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Park Square Historic District (Pittsfield, Massachusetts)

Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in MassachusettsNRHP infobox with nocatNational Register of Historic Places in Berkshire County, MassachusettsPittsfield, MassachusettsUse mdy dates from August 2023
Park Square Historic District, Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Park Square Historic District, Pittsfield, Massachusetts

The Park Square Historic District is a historic district in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The district is centered on the historic heart of Pittsfield encompassing a number city blocks adjacent to Park Square, which is at the junction of North, South, East, and West Streets. When first listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, the district encompassed the park and eight buildings that faced it, including the Old Town Hall, the county courthouse, the Berkshire Athenaeum, and the First Church of Christ. In December 1991, the boundaries were expanded to the area roughly bounded by East Housatonic, South, North and Fenn Streets, and Wendell Avenue, adding 39 buildings to the district. Notable buildings included in this extension include the present City Hall (a repurposed post office building), the Berkshire Life Insurance Company Building, the Allen Hotel, the Berkshire Museum of Art and Natural History, and the Masonic temple. Pittsfield was settled in the 1740s, and was incorporated as a proprietary settlement in 1753. It was given a town charter in 1761. Park Square, the heart of the city, was laid out in 1790 on land donated by John Chandler Williams. It was located near the town's first colonial meeting house, which was erected in 1762. The square was the site of the nation's first agricultural fair, held in 1810. In the first half of the 19th century, the community began to develop industrially, principally in the area of paper manufacturing. It became a regionally important hub due to its railroad connections in the mid-19th century, and became the shire town of Berkshire County in 1868, spurring further growth. The commercial districts around the square developed in the late 19th century as a result of this growth.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Park Square Historic District (Pittsfield, Massachusetts) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Park Square Historic District (Pittsfield, Massachusetts)
Park Place, Pittsfield

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Latitude Longitude
N 42.448333333333 ° E -73.253333333333 °
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Park Place

Park Place
01201 Pittsfield
Massachusetts, United States
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Park Square Historic District, Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Park Square Historic District, Pittsfield, Massachusetts
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Colonial Theatre (Pittsfield, Massachusetts)
Colonial Theatre (Pittsfield, Massachusetts)

The Colonial Theatre is located at 111 South Street, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts. Built in 1903, the theater was host to many theater greats including George M. Cohan, Sara Bernhardt, John Barrymore, Eubie Blake, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Billie Burke, John Philip Sousa and the Ziegfeld Follies. The theater was designed by Pittsfield architect Joseph McArthur Vance along with J.B. McElfatrick. Its ornate turn-of-the 20th century interior has been well preserved by its various owners. Although the theater was closed in 1951, its grandeur had been protected through the years by George Miller and his son, Steven. Miller preserved many features of the Colonial during its conversion from a theater to the Miller's Art Supply Store, making it possible to eventually restore the theater back to its earlier grandeur, a process documented in photographer Nicholas Whitman's The Colonial Theatre: A Pittsfield Resurrection.The Colonial Theatre was named by First Lady Hillary Clinton as a National Historic Treasure in 1998. She later visited the theatre as a U.S. Senator in 2000. Following this announcement, the community invested more than $22 million to refurbish the 100-year-old Colonial Theatre, one of the only theaters of its kind from the Vaudeville age, described as "one of the finest acoustical theaters in the world." The Colonial Theatre Restoration completed work in 2006 and it is now open to the public. Many notable performers have since performed here, including James Taylor, the Lovin' Spoonful, and other musical and theater acts.