Now I made up that title with love in my heart for our adopted home-away-from-home place. We spent many a year driving right by with our Noho noses pointed straight up to the stars as we journeyed on to the "real" Berkshires.
Not sure which day it was that we said, "whoa, wait a minute here." We liked Great Barrington and the Mahaiwe, we were frequent flyers to Lenox and Tanglewood, BUT... the long lines of out-of-state summer vacationers (mostly rude people who were more self-absorbed than the best of what we had in our little valley) were really wearing on us.
Then a few things happened. We stumbled into the Berkshire Museum which had not one, but both Papa and son Alexander Calder! In fact it was here that Peter's idol had his 1st commission, a pair of mobiles for the Museum's then new theater in 1930 (don't tell Peter, but they are underwhelming). What a sweet treat and cute little museum.
Next, we found the awesome bike trail, Ashuwillticook Rail Trail. The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail is an 11 mile rail trail that goes from Adams, Massachusetts south roughly following along Route 8 to Lanesboro, Massachusetts. The trail goes through the Hoosic River Valley between the Hoosac Range and Mt. Greylock and offers many pleasant water views along the way.
The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail is completely paved and has ample access points and a few (green) restrooms along the route. This was like Heaven to us. We equipped our bikes with lights and spent many a summer's late afternoon pedalling among the beauty of this area. We knew all about the mills of Adams and North Adams, and now we discovered the smaller, mostly abandoned, and now even one demolished (the old Gypsum Mill in Cheshire), mills along the way.
I spent hours and hours searching for information on the area. I learned bizarre little things like: The Mammoth Cheese crafted for Thomas Jefferson in 1801 by the folks in the Cheshire, MA. The cheese bore the Jeffersonian motto "Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God." Too bad we don't rebel much against tyrants these days.
or the modern day controversy over Susan B. Anthony (birthplace Adams, MA) and abortion (a great case for historical or I say "hysterical" revisionism). I am more intrigued with her humble Quaker roots in Adams and the most awesome fact that we got a coin w/ the 1st female likeness on it of a chick from MA back in my youth! The fact that her birthplace home stood vacant for 11 years just blew my mind. By 2006 it stood in disrepair and could have gone, like many other homesteads in the area, back to nature as a beautiful ruin. Thankfully, it was saved (yes, by a NY'er- those other frequent flyers in the Berkshires) and is now a museum (and no we haven't been- yet).
According to the state web site for the trail, the name Ashuwillticook (ash-oo-will-ti-cook) comes from the Native American word for the south branch of the Hoosic River and literally means "at the in-between pleasant river," or in common tongue, "the pleasant river in between the hills."
I tried to learn more about the Indigenous Peoples of this place, but mostly I would be diverted back to the "taming of the Savages" (more hysterical revisionism) and "Christianization" of the Stockbridge stock (very little mention of robbing +/or ripping them off of thier land or shipping them out to some far off land like Oklahoma after their "taming").
Many MassMoca trips also were had; we took kids, relatives, and even our Japanese student/house-guest (he was underwhelmed). From there we discovered Gregory Crewdson, a rising star in a new genre, "Art Photography." Peter fell in lust, then love as we chased around the gritty places of the Berkshires (favorites of Crewdson's and now favorites of ours) in search of the scenes from his staged Art Photography exhibits and now documentaries (yes, of course we were at the Mahaiwe opening for it, as well as at a lecture by him at the Norman Rockwell museum, and...).
Theater restoration was also a draw for us to both Great Barrington and later Colonial Theater (where we have now seen the likes of Natalie Merchant, Loudon Wainright, and Sweet Honey + the Rock). When we heard of the restoration from a PR plug at a James Taylor concert in 2006, we made it our business to get to a show. Little did we know that a few years later we would be performing ourselves, not on their main stage, but hey- we were in the garage (you're just going to have to do the research yourself). Because...
We absolutely love this place, this group, and now this odd far-flung hub of the westernmost west of western MA. Through our involvement with drumming (and a giant karmic hug to our awesome teacher, naturalist, performer, educator, and Nature Center owner- Aimee Gelinas) we have performed on the streets of Pittsfield, as well as have been in the local Newspaper, The Berkshire Eagle on more than one occasion!
I had a hard time finding out information on the history of the building, but I did find this:
The Lichtenstein Center for the Arts is named in honor of Kitty Lichtenstein, an extraordinary arts benefactor in the Pittsfield community and beyond, who donated the building to the City of Pittsfield. Thank you Kitty!
So now Pittsfield:
Pittsfield is the largest city in the westernmost of western Massachusetts. It is located on the Housatonic River in the Berkshire Mountains, about 45 miles (72 km) northwest of Springfield and about 30 miles (50 km) southeast of Albany. The seat of Berkshire County, it is a center of industry, commerce, and tourism.
