Dec 14, 2010

Downtown’s giftBy BerkshireEagle.com

There’s a new sense around North Street in Pittsfield that good times are here again. The storefronts are filling up just in time for the holidays, and downtown merchants are banding together to encourage consumers to shop local and not in big-box stores. The latest promotion seeks to capitalize on the success of Third Thursdays and attract people to the heart of Pittsfield during winter Thursdays.

Shopping on Thursday is a tradition that predates the summer festivals series. It harkens back to the days when GE was the company town and Thursdays were payday. The loss of that giant corporation meant the loss of a vibrant downtown until city planners hung revitalization on a cultural rebirth.

They said: First the artists will come, then the housing will come, then the stores will come. And then, shopping on Thursday’s would return — literally and figuratively. It’s a plan that had its skeptics, but if they haven’t changed their minds then at least the naysayers’ folly has been shown. The city is a more vibrant place.

Just look at Crawford Square on one of the city’s busiest corners in the heart of the downtown retail corridor. It’s not only being upgraded with renovations, it’s attracted a number of stores that will add to the mix.

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