The art of saving a city

By David Filipov| Boston Globe| July 24, 2010

Pittsfield — City of art, city of funk. The SoHo of the Berkshires, the Brooklyn of the Berkshires.

The sobriquets urban planners bestow upon this bygone manufacturing hub speak of their confidence that Pittsfield can become a center of culture and entertainment on par with Lenox and Stockbridge and Williamstown.

Once-vacant buildings in downtown Pittsfield are filling with galleries, and restaurants. North Street, the city’s long depressed main drag, now hosts regular street festivals, open houses and art shows that draw thousands of residents and visitors. …

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A Preservation Massachusetts Most Endangered Historic Resource in 1997, the Longfellow Bridge faces preservation and other issues in its upcoming rehabilitation.

Linking cities and eras

By Eric Moskowitz| Boston Globe| July 25, 2010

Boston — The Longfellow Bridge spans the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge with a mix of grace and heft. Below its heavily trafficked deck, a dozen granite piers alternate with 11 sets of steel arches that bound across the water like a skipped stone. Above, the bridge is adorned with four neoclassical towers that resemble salt and pepper shakers.

And then there is the view, a panorama that is a mainstay of postcards: the rooftops of Back Bay, the slope of Beacon Hill and the gleam of downtown skyscrapers rising beyond the deep blue of the Charles and the greenery of the Esplanade.
Ever since the original bridge was built in 1854 to connect Tom’s Neck with the main part of town, it has been an important historical link for the Community.

Up close though, the century-old bridge is in terrible shape…

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