Comments on: Pittsfield, MA

By: Ed Fox

Ed Fox — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:07:38 +0000

I love going home!!! My wife and I visited Pittsfield this past fall. On a Saturday morning we parked in front of Berkshire County Savings Bank and walked Norht Street to St Joe and back on the other side of the street to the car. It was great. We had coffee, something to eat, bought some books and I talked the entire time aobut every memory, every building, everyone. Can’t wait to visit again this spring.

One more thought. When our children were growing up they spent a month every summer with my mom and dad in Pittsfield. They are now 20 and 23 in NYC and London and still look forward to a week in Pittsfield every year.
They ,like my wife and me, feel at home, comfortable and welcomed in my home town.

By: braunfels

braunfels — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 21:48:20 +0000

I grew up in Pittsfield too. Left 40 years ago but have been back frequently to visit family and friends. It’s not the same place I grew up in, not by any stretch of the imagination. Pittsfield is a good metaphor now for what much of the U.S. is becoming economically.

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 05:46:45 +0000

I met my wife over the Internet in 2000 and moved in with my wife in Pittsfield in 2001. We lived together there from 2001 then moved to my home state of Kentucky in 2004. We separated last year and now she lives in Pittsfield again (I live in Chicopee an hour away). Chicopee does have the benefit, IMO, of being part of “western Massachusetts”, but it’s not quite the same as Pittsfield. I will probably move back to Pittsfield to be closer to my 3 1/2 year old son, but I really don’t mind Chicopee, either. But, folks, Pittsfield…..if you’ve never been there….is something special!

By: ed hoey

ed hoey — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 03:35:57 +0000

I love Pittsfield. I grew up in CT, traveled the world in the USAF (lived in MS, TX, Germany), lived in eastern MA, VT, Maine and other places but consider Pittsfield the place where I feel at home and had so many peak experiences. I moved there in 1985 worked at GE until i got laid off in 89 and regretted moving. Everytime I visit I get a warm feeling of all the special feelings from the place.
I would stop at the causeway at Onota lake to fish with the sun low in the sky.
I used to take walks in all parts of the city, and there is nothing like seeing the streets just walking around. It has the added benefit of the mall and shopping that wasn’t there in the late 80’s. Every part of the city has something to offer… walk around the park at Lake Pontusic or Onota beach.. hang out at the pier on the lakes. Walk around Williams street area admiring the amazing victorian homes.
Yes, drugs have moved into the city since then, but so has it in every other city in the country.
Pittsfield is surrouned on all sides by mountains, how beautiful. Like someone said, no major highway running thru it… it’s off the beaten path.. keeps it quieter than most cities. It’s only a 15 min drive to the new walking paths at cheshire lake… 15 min to tanglewood, 15 min to the Peru wilderness mountains, the highest point in MA is nearby.
People used to paying for parking everywhere they go will find you can go to the lakes and just park and fish, swim, or just walk around!
Baseball, ice skating on the lawn downtown in the winter… small town atmosphere with bigger city stores. The mall in Lanesborro allows walking around in the dead of winter… (try that in the middle of VT, even though I love VT)
I moved out during the recession of 1990, lived in Sheffield MA in 98-2001 but it wasn’t the same, I was always driving up to pittsfield. I work mostly from home so don’t need local work so I may just move back this time.. I miss it very much

By: robert Olsen, Ph.D Economics

robert Olsen, Ph.D Economics — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:13:27 +0000

I grew up in Pittsfield and left in 1966. From experience I realize the wonderfull place it was to grow up. Good schools, good services and plenty of community spirit. When G.E. pulled out the City lost its economic engine. However, it still is a beautiful natural location that will come back in time. Meanwhile all who read this should be aware that the American Corporation is the perfect sociopath with no concern for humanity or culture. G.E. has well proven this with regard to Pittsfield. Workers and citizens invest human capital in a firm just as much as stockholders invest financial capital.They are the unrecorded assets that allow the firm to prosper.G.E. merely transferred wealth from the City to its stockholders.

By: Rich H

Rich H — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:49:55 +0000

I have lived in Pittsfield all my life (42 years) and seen it go from great to a dump. The main reason Pittsfiel is the way it is, no jobs;crime on the rise..ect is because of two things: People don’t want change, crooked politicians. Pittsfield hasn’t seen a good mayor since Ann W. Every mayor since including the one we have now is useless! Our present mayor promises the world and hasn’t done anything but raise our taxes every year he has been in office.

By: MartyM

MartyM — Wed, 27 May 2009 02:17:41 +0000

I stumbled upon these posts and articles and now feel I need to add my 2 cents..I left the Pittsfield area 11 years ago or should I say escaped .I grew up in Lanesboro ,spent 25 more years in Lenox and Pittsfield was always the hub of business and entertainment for us locals.. GE messed it up and the city allowed it and the people resisted any change or any other company to set up a new tent ..I remember many years ago the talk of vw coming in and somehow GE and the city blocked it..I really dont know if there is any truth to it…but its a ghost town now by comparison.. then the sinking ship out in coltsville..how fitting was that.I remember Pittsfield being refered to as the city in the country ,,then refered to as the drug capital of the northeast wow what a slippery slope the berkshires have.. Like I said I escaped many years ago and when I do visit family that is still there ,I get chills that runs up my spine..what an armpit Pittsfield has turned in to..drugs ,crime,unemployment,taxes,bad weather,empty buildings,a enviromental disaster area wow and I just scratched the surface,,Im so glad I left .. the world has so much more to offer than Pittsfield Massachusetts

By: kascey b.

kascey b. — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:56:15 +0000

I live in Pittsfield and have been here my whole life and believe its up to us (the new generation) to pick up the pieces that were shattered by ignorant people who relied to heavily on a large company! To make the change you will have to have the creative eye to see that something so hideous to someone else almost a waste could be the jewel in our lives! We must preserve this town and not just for our memories but to share with the next generation!!

By: Ethan

Ethan — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 04:29:32 +0000

Ann, sorry you are so troubled by my impressions in this post. I’ve lived in Berkshire County since 1989 and in Lanesboro since 1998. I know Pittsfield pretty well, both on foot and by car. Yes, this was a very one-sided view of the city. It was my set of impressions based on a particular cold, dark day in town. It’s not all I think about the town – it’s one set of impressions.

By: Ann

Ann — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 01:10:47 +0000

As a native Pittsfielder, some of these posts make me want to scream — people like you, Ethan, drive through Pittsfield, see about 1/20 of the city, and write it off as another burned out mill town. Pittsfield has absolutely seen some tough times, and will see more, but it is a beautiful, complex, and yes, tough city. It is distinctive, sad, joyous, and the only place I would ever want to live. Take some time and get to know the city. Go to the East Side Cafe for pizza on a Friday night; go for a long walk at Canoe Meadows or the state forest; walk the old streets off East Street near the athenaeum, or have a meal at Reba’s on Tyler Street (if you can get a table); talk to the people with art studio space on North Street or to the old timers who worked at GE; to the new people putting down roots here or the natives coming home. But don’t assume what you please based on your fleeting drive-by impressions. You’re an educated person. You can do better by a place that many people love dearly, and know a lot better than you do. Get out of your damn car and go for a walk.