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The DownStreet Art Festival every Thursday evening from June to October, when empty storefronts are converted into art galleries featuring local and national talent. The event draws crowds from all over the region. This is public art project of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' Berkshire Cultural Resource Center designed to revitalize downtown North Adams, harnessing existing arts organizations and events, and transforming vacant and open spaces into arts destinations. It also offers the opportunity to talk with the artists, curators and others connected with the exhibits at the ongoing DownStreet art exhibits and at the art openings.
This 48 acre park features a natural arch of bedrock marble that was carved by glacial meltwater. A quarter-mile walkway runs above and through the 60 ft gorge which the bridge spans and there is a half-mile wooded trail. Interpreters are available in summer to explain the geologic processes. Picnic tables and grills (carry out your trash), restrooms, pets OK on leash. No swimming, rock climbing or alcohol. Parking $5 (MA resident) or $10 (non-MA resident).
The Hoosac Tunnel is a 4.75-mile-long (7.64 km) railroad tunnel through the Hoosac Mountains. Built 1851-1875 to link Massachusetts to Albany, NY, it cost 195 workers their lives. At the Visitor's Museum exhibits depict the effect of the tunnel. Children and adults can experiment with a vintage floor scale that was used for weighing loads up to half a ton. A 30-minute documentary provides a concise, yet detailed, history of the Hoosac Tunnel. The facilities are also used for concerts, lectures, freight yard walking tours and gallery for temporary exhibits. Allow approximately one hour to view the exhibits. Universally accessible.