LOOKING FOR A SHORT BREAK? NORTHAMPTON AND AMHERST MIGHT BE JUST THE PLACE
Fall 24
By Anastasia Stanmeyer
ON A GORGEOUS August afternoon in the throes of the Berkshire cultural season, I slipped away for a few days to a place that is so close, yet for so many residents (like me) not so familiar despite all that is has to offer in entertainment, education, outdoor interests, food, shopping, and so on. I set out to change that on this Monday afternoon. I jumped in my car, picked up my coworker Jen Hines, and hit the road, eager to explore for a few days our neighbors to the east. In my oversized purse was a printout of locations that I wanted to visit, but I was open to whatever was ahead.
I had done a bit of research and did some outreach, with plans to meet with Vince Jackson, executive director of the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, and Jacob Robinson, executive director of Hampshire County Regional Tourism Council. On my checklist for Northampton were Smith College Museum of Art, Thornes Marketplace, and R. Michelson Galleries, for starters. On the east side of the river, in Amherst, there was Emily Dickinson Museum, Yiddish Book Center, Protocol restaurant, and The Mill District in North Amherst. For this immersion, the plan was to spend the first night at the Inn on Boltwood in Amherst and the second night at the Hotel Northampton.
The region we were headed to is often referred to as the “Five Colleges,” which is comprised of four liberal arts colleges and one university in the Connecticut River Pioneer Valley: Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Our first stop was the Yiddish Book Center, set on a ten-acre apple orchard at the edge of Hampshire College and near the Eric Carle Museum. I was aware of the Yiddish Book Center through Rebecka McDougall, the center’s director of marketing and communications, who worked for many years at the Mount in Lenox. She encouraged me to make the visit that was just an hour away on a picturesque drive along Route 8, through small towns and lots of greenery.
The architecturally distinct building echoes traditional Eastern European design, with gabled roofs and cedar siding. Greenness surrounded us as we walked to the building; inside, the space was filled with natural light streaming through the many windows. We immediately were in view of the main floor repository and galleries and discovered a small theater and performance hall as we explored more.
David Mazower, research bibiographer and chief curator at the Yiddish Book Center, was waiting to greet us. Founded in 1980 by Aaron Lansky, the center’s mission is to recover, preserve, teach, and celebrate Yiddish literature and culture. Mazower tells us the more than a million Yiddish books recovered are a window into the past thousand years of Jewish history, a precursor of modern Jewish writing in English, Hebrew, and other languages. At any given time, there are boxes of books waiting to be opened, treasures waiting to be discovered.
The center’s exhibition, Yiddish: A Global Culture, which opened in 2023, includes many facets of Yiddish culture that goes well beyond books and borders. “The goal is to present the glories and the riches and the sophistication of modern Yiddish culture,” says Mazower as we began our tour. On one side of the ramp that goes into the exhibition is a 60-foot color mural of global “Yiddishland” by illustrator Martin Haake, representing Yiddish culture geographically through time. In glass display boxes along the walkway below the mural are Yiddish-language books, some one of a kind, that include Shakespeare sonnets, Harry Potter, Moby Dick, Japanese folk tales for kids from the 1920s, a primer about modern China, The Jungle Book, a biography of Muhammad, an Arabic primer for Yiddish-speaking soldiers in the First World War, and much more.
“The focus of the exhibition is the moment when Yiddish kind of explodes into the world and into the street as a mass modern culture,” continues Mazower. There is a large section of Yiddish and Hebrew typewriters and a section of Yiddish press and politics that includes the only surviving Linotype typesetting machine from a Yiddish press room that was used in New York for about 70 years.
The exhibition space includes hundreds of rare objects, family heirlooms, photographs, music, and videos. Visitors also can explore a re-creation of the turn-of-the-century Warsaw apartment of writer I.L. Peretz, whose legendary salon stood at the forefront of Yiddish modernism in the 1900s and 1910s. The period reproduction features books, profiles of writers and artists in Peretz’s circle, a soundscape of voices from the salon, a re-creation of Peretz’s desk, and wallpaper based on original photographs.
There was so much to take in. We left inspired and wanting to know more as we drove to our next stop, the Inn on Boltwood. We were greeted by Robin Brown, the inn’s director of sales. Brown walked us through the historic 49-room inn, including the restaurant and bar and lovely, more private locations to dine, such as the wine room and greenhouse. The rooftop with a fireplace and the patio both can accomodate 50 people for dining. Brunch is served 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., then dining reopens at 4 until 9 p.m. on weekdays and until 11 p.m. on weekends.
An impressive white tent decked with chandeliers and bistro lights seats up to 200 people. There is also beautiful new ballroom that holds up to 150 people. The library is gorgeous—just the place where I would love to spend more time.
