Country Comfort

A high-energy cultural scene in a well-preserved Berkshire town

April 30, 2008|Bonnie Jernigan, Globe Correspondent

DISTANCE FROM BOSTON: 137 miles

POPULATION: 7,008

WEBSITE: www.townofgb.org

ODD FACT: Great Barrington was the first town in the world to be lighted with alternating current.

Red Sox and Yankees hats coexist in Great Barrington. This village may be in the Massachusetts mountains, but it is equidistant from Boston and New York. With each being less than three hours away, an appealing thread of big-city energy is woven into a small-town tapestry of history, scenery, and charm. A Victorian "Winged Victory" statue reaches skyward at Town Hall, where a stone marks the 1774 site of America's first open resistance to British rule. Distinguished stone churches preserve a Gilded Age sensibility, and 19th-century brick bank and office buildings have come back to life as eclectic shops and sophisticated restaurants. Great Barrington has been home to notables, including W.E.B. DuBois, the historic black civil rights activist and writer; Pauline Kael, the late film critic; and Karen Allen, the actress, who has a textile arts shop on Railroad Avenue. Great Barrington's Old Trinity Church, immortalized in Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant," is now the interfaith Guthrie Center.

DoThe flashing marquee on Castle Street is a beacon for the Mahaiwe Theater (14 Castle St., 413-528-0100, mahaiwe.org), a 1905 architectural gem built for vaudeville acts. Having been meticulously restored as a performing arts center, it keeps a year-round stream of culture flowing in the Berkshires, even after the season ends at nearby Tanglewood and Jacob's Pillow. A Judy Collins concert is slated for June 1; in mid-May the Berkshire International Film Festival holds an opening night premiere and many other events at the Mahaiwe. The Great Barrington Art Walk, a group of 10 fine art and furniture galleries in the middle of town, includes the Vault Gallery (322 Main St., 413-644-0221, vaultgallery.net) located in a former bank building. Contemporary paintings and sculptures are exhibited in the massive stainless steel vault and in the adjacent parlor. Visiting Iris Gallery (47 Railroad St., 413-644-0045, irisgallery.net), another Art Walk venue, is akin to a world tour through fine art photography. A French jetty or a Japanese oyster farm is transformed into soft geometry by Canadian photographer David Burdeny. Beth Dow's platinum palladium prints capture the perfection of English gardens. Gallery owner Alison Collins works upstairs in the old granary building. The Housatonic River Walk (gbriverwalk.org) is part of a volunteer effort to clean up the river that flows behind Main Street's buildings. The short walking trail is a work in progress.It can be entered beside the pharmacy near St. Peter's Church.

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