I love to photograph old mills. Their faded colors and forlorn look perhaps reflect the real feelings of the many workers who toiled long hours in them for low wages. The Beaver Mill was converted by artist Eric Rudd to the Contemporary Artists Center in 1990. The pink-colored … [Read more...]
North Adams – Odd Photos
I call these "Odd Photos," because that's what they are - odd. The shot of the church through the library entrance was a spur of the moment thing. I was sitting on the Mass MoCA sound installation speaker when I noticed the dark, ominous scene through the underpass. I walked into … [Read more...]
Various North Adams Photos
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 … [Read more...]
Mass MoCA
The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art opened in 1999. It occupies a 13-acre campus of 26 buildings formerly occupied by Arnold Print Works (1860-1942), and Sprague Electric Company (1942-1986). Its performing arts programs are equal in stature to its visual art programs. … [Read more...]
North Adams – Houses On North Holden Street
The dance film, Porch Stories, was filmed at this location in 2005, and debuted in 2006. The three colorful houses, built side by side in 1895 by Dennis Sullivan, and recently renovated, are often referred to as the "Triplets." See the links below for my article about the film, … [Read more...]
Letter From An Old Settler
When I saw this old newspaper article on the Internet, I was captivated by the author's simple eloquence and his vivid description of life on the Wisconsin frontier more than 150 years ago. I wanted to know more about him. Very quickly, I was able to identify him in the US Census … [Read more...]
Dauphin School
After discovering the wonderful article below (Athens Weekly Review (Texas), January 18, 1901), I wanted to know more about the young Texas student who wrote it. By researching the census, death records, and other records on the Internet, and finally contacting a descendant, my … [Read more...]
Bang On A Can: A New North Adams Tradition (June 2012)
It's almost nine-thirty. It has been storming on and off all evening, rip-roaring blasts of thunder shaking the thick walls of Mass MoCA's Hunter Center, while torrents of rain pelt the roof. A grainy black and white film is on the screen, showing disturbing views of apocalyptic … [Read more...]
Capturing Memories Of Park Street School (2008)
I grew up in the tiny southern Maryland village of Solomons, and attended Solomons Elementary School. After college, I moved to New England. Twenty years ago, I returned to my home town for a high school reunion and discovered that my little elementary school had been converted … [Read more...]
Henry Brooks: First Artist At The Eclipse Mill (December 2011)
"As far as my Uncle Henry nailing his name in the floor, that sort of sounds like something he would do. He was a man with a great imagination. He always had a mischievous glint in his eyes. He always looked like Peck's Bad Boy. He would be smiling at you like he had a secret he … [Read more...]
Call Me Mr. Blue (2009)
"Our guardian star lost all his glow/The day that I lost you/He lost all his glitter the day you said no/And his silver turned to blue/Like him, I am doubtful that your love is true/But if you decide to call on me/Ask for Mr. Blue." November 1959, College Park, Maryland: The … [Read more...]
Stranded On The Porch In The Great Flood of ’27 (March 2011)
On Nov 2, 1927, the afternoon sky grew ominously dark as residents of River Street received the daily North Adams Transcript. Thirty-six hours later, over six inches of soaking rain had fallen, carrying a few tenement houses into the raging water. The Marshall Street bridge broke … [Read more...]
From David Byrne To Wilco: 14 Years In North Adams (September 2010)
"On the drive up here, I was imagining what this place could be. I thought it would be a place that people would travel some distances to see. I'm just dreaming here. It's some years off, but it's nice to be in on the ground floor." -Artist and singer David Byrne, at the opening … [Read more...]
Various Scenes
The Man With The Hairy Chest (October 2007)
My projects always seem to start with a story from North Adams native Carl Robare, one of my best friends since I started visiting the city 11 years ago. It’s the one about the guy with the hairy chest. "Back in the early 1950s,” Carl says, “I used to work at the Strong-Hewat … [Read more...]
To All Personnel (2008)
From 1964 to 1966, I served my final two years in the Air Force at the Air Force Academy Hospital in Colorado Springs. I was a medical corpsman, working mostly on the maternity ward, where wives of Air Force men had their babies. It was a cool assignment, and I enjoyed living … [Read more...]
Remembering Two Great Ladies (2008)
The first time I saw this photograph of Lynn Massman and her baby, I thought of my mother, who passed away four years ago this month (1-22-04). There are 75 photos of the Massman family on the Library of Congress website. They were taken for the Office of War Information. The … [Read more...]
Odd Photos
A few of these photos deserve an explanation. I was walking by a wall in Torrington, Connecticut, and stopped to zip up my coat. That's when I noticed the weird stuff on the wall. So I went home and brought back my camera. My daughter was in the process of moving, and this is all … [Read more...]
Springfield (Vermont) Factory To Be Partially Demolished (2008)
The Fellows Gear Shaper Company was formed in Springfield, Vermont, in 1896. Its founder, Edwin R. Fellows, was born in Torrington, Connecticut, in 1865. From 1889 to 1896, he worked for the Jones & Lamson Machine Company in Springfield, helping to design turret machinery. … [Read more...]
Saturday Night At The Movies In Solomons Island (2007)
I lived the last half of my childhood in Solomons Island and Dowell, Maryland. I was known then as Howard Manning. My father, also Joe, was a marine biologist at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, and my mother, Betty, worked there as a librarian. I lived in the Washington, … [Read more...]
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