The land around Pittsfield was purchased from the city of Boston in 1737, but was not settled until 1752. It was incorporated as a town in 1761 and named for William Pitt, the British parliamentarian who supported the colonial cause during the revolutionary period. Author Herman Melville wrote his famous novel, "Moby-Dick," here in 1851.
Okay, so yes there was industry and yes there is industry. In fact there are mills, mill sites, mills reused, and mills crumbling. In the midst of it all came good ole GE, which made Pittsfield pitiful when it left and the company town, well... sort of crumbled. It had all the social ills of a post WWII town that had been a booming manufactoring town but now is gloomy and desolate (Peter + I know a little of this given our Spfld, MA roots). BUT... there was that river and the roots of an Industrial era that grew up around it, so I had my new obsession. It's been years now that I drag my hubby (or solo fly often) to chase, dig, and discover what was along its roots.
Friday, our day-off day of discovery was dreary, drizzly, and gray. Not a pretty day, so lets go poke around a not so pretty place. Here is what we found:
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| An ironic billboard. first of all it's on a side street in a blighted and Superfund area of former GE. Which is worse: the house filled with lead, or the ground filled with toxic waste and contaminants? Those who could, moved. This area is considered a depressed market area. It along with another (Westside) are considered not-so-great spots to be in alone at night. |
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| This Morningside Mill on Curtis St., once a textile mill is now home to a furniture company. |
Big Mill houses in Morningside.
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| 76 Fourth St. 3 Story Brick Warehouse now site of a Self Storage Co. |
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| We began on Morningside, because this is the route we take to drumming. It is the backside of the old GE Mega-plant (now General Dynamics and lots of blight, rot, and of course the Superfund sites, which oddly enough include parking lots). This neighborhood includes some extant Mill housing and a more than a few gritty and odd taverns and bars. But! Here is the Mill we had wondered about as well, in limited use, but in use none-the-less. |
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| Whatever Mill was there before self-storage, they must of had a great lunch break site here at Cim's a corner tavern (429 Fenn) offering Good Times + Cold Beer! |
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| Of course we found a Mill St. way on the other side of town. Not much on it, excepting a few odd houses and...you guessed it- MILLS. This area is at the edge of the other depressed and fairly dangerous area of Pittsfield, Westside. We didn't really get into the belly of the Westside beast (but we will, just not at night), for there are Mills over that way too. We were happy to find Mill and learn there is also an East Mill on the other side of the road as well. |
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| It is small, looks abandoned and we haven't a clue what it once was. |
The following three picture are homes on Mill St. Each one is totally different from the other and all are odd. Again, no idea of the history here.
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| Yes we believe this is being used as a residence as well! |
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| 130 Mill St Pittsfield, MA 01201 is a warehouse built on a 2 acre lot of land. It was built in 1909 as a warehouse and Last sold for $182,000 on October 16, 1986. It is considered to be in poor condition (duh), although a business is listed for the address. |
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| It says Rich's Furniture Warehouse |
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| I'm not sure i'd buy something from there though. |
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| It's construction is frame with exterior walls of stone + stucco |
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| The closest I could come to hardware is this! |
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| Somewhere along the line tin was added and now it's coming apart. |
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| Add caption |
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| A funky heating system. Supposedly it is a forced hot water heating system (like ours), but we don't have anyhting like this in our house! |
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| A hint of a factory thru the forest. It is Lockheed Martin hiding in there at 75 South Church St., cleaved onto an old Mill Bldg. that we didn't get a chance to see. |
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| This Mill, now called the Hawthorne Mills and owned by the Nash Family, which inside includes some small companies including the high-end Blue-Q Co. (which I think I remember seeing expensive socks from this store in Great Barrington) was once something else in the 30's (and something else before that which I never learned what it was) |
http://www.blueq.com/about-us/
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This Company, the Tel-Electric Piano Player Company came into being at the turn of the 20th century, manufacturing a mechanical piano player devised by a Pittsfield inventor, John F. Kelly.
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| Now there is a self storage place on the left in this picture, and BlueQ on the right. I was lucky to chat with Sue, who also rents a living space on the right side. She let me come in and be a voyeur while she gave me some hx on the Nash family + the current entities. |
Looking for that perfectly pricey inane gift for your family + friends? Then check this place out:
http://www.blueq.com/whats-new/
I tried hard not to take too many shots inside the Hawthorne Mills, but couldn't resist the "Glue Glass" in the door and of course, a quickie of antique hardware!
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| Hawthorne Ave. Mill House |
The Site is located in a predominantly residential area located approximately 0.5 mile south of downtown Pittsfield. It is bordered by Atwood Avenue and residential housing to the east, East Mill Street and residential housing to the north, and the West Branch of the Housatonic River to the west and south.