The 1926 inn is situated in downtown Amherst and is walking distance from all the local shops, boutiques, restaurants, and Amherst College. We took a moment in the garden area, named “Frost Gardens” because Robert Frost frequented the hotel when he was teaching at Amherst. He stayed in Room 6 at the inn. Located in the inn’s west wing, it was unoccupied at the time, so we peeked inside. The room was small, down to the desk at the end of the small alcove where Frost once wrote.
“He was quite eccentric,” says Brown. “Instead of using the doors like a normal human, he would go right out the window.”
The Inn on Boltwood is a stop on the Amherst Writers Walk. (The Robert Frost House is another location on the walk at 43 Sunset Ave.) A plaque outside shows a picture of Shirley Graham Du Bois, who lived at The Boltwood Inn (then called The Amherst Inn, later The Lord Jeffery Inn) while teaching at Amherst in the 1970s. A playwright, composer, and author, Graham was married to Great Barrington-born writer and civil right activist W.E.B. DuBois.
Brown’s tour was lively and fun, and we realized after touring the entire inn that we were getting hungry. Jacob Robinson with the Amherst Area Chamber, who met us at the inn, suggested we take a short walk through the recently beautified Town Common to Protocol for dinner. We were met by the lovely Daniela Aniceto, the restaurant’s hospitality director.
Protocol is owned by Archipelago Group, which also plans to open the Amherst Oyster Bar in downtown Amherst, as well as a listening bar featuring curated DJ sets around a particular artist or genre every night. Lastly, it will open an indoor/outdoor bar called “Patio” that will bring color and vibrancy year round. Protocol is marketed as “the largest space in downtown Amherst,” and I don’t think they’re exaggerating. The bar is expansive, and the seating throughout is light and airy, with shelves of plants dividing sections of the restaurant. The food was equally delightful—Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta for our app, Smash Burgers, Summer Thai Curry, and a bottle of rosé. It was a lovely night conversing with Aniceto and Robinson, and the place was bustling for a Monday night with still a few weeks before the students began returning.
We headed back to the inn and stopped at the bar for a nightcap in the inn’s 30Boltwood restaurant. The bartender tempted us with a dessert menu, and we shared a spectacular Rosemary Panna Cotta, with grilled peaches, vanilla whipped cream, and shortbread.
The next morning, we met Robinson at The Mill District in North Amherst. We were curious about this regional destination that was intentionally designed to revive critical community connections and local resilience. The Mill District is a rapidly growing experiential mixed-use town center located just a mile north of UMass Amherst. It boasts diverse retailers, services, and restaurants, in additional to the 130 apartments.
We met with Arthur Haskins, VP of Real Estate and Community Development for W.D. Cowls, Inc., at Futura Coffee Roasters. I was as eager to meet him as I was to have my second coffee of the day. (My first coffee was complimentary in room at the Inn on Boltwood.) I learned from Haskins that Cinda and Evan Jones, the ninth generation of the Cowls family—the largest private landowners in the state—decided what their community needed most now was community itself. Starting with the trolley barn and the Cow Barn, the brother-and-sister team envisioned and built The Mill District.
We walked around the complex and popped into some of the wonderful shops and eateries there, including Carefree Cakery, The Mill District General Store & Local Art Market, Provisions Mill District (beer and wine), and The Closet (curated vintage and new clothing and accessories). Every shop was well-stocked with wonderful selections that were attractively displayed. We walked over to the new 3 Amigos restaurant. Even though they weren’t open until later in the day, two of the owners, José Dias from Puerto Rico and Matias Martinez from Chile, were there waiting to greet us and asked whether we wanted to taste some of their menu items.
They described their place as a “Mexican restaurant infused with Latin America,” and we were in for a real treat. Most of the restaurant’s recipes were from their moms. We had Empanadas de Pino, Tostones Rellenos, Chicharrones de Cerdo, Tostones, and shrimp and fish tacos. If you needed a reason to go to The Mill District, 3 Amigos is it. It’s not to be missed. As we got into my car, we were already making plans to return to The Mill District for the Big Fall Festival, tentatively planned for October 5, as well as the Annual Holiday Arts Market on November 2 and 3.
I was eager to go to our next stop, which is the residence of another famous writer connected with Amherst. The Emily Dickinson Museum is comprised of two historic houses in the center of Amherst that associated with Dickinson and members of her family during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Homestead was poet’s birthplace and home. It opened to the public in 1965.
We were signed up for a museum tour, and we stepped in a few minutes late as the guide Emma talking about how Dickinson enjoyed baking and also how she would write on anything, even on wrappers. Emma stood at the portrait of Dickinson with her two siblings as she talked to the dozen or so people on this tour.
