west stockbridge
it’s happening
From left: chicken sculpture, performance at TurnPark Art Space.
West Stockbridge lies between Stockbridge and the New York border, only 40 minutes from New York’s Capital District but a world away, with hills, ponds, and streams beckoning the city dweller with visions of the countryside. There is something about a village (pop. 1,650) with a small river in the middle of it: that would be the Williams River, flowing through the town beneath flower-bedecked bridges as if it were the Arno of the Berkshires. Don’t let the dreaminess of the setting deceive you, though, because West Stockbridge is hopping, with plenty to see and do and eat and drink. The opening of No. Six Depot in the old railway station in 2013 started it all. No. Six is a small-batch coffee roastery, café, art gallery, and event space that serves as a gathering place for both locals and visitors; the sandwiches are delicious, and their coffees show up on menus throughout the Berkshires. The lively downtown area is home to stylish restaurants, including Rouge, one of the best in the region, and one-of-a-kind shops, too. One-of-a-kind, as in Charles H. Baldwin & Sons, which has been preparing extracts for cooks for 125 years; boomers will think they’ve gone back in time, amidst the retro novelties and candies. Not far away, Truc Orient Express offers authentic Vietnamese food in their eatery, as well as Vietnamese crafts such as pottery, silk scarves and jackets, and lacquer work. A highlight among West Stockbridge restaurants has been the Tap House at Shaker Mill, a family-friendly restaurant with a diverse and delicious American menu. It’s temporarily closed at this writing. Check web site for re-opening dates. For a quick build-your-own or creative specialty sandwich, swing by the Public Market on Main Street. This is also a great spot to grab snacks and drinks on your way to picnic at Tanglewood. An exceptional bookstore awaits browsers: Shaker Mill Books on Depot Street has a large but choice selection of rare, used, and out-of-print books, including a great collection of
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books about the Berkshires. The Book Mill next door holds even more books, and is open during the summer and early fall. Hotchkiss Mobiles Gallery is another West Stockbridge gem; Joel Hotchkiss has been designing ingenious mobiles since 1978, and the gallery will open your eyes to where the concept has gone since Calder. Another local creative, Elaine Hoffman, is the ceramicist behind Hoffman Pottery, where you’ll find colorful, whimsical pieces for the home and garden. Sandy Klempner@HOME, on Main Street, has a fine selection of vintage treasures for home decoration; look in the window and you’ll be drawn right in. Flourish Market is where you’ll find everything from newly-refreshed vintage furniture to modern lighting, along with jewelry and other giftable goodies. SALA is jeweler Stephanie Iverson’s new storefront, where you’ll find all of her fine silver pieces along with other artisans she loves from the U.S. and Mexico. An exciting new arrival in the heart of town is The Foundry, now in its third year of presenting diverse programming in support of a mission “of bringing divided communities together through the performing and visual arts and creating space for emerging work and often unheard voices,” in the words of Artistic Producing Director Amy Brentano. The ongoing Town Hall restoration project is another sign of the town’s vitality, too. Just a short walk away from the town center on Moscow Road is the 16-acre TurnPark Art Space, which combines a sculpture park, exhibition venues, and a beautiful marble amphitheater for outdoor performances. A trail runs along the Williams River and by striking sculptures from the Soviet Nonconformist Art Movement of the 1950s-1980s. If you can’t forget you came for nature as well as culture, or simply want to relax, just join the canoeists, anglers, or strollers in the spell of the gently flowing river as it winds through this unusually attractive town.
