image description — The structure, originally built in the 1800s and expanded in the 1870s, has previously been the site of a criminal lockup, a butchery, a shoe store and a photography studio.

Former Moderne Studios Building Sold at Auction

By Brian RhodesiBerkshires Staff
11:39AM / Tuesday, December 06, 2022Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The former Moderne Studios building at 19 Eagle Street that has been vacant for several years sold at auction for $100,000 on Tuesday.

$100,000 was the lone bid for the property, despite several interested parties showing up for the auction. Prior to the bidding, potential bidders were given a tour of the three-floor, 5300-square-foot building.

Skip Barry of The Barry Group Real Estate, who placed the winning bid, said he is unsure what he plans to do with the property but spoke highly of the building itself and its location on Eagle Street.

"I think it's a fabulous location and a fabulous building," he said, noting that he owns other properties in the downtown area."

Barry said he has no connections to any businesses or owners previously involved with the property.

Irving Shechtman & Co., Inc. ran the auction.

According to Historic North Adams, the original structure, 21 Eagle St., was built in the 1800s and had been the site of a criminal lockup between 1864 and 1869. In 1869, the building was deemed unfit for use.

The building was then bought by the Tower Brothers, Horace and Henry Tower who renovated the building and in 1876 began using it as their butcher shop.

In 1870, the Tower brothers began building 19 Eagle St., expanding the property. This was completed in 1872.

The company went bankrupt in 1901.

In 1915, the building was sold to Charles Kronick who opened a shoe store in 1920.

In the fifties, Moderne Studios Photography opened in the building. They closed in the early aughts.

The building has been vacant for several years, with visible damage to the building's outside brickwork and woodwork.

The property received new electrical work in 2003 before its purchase by the previous owner in 2005. In 2008, an excavation of the basement took place, in addition to the construction of a rear egress from the second floor. In 2009, the previous owner added beams and structural steel.

The building can house one commercial space on the first floor and four residential units on the second and third floors.

Tags: auction, Eagle Street,

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Nor'easter Set to Drop Foot of Snow Over Berkshires

03:00PM / Sunday, February 22, 2026

Update on the powerful Nor'easter set to drop up to a foot of snow over the region. This come right on the tail Friday's storm that dropped up to 6 inches in some areas.

The National Weather Service in Albany, N.Y., has shifted the winter storm warning issued from Saturday a few hours later; it now begins at 4 p.m. on Sunday but still runs through 7 p.m. on Monday for the Berkshires, eastern New York, Southern Vermont and northern Connecticut.

Heavy snow expected with total accumulations between 8 and 14 inches with some locally higher totals possible over the high peaks of the Catskills AND the Berkshires. Winds could gust as high as 50 mph.

The forecasted "bomb cyclone" is lining up to hit New York City with its first blizzard in a decade, but Western Mass will feel some of its effects.

The Berkshires will see flurries during the day but the Nor'easter will make its entrance later in the evening, first in South County between 5 and 8 and then moving north.

Vermont schoolchildren will be starting their winter vacation Monday but Berkshire kids will be headed back to school. But they might be getting an extra vacation day — Greylock Snow Day still has an 80 percent probability for of delays, but upgraded the chance of a snow to 90 percent for South County and 75 percent for north.

With the storm sweeping in by Sunday afternoon, we'll be on the lookout for any cancellations. This post will also be updated if new information becomes available.

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