North Adams Cemetery Commission Squares Away New Signage

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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The Cemetery Commission is working on new signage for the city's two cemeteries.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Cemetery Commission made progress toward finalizing the approval of new signage for both Southview and Hillside cemeteries.

Commissioner Roger Eurbin provided some sample renderings Tuesday afternoon during the panel's monthly meeting.

He proposed a wooden sign for Hillside similar to the one at Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memorial Skating Rink. Eurbin said he wanted a sign that would reflect the age of the cemetery.

"Hillside was established in 1798 which is pretty old…so I wanted to see something more rustic or colonial," Eurbin said.

He said the sign will be made out of wood. The cross bars will be nearly 2 inches thick and the letters will be routered into the wood and painted white. He said he anticipated that the wood will be stained a dark brown.

The name of the cemetery will be written in larger print on the top board, the second board will have the date the cemetery was founded, and the third board will indicate that the cemetery is a national historic landmark.

Eurbin said there will be two signs at Hillside, which is divided by Route 2.

Eurbin said rendering for the Southview sign is almost complete and after talking with the mayor, he thought it would be good to add Southview's date of establishment as well.

"Most people don't realize how old that cemetery is," he said. "It was founded in 1888."

He said the Southview sign will be double-sided and will be located at the main entrance. He said the proposed rendering has black lettering on a white background.

The commission has reached out to two possible vendors and will make final decisions once they have prices.

Although commissioners did not approve the final designs of the signs yet, it did OK their placement and the new signage for rules and regulations.

They agreed to place two signs in Hillside near both of the cemetery's entrances.

Southview will have a sign in a prominent place near every entrance.

The commission will make final decisions on signage during its next meeting.


Tags: cemetery commission,   hillside cemetery,   signage,   

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Macksey Updates on Eagle Street Demo and Myriad City Projects

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

The back of Moderne Studio in late January. The mayor said the city had begun planning for its removal if the owner could not address the problems. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Moderne Studio building is coming down brick by brick on Eagle Street on the city's dime. 
 
Concerns over the failing structure's proximity to its neighbor — just a few feet — means the demolition underway is taking far longer than usual. It's also been delayed somewhat because of recent high winds and weather. 
 
The city had been making plans for the demolition a month ago because of the deterioration of the building, Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the City Council on Tuesday. The project was accelerated after the back of the 150-year-old structure collapsed on March 5
 
Initial estimates for demolition had been $190,000 to $210,000 and included asbestos removal. Those concerns have since been set aside after testing and the mayor believes that the demolition will be lower because it is not a hazardous site.
 
"We also had a lot of contractors who came to look at it for us to not want to touch it because of the proximity to the next building," she said. "Unfortunately time ran out on that property and we did have the building failure. 
 
"And it's an unfortunate situation. I think most of us who have lived here our whole lives and had our pictures taken there and remember being in the window so, you know, we were really hoping the building could be safe."
 
Macksey said the city had tried working with the owner, who could not find a contractor to demolish the building, "so we found one for him."
 
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