A Visit to Pittsfield, Massachusetts | Hotel on North and Hancock Shaker Village

A visit to the “Brooklyn of the Berkshires” town of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, including a stay at Hotel on North and afternoon at Hancock Shaker Village.

By Heather Marcus

Oct 30 2015

Photo Credit : Heather Marcus

Pittsfield, Massachusetts can claim a few famous New Englanders, including writer Herman Melville, actress Elizabeth Banks, and astronaut Stephanie Wilson. Actor Robin Williams owned a summer home here and President Theodore Roosevelt had an ill-fated trolley accident in 1902 that left a rather sad mark on the city. But that is all in the past. Today, Pittsfield proudly wears the designation as the “Brooklyn of the Berkshires,” thanks to the abundance of cultural offerings bringing new life and energy to the city.

It was an invitation from the new Hotel on North that brought me to town, and I’m happy it did. As I quickly discovered, the hotel is a quirky, fun destination full of character and charm. Every room is appointed with lovely details and unique antiques, even the bathroom, where a signature fresh daisy awaited in a glass soda shaped bottle adorned with the word “smile” in raised letters. The hallway walls are decorated with groupings of old wooden skis, vintage tennis rackets and baseball bats, not to mention a wall of 1950s TV lamps lit to show off their glorious ceramic forms. The building’s original birdcage elevator has been converted into a little cocktail nook and an old print cutter now has a home in the center of the hotel’s restaurant.

The inviting back entrance to hotel on north in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. — The inviting back entrance to Hotel on North in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

Colorful lighted metal letters welcome diners to eat on north. restaurant. — Colorful lighted metal letters welcome diners to Eat on North restaurant.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

A welcoming cocktail area at eat on north. — Exposed brick and original hardwood floors create an intimate cocktail spot with North Street views at Eat on North.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

An on-site dinner at Eat on North, in the former Bessie Clark Clothing Store building, was perfect as well. The Dory & Ginger cocktail was delicious and much-needed, after a hectic day spent finishing up work at the office and a scenic—but longish—drive from New Hampshire. The name of the cocktail is also the name of a vintage-inspired store just off the hotel lobby, where I purchased two big zinc letters (L & E) for my daughters. Dinner was a roasted cauliflower tarte, a chickpea and red quinoa cake and a delicious apple crisp with cinnamon whipped cream served in a small cast iron pan. Executive chef Brian Alberg, of The Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, has designed a menu with plenty of options to please vegetarians and carnivores alike. Not one to buck the popular—and good—trend of supporting local farmers and businesses, I was happy to see that the restaurant’s suppliers include Barrington Coffee Roasting Company, Berkshire Mountain Bakery and Hilltop Orchards, just to name a few.

Zinc numbers at Dory & Ginger, a vintage inspired shop inside hotel on north. — Zinc numbers at Dory & Ginger, a vintage inspired shop inside Hotel on North.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

A galvanized tub filled with bath products at Dory & Ginger.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

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As usual on these brief out-of-the-office explorations, there was too much to do and not enough time. My stay in Pittsfield, however, renewed my appreciation for the many often-overlooked locations across New England. I look forward to further explorations on future visits to this small city. I’m already making my list: Dottie’s Coffee, Baba Louie’s Pizza, the Berkshire Museum, and one of my favorite contemporary art museums, Mass MoCA, in nearby North Adams.

But by design, this trip was about slowing down the pace. The highlight of my visit was an afternoon at the Hancock Shaker Village, a beautiful place preserving a way of life not many of us can comprehend. The Village offers a glimpse into a simpler time, and a community that valued esthetically beautiful craft and self-sufficiency. When we arrived, there was a small group of photographers at the entrance who soon spread out in search of inspired photographs. And it’s hard not to be inspired by the architecture, the details, the landscape. There is just something about the quality of light that is so different, so beautiful in these historic structures. I found myself visually drawn to the fine details of buildings and craftsmanship.