Then we headed to the poetry room, which was once Dickinson’s sister’s bedroom. We saw and talked about how Dickinson would take images of everyday life and transform them into bigger ideas of grief, mortality, and spirituality. Only 10 of her poems were published during her lifetime, and not under name, Emma says.
“Every single word counts in her tiny compact poems,” Emma adds. In her writing, Dickinson often had alternative words on the margins, which changed the meaning of her poems. We were led to Dickinson’s bedroom, where there was a replica of her tiny desk. Standing by the bed where Dickinson slept and where she died, Emma read a poem Dickinson wrote about her bedroom. It was from her bedroom that Dickinson wrote everything, Emma says.
The tour continued in The Evergreens next door, which was home to her brother Austin, his wife Susan, and their three children. We lagged behind and caught up with Jane Wald, the museum’s executive director. She walked us through the impressive home, which was an integral part of the poet’s world. The house remains largely unaltered since the years when Dickinson’s family lived here, a time capsule still filled with furniture, household items, and decor selected and displayed by the family during the 19th century.
Wald talked with us about the annual Tell It Slant Poetry Festival from September 23 to 29. The festival celebrates Emily Dickinson’s poetic legacy and the contemporary creativity she and her work continues to inspire from the place she called home. This year’s line-up features a talented group of poets from around the country including readings by Pulitzer Prize winners Carl Phillips (2023) and Diane Seuss (2022), generative writing workshops, poetry panels, a masterclass with celebrated poet Oliver de la Paz, and more. The cornerstone of the festival, the Emily Dickinson Poetry Marathon is an epic reading of all 1,789 of Emily Dickinson’s poems across the festival week.
I made a mental note to mark my calendar.
We headed to the west side of the Connecticut River, to The Hotel Northampton, a historic inn built in 1927 and located in the middle of downtown, within walking distance to Smith College. Part of the hotel is Wiggins Tavern, which dates back to 1930. That’s the year Lewis Wiggins, who had opened the hotel several years earlier, acquired an 18th-century New Hampshire tavern and installed its reassembled interior within his hostelry’s lower level.
The hotel boasts 106 guestrooms and suites, and along with the Wiggins Tavern, there is the very pleasant Coolidge Park Café, where we had a cup of coffee as our room was getting ready and and met gallery manager Ruby Meng, the hotel’s director of sales & marketing.
After checking in, we took a stroll to R. Michelson Galleries, the largest commercial art gallery in western Massachusetts, and chatted with gallery manager Paul Gulla. He talked about the 35th Annual Children’s Book Illustration Festival at R. Michelson Galleries from November 3 to mid-January. We stepped outside to check out the impressive four-story mural on the back wall of Arthur, Paddington, Madeline and 26 other iconic children’s book characters.
We arranged to meet Vince Jackson, who is also executive director of the Hampshire County Regional Tourism Council, for a delicious dinner at Paul and Elizabeth’s in the popular Thornes Marketplace, a location that we planned to revisit first thing in the morning to do some serious shopping at its many retail businesses. It was a busy night at the restaurant.
Jackson filled us in on what’s happening in Northampton. On October 12 to 14, the Paradise City Arts Festival will be held at the Three County Fairgrounds. Jackson also talked about the Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity in Northampton, which has dynamic performances such as the Queer Story Slam on September 12 and master kora player Yacouba Sissoko on September 28.
There’s also the recently reopened Iron Horse with one of my favorites, Bob Mould, playing on September 7, Rodney Crowell on September 19, John McLaughlin on September 21, and so much more. At the Academy of Music, Anat Cohen Quartetinho will perform on September 28 as part of this year’s Northampton Jazz Festival. At The Drake, singer, songwriter, anti-racist activist and fierce defendant of the LGBTQIA+ community worldwide, Bia Ferreira will perform on September 24. This show is presented in collaboration with UMass Fine Arts Center—the first installment of a three-part artist-activist series. Cimafunk,
Grammy-nominated Afro-Cuban rock star, also performs October 18 at The Drake.
Jackson continued his tour de Northampton talk with Look Park, a popular location for the whole family and includes a steamer train, pedal boats, Christenson Wildlife Center, water spray park, playgrounds, walking path, minigolf, tennis and pickleball, and Sweet Shoppe. There’s also Look Park’s Pines Theater, which has played host to some of the most iconic performers and artists in the world. There’s a “save the date” for Playin’ for the Pines on October 6 from 12 to 6 p.m. There’s hope that the historic Calvin Theater will reopen one day soon, too.
Jackson talked about Berkshire East year-round resort in nearby Charlemont. After dinner, we took a walk around downtown Northampton, first peeking in on the legendary Herrell’s Ice Cream in Thornes Marketplace. We popped into the bustling Northampton Brewery to check out the lively scene and then headed over to the mind-bending Tunnel Bar for a delicious espresso martini.
