Gloucester, city (2020 pop. 29,729),
Essex co., NE Mass., on Cape Ann; settled 1623, inc. as a city 1873. It is a
port of entry at the head of Gloucester Harbor, which is protected by a
breakwater built from Eastern Point. The harbor has been used by fishing
ships for over three centuries, and Gloucester still bases its economy on
the fishing and fish-processing industries, although overfishing has
severely reduced the catch. Once an important shipbuilding center, the city
is supposedly where the first schooner was built (1713).
The picturesque old city is also a popular summer resort. Tourist attractions include the famous bronze Fisherman, a memorial to the thousands of Gloucestermen lost at sea; Hammond Castle, which houses collections of medieval art; Gloucester City Hall (1870) with its fishermen's memorial mural; the Cape Ann Museum, and numerous pre-Revolutionary houses. The city has furnished material for authors (e.g., Rudyard Kipling in his Captains Courageous) as well as artists.
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