News of Note from the Berkshires

HANGING MOUNTAIN NOW OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Long coveted by climbers, Hanging Mountain, in Sandisfield, was owned privately until the Western Massachusetts Climbers’ Coalition purchased it in late 2019. The mountain officially opened to the public in October for climbing, hiking and birding. Located just off Route 8 along the Farmington River, 3 miles from the Connecticut border, the 14-acre site has as its centerpiece a striking, 1,000-foot-long series of southeast-facing cliffs — 10 distinct crags in total — ranging in height from about 60 feet to 240 feet.

NYC-TO-PITTSFIELD PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE COULD START THIS SUMMER

A proposed pilot of the Berkshire Flyer, a four-hour passenger rail service between New York City and Pittsfield, could happen this summer, although the parties involved — CSX Corp., Amtrak and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation — still need to reach a formal agreement. The Berkshire Flyer, which would be operated by Amtrak, needs to use the Albany, N.Y.-to-Pittsfield stretch of CSX’s Albany-to-Worcester line.

A CHANGING OF THE GUARD

Over the past six months, change has come to many Berkshire institutions. In October, Kristy Edmunds stepped into the role of director at the Mass MoCA. Edmunds, who most recently served as the executive and artistic director of UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance, succeeded Joseph Thompson, Mass MoCA’s founding director, who retired after a 32-year run in the top spot.

Julianne Boyd, artistic and co-founding director of Barrington Stage Company, is retiring this year. Boyd, who is ending a 26year run, announced her plans in November. A search for her successor is underway. The Williamstown Theatre Festival also has seen a change at the top. J

enny Gersten, who helmed the festival from 2011 to 2014, once again is stepping into the role of artistic director on an interim basis. Gersten replaces Mandy Greenfield, who served as artistic director from 2014 to 2021.

BLANTYRE’S NEW OWNERS FOCUSING ON PRESERVATION, REVITALIZATION

The new owners of Blantyre, the 120-year-old a Gilded Age Tudor-style mansion turned luxury hotel in Lenox, plan to emphasize historic preservation and revitalization of the luxury hotel before it reopens in September. Ken Fulk and Clark Lyda, historic property redevelopers who purchased the property and accompanying expansion plans for $15 million in November, have prioritized restoring Blantyre — it was built in 1902 as a summer retreat for industrialist Robert Patterson — to its opulence as a world-class destination.

BIKE PATH EXTENSIONS NEAR COMPLETION

A new section of the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail, a 1.56-mile extension south from Lanesborough to Crane Avenue in Pittsfield, is expected to open in May. The rail trail, which extends from Adams to Lanesborough, also is inching northward. Although the North Adams path of the rail trail is being finalized, the portion known as the Williamstown bike path, a $5.5 million, 2.4-mile project in the works for more than 10 years, is on track to be completed as early as this fall. The project, stretching from Syndicate Road along the Hoosic River through Linear Park and The Spruces to Route 2, is scheduled to be completed by spring 2023. ■