BU Looking For More Use of Tanglewood Campus

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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The campus on West Street is only used eight weeks each year.
LENOX, Mass. — Boston University is working with local cultural institutions to find way to use its Tanglewood campus year round.
 
The Boston University Tanglewood Institute, a historic West Street estate bordering Tanglewood's campus, is used by the university throughout the summer but sits vacant during the other three seasons.
 
"Hilary Respass was appointed by Boston University to see if there is anything we can do to enhance the use of the property that they only have for eight weeks in the summer," said state Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli, D-Lenox, on Friday.
 
Pignatelli has already brought together cultural and business leaders to start the brainstorming work.
 
On Friday, a site visit was held with an array of cultural officials ranging from The Mount to the Berkshire Film and Media Commission to Berkshire Community College's humanities department.
 
The university has been weighing the future of the nearly 50 year old institute. Some 350 teens and young adults attend the summer program each year and share performance space at the Boston Symphony Orchestra's Tanglewood campus next door. This past spring, the program was given a three-year reprieve based on the recommendations of a study done in fall 2013.
 
However, BU Today reported at the time that if the institute can't be put "on sound fiscal footing," it is likely to be closed.
 
Respass took over as executive director in August and finding ways to do more with the estate's 64 acres came out of conversations with Pignatelli. 
 
"I just put together a welcome wagon with CEOs and business leaders to brainstorm and we all agreed we needed a site visit," Pignatelli said.
 
He characterized Friday's tour of the property as a "meet and greet" with business, town and cultural leaders. BU will continue to use the property during the summer but Friday's get-together started the process of exploring other options. 
 
"This could be years from now," Pignatelli said, adding that the town needs to preserve the historic estate.
 
The public, however, was not welcomed on Friday. A "miscommunication" led to the tour being posted as a Planning Board site visit. But when the media, neighbors and even a member of the town's Community Preservation Committee arrived, they were told to leave by Respass.
 
"Today's tour is a private tour for people we've been talking with," Respass told iBerkshires and the other members of the public who were in attendance but directed to leave. 
 
Pignatelli called Friday's situation "an unfortunate miscommunication." The tour did not include a quorum of Planning Board members and town Planner Gwen Miller said the posting was "retracted" Friday morning.
 
Nonetheless, getting more use out of the property is currently considered by town officials as an opportunity for economic growth. Last week, the Board of Selectmen praised the idea of year-round use of it.
 
"It is in the town's interest if we can get that campus working 12 months a year," board Chairman Channing Gibson said during last week's meeting. Gibson was also in attendance for Friday's tour. 
 
Pignatelli suggested that the Community Preservation Act funds could be an avenue for any restoration work that could be needed.

Tags: classical music,   summer programs,   Tanglewood,   university,   

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Ghost Tour at Ventfort Hall

LENOX, Mass. — Join Robert Oakes, author of "Ghosts of the Berkshires," who will lead participants through the rooms and halls of Ventfort Hall sharing tales of its alleged hauntings.
 
The tour will take place at 8 pm on Saturday March 16.
 
Admission is $30 and minimum age to attend is age 12. Reservations are strongly recommended as tickets are limited. Walk-ins accommodated as space allows. For reservations visit https://gildedage.org/pages/calendar or call at 413-637-3206. All tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. Payment is required to make a reservation for an event.
 
This is not an active investigation.
 
Robert Oakes is an author, teacher, storyteller, and singer/songwriter originally from northern New Jersey and currently residing in the Berkshires.. Since 2010 Robert has led the ghost tours at Edith Wharton's The Mount in Lenox, and has represented the museum and its ghosts on Syfy's Ghost Hunters, Jeff Belanger's New England Legends series on PBS, and The Apple Seed show on BYUradio. 
 
In 2020, Robert's debut book, "Ghosts of the Berkshires," was published by Arcadia Publishing and is on sale now in our gift shop. Robert's latest book, "Ghosts of Northwestern New Jersey," was released in September 2022.
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