MASS MoCA, Part 1

On the second day of my long weekend trip to western Massachusetts in March 2026, I visited MASS MoCA, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams. Due to the size of the museum, I will cover it in three posts. The first post will describe the building, local history and ecology, and artwork on the exterior. The second part will describe the most long term an short term exhibits at the museum during my visit. The third part will describe the permanent Sol DeWitt exhibit and tips on how to visit the museum.

A red brick factory building cobbled together from several different sections with a clock tower at the center. On a red brick wall is stenciled an arrow and the words Museum Entrance A red brick building with letters on the roof reading MASS MoCA and facing away from the viewer so that the word is backwards.

MASS MoCA is located in a factory complex first opened in 1860, as the town was once a manufacturing hub. O. Arnold and Company, which became Arnold Print Works, built twenty-five out of twenty-six buildings on the site and produced printed textiles until its close in 1942 after the Great Depression. Sprague Electric Company purchased the building that year and manufactured components for weapons during World War II. Later, the company created parts for NASA. Inability to compete internationally led the company to close in 1985. By the next year, in 1986, North Adams residents began working with Williams College Museum of Art to turn the buildings into a modern museum. After thirteen years of fundraising and redesigns, MASS MoCA opened in 1999. Inside the museum, the exhibit “Looking at North Adams” by Joe Manning includes stories about residents who survived periods of transition in the town, while photographs by Nicholas Whitman show the mill before its renovation.

A large rock split in half and held up by metal cables A metal plaque commemoration Civil War soldiers A forty-foot-tall sculpture made of wood and chain link fencing. The sculpture is animal-like and had a golden ring through its head

The buildings itself are remarkable pieces of 19th century American architecture. Like many New England mills of the period, they are constructed of red brick and were expanded over time as operations increased. The buildings have many large windows to provide natural lighting and are connected by metal walkways. The nine buildings currently open to the public are numbered as 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14, and 15. Several of the buildings have been renovated to look like a single building with the exterior windows now on the inside. I wished an architecture tour was available, as I would gladly visit again to learn more about the facility and plans for the other buildings.

A brown, oval, metal sign with the word Hunter in the metal and around the edge, the words James Hunter Machine Co. North Adams, Mass A hodgepodge or red brick, medal, ramps, and fences creating a cluster of connected buildings as viewed through a window A red-painted metal walkway connecting two red brick buildings

Large artworks are located outside the museum. “Primary Separation” by Don Gummer is a large rock split in two and suspended by metal cables. Gummar made the original small version in 1969, and the big version was constructed in 2006. Nearby, a metal plaque commemorates The Johnson Grays, North Adams residents who volunteers to fight in the American Civil War. “Big Bling” by Martin Puryear is forty feet tall and made from a combination of wood and chain-link fence. The massive sculpture gets its name from the golden, oversized jewelry at the top of the sculpture. Another large work is “all utopias fell” by Michael Oatman, an airstream trailer at the top of metal stairs connected to the Boiler House. For those who don't want to venture up there, they can still listen to “All Those Vanished Engines”, echoing voices within the Boiler House, which was sound designed by Stephen Vitiello and scripted by Paul Park.

A clock tower atop a red brick building viewed through a window A series of late 19th century houses next to a canal Inside a long, red brick hallways on the third floor looking down about fifty feet at the ground floor

One of the North Adams Flood Chutes runs along the side of the mill and looks like a moat. Rather than serving as a canal or generating water power, this was a civic project during the 1950s to control flooding along the Hoosic River. While this protects some of the commercial and residential areas, the chutes haves caused a different problem: the water is dirty and filled with bad bacteria. Some residents want to turn the cutes into more natural spaces for recreational use. The Division of Ecological Restoration for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is currently exploring restoration options, but no timeline appears to be set.

Inside a building that was once the exterior of two buildings with large windows and red brick walls. A narrow, shallow canal flowing past a red brick building. An airstream trailer on a metal platform attached to a red brick building
Location: 1040 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams, MA 01247, USA