NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — It's beginning to look a lot like the holiday season with the installation of the city two Christmas trees on Main Street.
The Highway Department traveled to Pownal, Vt., on Thursday morning to take down a 30-foot fir donated by the Pownal Fire Department. The tree stood for many years in front of the station on Route 346 and was lighted for the holidays. The department decided to have it removed because it was impeding the sight lines of drivers trying to exit the station and the adjacent post office.
"A smaller tree will replace the large tree this spring and set farther back from the road," the Pownal Fire Department posted on its Facebook page.
The tree arrived with a police escort to Monument Square with some lights already in place. It was trimmed by Lonny Cimonetti, who will be retiring next year, and hoisted into place with a crane from Atlantis Corp. of Stephentown, N.Y. Personnel from the Department of Public Works and Wire & Alarm stabilized in place in front of the Civil War Monument.
The city also thanks the Fire and Police departments, National Grid, Arbortech Tree Co. and Moresi & Associates for their assistance.
Around noon, the second tree was placed in Dr. Rosenthal Square at the bottom of West Main Street. This one came from Glen Avenue and was donated by sisters Dawn Hinkell, Missy Ranzoni and Donna Randall, in memory of their mother, Sandra Bryant, who died in 2015.
This is the third tree the family has donated to the city's annual tree lighting. Their grandparents, Harold and Mary Bryant, donated the first one, then replanted a tree that was later donated by Sandra Bryant. The family replanted a tree following that donation, which is the tree now standing for this year's lighting. Once again the family will replant a tree in the spring for their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. There are nine grandchildren (one passed away in 2013) and eight great-grandchildren.
Over the next week or so, the trees will be decorated for the annual tree-lighting ceremony that will be held on Thanksgiving Eve, Nov. 27, at 6 p.m. Santa will arrive that evening on the Fire Department's vintage fire engine and there will be carols and hot cocoa. Santa will bring goody bags for the first 500 children.
The Downtown Bike Around will join the procession down Main Street with bikes decorated in lights and community members are invited join the group starting at 5:15 p.m. from the Peebles parking lot. Riders are encouraged to decorate their bikes and themselves with lights, glow sticks, and festive attire.
The rain date for this event will be Friday, Dec. 6, at the same time.
Then the "Festival of Lights" continues with the celebration of the beginning Hanukkah on the evening of Sunday, Dec. 22, with the lighting of the city menorah, also at Dr. Rosenthal Square.
The North Adams Office of Tourism thanks Berkshire Bank, Cascade School Supplies, the First Baptist Church, the Drury High School Band, MountainOne, Greylock Federal Credit Union, and Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art for their help and sponsorship of this event.
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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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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.
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