The Jarisch Box Company, a longtime business in North Adams, moved to an industrial park in the city in the 1990s, leaving vacant its historic building on American Legion Drive. In 2003, the City of North Adams, now owners of the property, demolished it. The window on North Church Street is on the rear wall of the Tower & Porter Block, the tall brick building which stands on Eagle Street.

I make a real effort to walk in North Adams as much as I can, knowing full well that I am bound to run across spectacular views from the most unlikely places. Sometimes I don’t notice these scenes until I look at them through my viewfinder. The one from Hall Street is a special favorite of mine. I love the rooflines of the houses, and the way my zoom lens makes the houses appear so close together.

Note how the shape of the former Kmart mimics the shape of the mountains in the background. In the photo of the mountain behind St. Anthony Church, I think the blue car in the parking lot is very important in the photo. In the Hill Side Cemetery scene, the tall monument in the foreground matches the tall smokestack in the background. In the photo of the boys at the Beach Party, I saw this coming and knelt down in order to make the boys look smaller against the image of the truck. The shot of State Street caught me because of the funky house on the hill.