The art of saving a city
When its biggest employer bolted, the proud old city of Pittsfield slumped and shrank
PITTSFIELD — City of art, city of funk. The SoHo of the Berkshires, the Brooklyn of the Berkshires.
The sobriquets urban planners bestow upon this bygone manufacturing hub speak of their confidence that Pittsfield can become a center of culture and entertainment on par with Lenox and Stockbridge and Williamstown.
Once-vacant buildings in downtown Pittsfield are filling with galleries, theaters, residences, and restaurants. North Street, the city’s long-depressed main drag, now hosts regular street festivals, open houses, and art shows that draw thousands of residents and visitors. People are starting to believe that Pittsfield is an attraction, rather than a moribund pit stop on the way from Tanglewood to Mass MoCA.
“We’re seeing the buzz,’’ said Mayor James M. Ruberto, who since taking office in 2004 has spent millions of dollars under the conviction that the arts will help revive a city devastated by the loss of more than 10,000 General Electric jobs. “We are going to make Pittsfield the best darn small city in the Northeast.’’
Not everyone shares his certitude. Ruberto narrowly won reelection last November over an opponent who decried the strategy of spending lavishly on the arts as a way to bring in jobs. And analysts familiar with the postindustrial odyssey of other small Massachusetts cities caution that the efforts to bring in tourists and entertainment dollars, while a positive step, are only the beginning of an economic reversal.
“To the city’s credit, it realized that it needed to embrace the arts and culture of the creative economy that the Berkshires has been known for,’’ said John R. Schneider, executive vice president of MassINC, a public policy research organization. “Things have bottomed out, and they’re beginning the turnaround, and the rebranding of the city has taken root. The jury’s still out on what the employment prospects will be down the road.’’
