On May 16, the Bean will be four years old. When I visited North Adams for the first time in July of 1996, I saw potential up every hill, down every street, and around every corner, but I didn’t run into very many persons who seemed to recognize it. One of those who apparently … [Read more...]

The recent warm weather has once again allowed me to comfortably walk around aimlessly with my camera and find new subjects to photograph. With the trees still bare, it’s a perfect time of the year. Everything is visible up in the hills, and I can lug my equipment around without … [Read more...]

A few weeks ago, I went to an interesting event at Mass MoCA. There was a presentation by Michael Govan, who is director of the DIA Center for the Arts, a contemporary art museum that will open next year in a former factory building in Beacon, New York. Michael showed slides and … [Read more...]

Several weeks ago, a most welcome announcement was made. That row of beautiful but deteriorating houses on River Street, across from Mass MoCA, will be saved and turned into an inn. The renovations will preserve the historic architecture. Mass MoCA Director Joe Thompson explained … [Read more...]

"Someday, that’s going to be Fifth Avenue." -comment often attributed to Tom Krens, Mass MoCA founder, while looking at River Street from the windows in Building 5. The word around town lately is that all the houses on River Street from Houghton to Brown may be demolished … [Read more...]

The end of Daylight Savings Time is a welcome change for me. When I left my house for North Adams at 6:00 a.m. on Veterans Day, the sun was on its way up behind me, and I could once again see the mountains and the strange orange glow on the bare trees. I had to stop and take a … [Read more...]

As the last band made the turn and disappeared down Ashland Street, I could almost feel the chill of an oncoming winter lurking behind the mountains. Once again, the Fall Foliage Parade brings the summer to an abrupt end. This was my fourth parade. For the last four years, each … [Read more...]

"There’s new life in the city, but there’s still a struggle on the street." -Eileen Gloster I spent the day in North Adams on Saturday. I was up at 5:00 a.m. and on Main Street by 6:45. It was cold. I bought some film at Brooks Drugs just after it opened and the clerk … [Read more...]

"My father’s shoe store was called Siciliano’s Climax Bootery. When I got out of high school, a thought came into his mind that this was such a sweet area, that he ought to go into the ice cream business. It was right on the corner of Eagle and Main where the Pizza House is now. … [Read more...]

"I’ll be down to get you in a taxi, honey/Better be ready ‘bout half past eight/Honey, don’t be late/Gotta be there when the band starts playin’" -from "Dark Town Strutter’s Ball," by Shelton Brooks "When I was a teenager, we had three dance places that we could go to: the … [Read more...]

The first time I traveled to North Adams to give it a serious look, I took a walk around town and happened upon a door that led up to some apartments. I walked in. Why? I was curious. My curiosity was rewarded. I immediately noticed a skylight that illuminates the landing at the … [Read more...]

"Let me tell you something about Mass MoCA. The entire area will change. Some say it will be two years, some say it will be three, but I’m going a bit further. I think it’s going to be four or five years. It will benefit North Adams, Adams, Pittsfield, Troy, and Albany. Mass MoCA … [Read more...]

My routine is always the same. I am awake at 4:30 a.m. and in my car by 5:15. With my bottle of Nantucket Nectars iced tea and my favorite CD (Revival, by Gillian Welch), I head up Route 8, cross the Conn/Mass line by 6:00, and watch the sky brighten over the quiet rural villages … [Read more...]