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| Wendell Avenue |
Berkshire Athenaeum and Library, Pittsfield, Massachusetts
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| East Street, Rt. 9 |
Recently, I've visited two Athenaeums, one in Boston and the other in St. Johnsbury, VT, both were very old buildings, and filled with art and books. However, when I decided to visit the one in Pittsfield, I was quite surprised to find such a modern building. Because I have a connection to Berkshire County; I have 4 ancestors and over 120 related family members who lived in this county, I wanted to visit. Two 5th grandparents and two 6th grandparents were buried in different towns here (Pittsfield and Lenox).
One problem with libraries is they have nice websites, but rarely show photographs. I find it a bit comforting to know what to expect when I go into a new library. The genealogy and local history section were larger than I expected, and I wished I could have done some research. You'll recognize some of the books and magazines by their covers.
First floor is the public library. (There are two entrances.)
The second floor has the Local History section.
Sign in area, above.
This is the second local history office I saw in two days, looking like this.
The Melville Room, no photos allowed.
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| Map of Athenaeum/Library. |
There is little parking available. The library has a small parking lot on Bartlett Avenue, and on-street parking may be found on this street as well as Wendell Avenue.
I purchased this map from an employee at the Athenaeum for $2. It lists town names in Berkshire County in 1776.