celebrities of all varieties vacationed here until the stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing fire that burned down the Oceanside. The rebuilt Magnolia is a peaceful, delightful town populated by local families who gratefully appreciate its attractions. Watch here.

For more history please visit here.