The Porches | New England

The spectacularly located and formerly overlooked city of North Adams is being revitalized through ART—cutting edge, contemporary art, no less! And it has called to a few of us in a big way. Our hook was the block of seriously dilapidated but sturdily built, beautifully detailed Victorian row houses that dominate the view from Building Five, MASS MoCA’s vast splendid exhibition space.

Porches, you see, was inspired by MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) the visionary array of galleries and performance spaces taking root in a sprawling 19th-century mill complex. Phase I of MASS MoCA, 300,000 square feet of award-winning renovation completed in 1999, celebrates artists of today and the best of their big ideas.

Porches is the most visible manifestation, to-date, of the changes sparked by MASS MoCA. Its 47 rooms of retro-edgy, industrial granny chic ambiance make a spirited lodging statement in New England and beyond. Leisure travelers surrender to tony comfort and attitude-free service while itinerant techies avail themselves of WiFi connections and bandwidth galore.

Imaginative renovation includes long verandas and bold inside/outside spaces. The interiors mix striking, colorful style with homage to the generations of mill workers’ families who lived here. The inn and its amenities…breakfast, the pool and more, are outlined a few clicks away...along with the rich attractions of this unique region....more