The former mill building at the end of the street had been significantly destroyed by an October 2004 fire and subsequent water damage. Sections of the building had collapsed; and much of the support structure (metal beams, etc.) had been noticeably compromised. On September 15, 2007, another fire occurred in the mill building which caused more sections to collapse and further. The former mill building was demolished and removed. Contaminated soil with high concentrations of lead was removed from the Site. Soil was removed from locations near the four-bay garage and primarily from the area behind the former mill building. Two feet of clean fill was placed in the areas near the garage were the contaminated soil was removed. In the areas near the former mill building, a minumum cover of 5 feet of clean fill was placed where the contaminated soil was removed after final grading of that area.
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| If the site was cleaned up after the fires, why all the fencing and overgrown seemingly empty (but with the hint of some old structure) field? |
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This 1910 built bungalow
house is for sale at 70k. Would you buy it? |
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| How about these? They are simple but proud-looking and solid homes. |
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| Atwood Ave. housing. A stable and solid-looking working class neighborhood. |
A very funky re-purposed home.
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| These split homes, while likely Mill housing, obviously housed the higher paid workers. |
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| In fact the whole street was full of large homes. Some are single family, most not. |
Some very well kept,
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| Others not. |
Next we were wending along the Western branch of the Housatonic and espied this. We had no clue where we were, but the Housatonic was so full of Mills (and pollution and contaminants and now several Superfund sites) we often follow it. Is this a triple decker or a conversion or an old_____. We just didn't know.
Nor did we know what this was, excepting probably something else that emptied into the river.
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| Finally, we ended up in Dalton from a round-about direction and saw this little st. on the backside of the Mills. So we took it! What follows are some of the former Mill houses that Crane owned (and even one still owned and rented by Crane- we talked to the tenant, a very nice retired gent out walking to get away from the old lady so he could do his "chew" in peace!) |
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| Our new chew friend had a bit to gripe about this place. He says the guy has been converting this formerly double house to single for YEARS. It has been in this state for at least 8 yrs. |
It is a short, quiet street. Almost quaint until you get to the dead end.
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| That's right- the terminus of Crane Ave. is this lovely site. |
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| I didn't want or have to get out of the car + tresspass on the wastewater plant to see that this hydrant wasn't a Spfld. Chapman Valve one. It was Elmira, NY. |
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| This bizarre, empty and antiquated old playground was near the wastewater treatment plant at the end of the street. |
Americana in Cranesville...er, Dalton that is. Wonder why they didn't name or rename it Craneville, almost everything for miles around is called Crane something?
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| They are proud to be Americans, but unable to get along with their Nascar neighbors. |
This one is now single and vinyl-sided.
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| What the hell? A bizarre alien snake in the woods of Dalton. |
We couldn't believe our eyes when we saw this "snaking" through a back yard of a house across the street from Crane Ave.
This must be the Mother Ship! We also learned that somewhere along the vast Crane holdings is a site that was cited for toxic waste. Yum, yum right? All that pretty Crane fine paper and our paper money too pouring its waste into the river for how long? How much? How toxic? Enough to get Superfund status. Sadness to know I love Mills, but that they are polluters :(
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| As we headed home the back way, we followed the rails after the river switched sides and were pleasantly surprised to find this old depot converted to a private residence. It looks like it used to be something else (like a restaurant) before the home. Perhaps it is the old empty signpost hanging near the street and the "do not trespass" signs posted on the property that gave it away. |
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| This was once something too. Just look at that foundation. |
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| Peter likes the old "no smoking" sign, I wonder about the flap (coal?), and the age of the bldg. |
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| It is now Industrial Design, but once upon a time Potash was produced in the area. I wonder... |
Old warehouse right beside the rails. New product, wonder if it is shipped by train.
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| Peter spotted this as we drove almost onto the train tracks. |
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| Who knew that the trail was right here- not us! |
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| Another odd sight that we scratched our heads on. |
Who or what was/is H.A. Walton to this area?
http://www.lpadams.com/history/the-lp-adams-train/
Ok, so who was Harry Walton? How is he connected to this Co.? I read the history, it was interesting:
http://www.lpadams.com/history/
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| We ended up here before we turned left to go to Hindsdale, MA |
The 1864 woolen mill built by S.G. Birmingham in Dalton was destroyed by fire four years after being built, and was rebuilt in 1870. The Renfrew Manufacturing Company of North Adams, bought the mill and retooled it to produce cotton yarn. Now it houses condo's!
Then found out it was this that sold in 2/14 for less than 200k. All this:
Brick Out building at Historic Old Stone Mill Condominiums. Spacious open floor plan w/3 bedroom, 3 full baths 1850 sq.ft. w/master suite on the 1st floor. Unique features include,exposed brick, high ceilings,and living room with 20'ceiling, There are large windows and 3 sky lights,allowing lots of natural light. Beautifully landscaped courtyard leading to welcoming in ground pool,and 1 car garage. I'd move here. Maybe.
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