Western Massachusetts is a hotbed of culture and colleges

Intro:

I’ve spent a good fourteen summers in the northwest corner of Massachusetts and that’s OK; it’s like coming home. Despite the places being the same, the museums and galleries are always changing. The trip begins in North Adams, a town that was not too long ago, shabby and run-down, filled with the struggling, the jobless.  Since the creation of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, Mass MoCA, in the former factory of the Sprague Elecric Company, and the rehabilitation of former company housing into a cool hotel across the street (The Porches), the place has turned around. Mass MoCa has become a huge multifaceted venue for art and music, artists’ lofts are springing up all over, and tourists, myself included, are ready to take it all in.

The visit began at The Porches Inn on August 2, at dusk and continues for ten days through the Berkshires; this has turned into nine posts with a load of photography, 98% done and edited mildly with the iPhone 6. Videos included as well.

 The rooms are decorated with antiques, 50’s decor and plates, paint-by-numbers paintings to create a cool retro look to the now chic worker’s housing, spa-tub and all.