At the very center of Woods Hole, a storied village playing a lead role in Cape Cod’s colorful history since the 1600s, stands the newly renovated Woods Hole Inn. This Cape Cod inn was first erected in 1887, as the area moved beyond its roots as a whaling village and merchant industrial hub, and embraced its future as a cradle of marine science and a summer playground.

Originally built with 30 rooms, the four-story gabled building was known early on as the Avery House, commanding waterside views of Great Harbor, crowded with merchant sailing ships, as well as the bustling train terminus next door. Today, Great Harbor teems with sleek modern research vessels, colorful houseboats, oceangoing commercial fishing boats, summertime sailboat regattas, and busy Martha’s Vineyard ferry traffic, departing from the same spot where the trains used to whistle in.