A classic barn red colors the exterior of the Laundry & Machine Shop. c. 1780. Gardeners collect heirloom seeds in the fall from the extensive gardens seen near the Garden Tool Shed circa 1922. — A classic red colors the exterior of the Laundry & Machine Shop. c. 1780. In the foreground, gardeners collect heirloom seeds in the fall from the extensive gardens.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

A handmade basket in the laundry room.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

A ladder by artist Jon Brooks is one of several art installations in the village, Modern Wings & Shaker Roots — A ladder by artist Jon Brooks is one of several large scale art installations in the village tied to the exhibit Modern Wings & Shaker Roots.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

A weathered milk bucket in the main entrance to the Round Stone Barn, c. 1826. — A rusted milk bucket holds open the door in the main entrance to the Round Stone Barn, c. 1826.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

The exterior of the massive Round Stone Barn. The barn housed 2 milk cows in its day and remained a working dairy well into the 1950s. — The exterior of the massive Round Stone Barn. The barn housed 52 milk cows in its day and remained a working dairy well into the 1950s.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

The impressive interior structural trusses of the Round Stone Barn with a pigeon in flight. — The impressive interior structural trusses of the Round Stone Barn with a pigeon blurred in flight.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

Interior window on the ground floor of the Round Stone Barn where the cows were stabled. — An interior window looking out on apple trees on the ground floor of the Round Stone Barn where the cows were stabled.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

A rooster eats apples off the ground. A variety of poultry including ducks and geese were kept by the shakers on the farm for eggs, meat and feathers.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

Cider apples on the ground. — Cider apples clustered on the ground.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

The tannery basement later converted back to its original use as a cider press. — The Tannery basement is home to the Village’s cider press.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

Rolled hay just off the stone barn will be fed to the livestock on the property. — Rolled hay bales just off the stone barn will be fed to the livestock in the village.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

A Merino sheep herd. The shakers kept large herds and utilized the prized wool for spinning and weaving projects. — A Merino sheep herd. The Shakers kept large herds of this breed and utilized their prized wool for spinning and weaving projects.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

Dominique, Wyandotte, Dorking & Rhode Island Red Chickens are found throughout the village including the dairy ell. — Dominiques, Wyandottes, Dorkings & Rhode Island Red chickens are seen throughout the village including this Wyandotte hen in the dairy ell.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

A red cloak in one of the bedrooms in the massive Brick Dwelling, c. 1830, that housed 100 shakers. — A red cloak in one of the bedrooms in the massive Brick Dwelling, c. 1830, that at one time housed 100 Shakers.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

A small wooden shingled shed behind the schoolhouse, an exact replica of the original schoolhouse built by the museum in 1976. — A small clapboard and wooden shingled shed behind the schoolhouse, which was designed and built as an exact replica of the original schoolhouse by the museum in 1976.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

A beautiful shaker shaker cupboard. — A beautiful shaker cupboard, rocking chair and basket inside the Brick Dwelling.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

Canning jars in the basement of the Brick Dwelling.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

The meeting room inside the Brick Dwelling. — A built in cupboard in the large communal meeting room inside the Brick Dwelling.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

Detail of shaker carrying basket and jars of beans in the kitchen of the brick dwelling. — Detail of a classic wooden shaker basket with a handle holding jars of beans in the kitchen of the brick dwelling.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

Detail of chalk, slate boards & an ink well on a desk inside the schoolhouse.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

Bookshelf detail inside the schoolhouse. The shakers educated children from their own community and the surrounding towns. Boys attended in the winter months to attend to farming chores in the other seasons while the girls were in school in the summer and fall. — Bookshelf detail inside the schoolhouse. The Shakers educated children from their own community and the surrounding towns. Boys attended in the winter months to tend to farming chores in the other seasons while the girls were in school in the summer and fall.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

A handwoven chair and straw hat inside the garden shed. — A handwoven chair and straw hat inside the Garden Tool Shed circa 1922.
*Photo Credit : Heather Marcus*

I’m looking forward to a return visit—hopefully with my elementary school-aged daughters in tow—in the spring, when the landscape of the Village will be awakening and the new baby animals arrive on the farm. So much will be different, but so much will remain the same, and really, that is the point. Although the way of life preserved at Hancock Shaker Village is no longer a viable option for most of us, it still inspires. In our technologically driven, fast-paced world, it is easy to lose sight of a simpler, slower, beautifully crafted life.

Hotel on North. 297 North Street, Pittsfield. 413-358-4741; hotelonnorth.com

Hancock Shaker Village. 1843 West Housatonic Street, Pittsfield. 413-443-0188, hancockshakervillage.org