The next morning, we made a beeline back to Thornes Marketplace and were ready to shop. We met briefly with Jody Doele, co-owner and marketing director of Thornes, who was in the midst of a photo shoot right there. We chatted over delicious lattes at Share (and later ate some tasty grilled turkey sandwiches).
Earlier, I had taken a quick tour of Thornes’ website. I found this statement on its homepage: “Whether it’s your 100th time visiting or your first, Thornes will surprise and delight you with unique offerings, delicious bites, and exquisite architecture.” So very true. This was my first time, and I think this was Jen’s 100th. We were equally delighted at what we found.
The five-story building was built in 1875, and the original tin ceilings, hardwood stairwell and floors are still intact. It was first a company store for a man who owned a silk mill in Florence. Then, when the silk industry collapsed because of the emergence of nylons, the building became a department store called McCallum’s. Malls started popping up, and it became dilapidated and closed. Floyd Andrus bought the building in 1979, and then two brothers with the last name “Thorne” bought the building from him. They had visions of a world bazaar, and that bazaar feeling is still present. There are 25 independent restaurants and retailers on the five levels of Thornes. The current three owners, which includes Doele, bought the building from the Thorne brothers in 2006. Since then, improvements to the building have been ongoing.
It was such fun shopping there, and we welcomed the attractive price points. We popped into as many stores as we could—including Booklink Booksellers and café, Footbeats footwear, Little Blue children’s clothing, Ooh La La loungewear and lingerie, Blue Marble clothing, jewelry & gift shop, Stay Golden contemporary women’s clothing boutique, and more. Still, we seemed to barely scratch the surface.
“We have a really strong, loyal following, but we really benefit from the day trippers,” says Doele. “Our overwhelming season is the month of December. That’s when this place is just packed, and it’s beautiful. We decorate the building very elaborately on the outside, and it’s our biggest shopping time of the year.”
The last location I went—well, second-to-the-last location—was Smith College Museum of Art (SCMA), a lovely short walk from the center of Northampton. I was pleasantly surprised to see Carolyn McDaniel, who used to be director of communications and marketing at Hancock Shaker Village, appear for the walk through the museum. She is now director of media relations for Smith. Tiffany Bradley, associate director of communications for SCMA, also joined us, as did the Emma Chubb, Charlotte Feng Ford ‘83 curator of contemporary art.
We talked about a new exhibition opening on August 30 of Younes Rahmoun: Here, Now, the first North American exhibition devoted to the art of Rahmoun, one of Morocco’s leading contemporary artists. The exhibition invests in and responds to multiple locations. It features three new site-specific commissions as well as a selection of major sculptures, drawings, videos, and installations that Rahmoun has made since the 1990s.
These artworks are installed on Smith’s campus at SCMA, Lyman Plant House, and next to Paradise as well as the Ada and Archibald MacLeish Field Station in West Whately, MA. Two partner exhibitions have been organized at La Kunsthalle Mulhouse (Mulhouse, France) and Kulte Center for Contemporary Art & Editions (Rabat, Morocco).
On the third floor is the Worlds in Process: Art from the SCMA Collection, which pilots new strategies for displaying the collection. It includes artworks from a range of time periods, cultures, materials, and perspectives—it’s a work in progress over the next few years. The underlying theme of the installation concerns how humans connect to their environments, including place and social conditions. The art on view is organized into four sections: Nature and Its Forms; Thresholds and Transitions; Extraction; and Technologies.
Jackson told me to make sure to check out SCMA’s bathrooms, and that’s what we did next. Located on the lower level directly adjacent to the exhibition gallery, the public restrooms are permanent works of art created separately by noted artists Ellen Driscoll and Sandy Skoglund. The restrooms blurred the boundaries between form and function as well as personal and public space. It was an incredible to see these functional spaces be transformed into spaces where art is incorporated and appreciated!
My last stop before the drive home was Ana Bandeira Chocolates, a Brazilian chocolate shop that is also a cafe and bakery. “That’s like my office,” says Bradley, and the way she described it—well, we just had to go there. I hitched a ride with Bradley for some of the best coffee and chocolate that I’ve ever had. She recommended lunch at Osaka Japanese Sushi & Steakhouse and Mosaic Cafe for some Moroccan Mediterranean cuisine.
With limited time, we already are planning our next visits. Here are some places we plan to check out when we return—and I am certain this list will continue to grow!
In Amherst:
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
Eric Carle Museum
Mead Art Museum on the campus of Amherst College
Amherst Cinema
UMass Art Museum, Amherst
Norwottuck Rail Trail
In Northampton:
The Botanical Garden of Smith College
Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library & Museum
Just beyond:
Park Hill Orchard in Easthampton
Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory in South Deerfield
Florence Pie Bar
Old Creamery Co-op in Cummington
Williamsburg General Store