Susanne Across the street from the Porches is MassMOCA, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the largest center for contemporary visual art and performing arts in the United States. Housed in huge industrial complex that was formerly the Sprague Electric Company, contemporary art installations have found a perfect home here. Starting with 5 upside-down trees in the courtyard, this museum offers a provocative art experience. Under the title of “Material World: Sculpture to Environment”, I found large-scale art installations that were composed of fishing lines, twisted paper and crocheted rope that dominate the expansive spaces of this former factory. Under the title “Gravity is a Force to be Reckoned With”, the “upside-down house” leaves the visitors with more questions than answers. And Sol LeWitt’s collection of 105 colourful oversized geometric wall drawings provides a visual feast of colours and shapes.
Then I embarked on a walk through North Adams, a former industrial town whose 19th century economy flourished with textile mills while the mid 20th century was dominated by electrical components manufacturers. From the mid 1980s onwards, most of the major manufacturing companies had shut down and sent the town into an economic tail spin. Over the last few years, North Adams has successfully started to reinvent itself as a center of arts and tourism whose anchor is the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. A pretty main street and downtown area is augmented by several Victorian-era mill buildings that have been converted into artists’ studios, galleries and loft spaces. Art lovers are starting to flock to North Adams for its cultural attractions.
Just west of North Adams I visited the picturesque college town of Williamstown, home to Williams College, one of the northeast’s best private liberal arts colleges. The college’s campus features a large number of attractive buildings, and arts enthusiasts come here for the Clark Art Institute and the award-winning Williamstown Theatre Festival.
Finally, after three days of drizzle, Wednesday was forecast to be a sunny and warm day. While sending my husband to do some outlet shopping in Lee, I continued about 10 minutes further west to the historic town of Stockbridge. Another very picturesque town, Stockbridge is known as the home of the Norman Rockwell Museum, and of Chesterwood, a historic mansion that used to be the summer estate and studio of Daniel Chester French, a famous American sculptor.
I had planned a visit to the Red Lion Inn, one of the few American inns that has been in continuous use since the 18th century. Carol Bosco Baumann took me on a tour of this historic property which is also owned by Nancy Fitzpatrick’s family. Nancy’s parents bought this property in 1968 and saved it from demolition. The inn is a huge historic building that dates back to 1897 and features more than 100 guest rooms, each one uniquely appointed with antiques, artwork and china. There are several adjacent guest houses that can be rented as well. Some of the long hallways in the main inn are a little slanted, and together with the historically inspired décor, this adds to the authentic feel of the Red Lion Inn as a Victorian-era property. Carol even told me a few ghost stories about the good-natured spirits that are still said to inhabit some of the rooms at the Red Lion Inn.
