NORTH ADAMS, Mass., June 1 (UPI) -- The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, is being credited with the revival of a once derelict Massachusetts mill town in the Berkshire Mountains.
Built with state funds and opened in 1999, the museum in North Adams has been visited on average by 120,000 people a year, according to a study conducted by the museum and released by the state Tuesday.
The report says MassMOCA has organized 45 exhibitions and commissioned the creation of 54 new works of art. In addition, it has presented 300 performing arts events, film screenings, and lectures.
As a result, the report said, unemployment in North Adams has declined from 18 percent in the late 1980s to 6 percent today and the storefront occupancy rate, which was 30 percent in the mid-1990s, has been increased to 75 percent. Eight new restaurants have been opened to serve needs of museum visitors.
MassMOCA is located in the former 19th century factory buildings of Sprague Electric Co. It is in proximity to other Massachusetts cultural centers including Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, and the Williams College Museum and Clark Art Institute in Williamstown.
