Williamstown, Massachusetts Guide
Williams College, with an annual freshman class of 2000, is the reason the town exists. It's a beautiful, delightful example of the New England rural college town, but with several world-class art museums.
Williamstown (population 8500), 140 miles (225 km) from Boston in the far northwest corner of Massachusetts (map), is at the northern end of the Berkshire Hills. It boasts renowned Williams College and two fine art museums.
Williamstown was founded in 1753 as West Hoosuck, but its life and its name were soon affected by the career of Ephraim Williams, Jr, a soldier in the British colonial army.
1753 House, built with period tools and materials to celebrate Williamstown's bicentennial.
Born in 1714, Williams surveyed several townships in these parts, then took command of fortifications which demarcated the frontier between the British and French North American empires. Among these defenses was Fort Massachusetts, which stood in North Adams.
Williams led a column of troops from Massachusetts toward the French positions on Lake George, and died in the fighting (1755).
His will provided for the founding of a school in West Hoosuck, but only if the town took his name. It did, and Williams College enrolled its first students in 1793.
Williams College is the soul of Williamstown, with its fine theater festival and art museum, but there's more to the town than the college. More...
With a number of significant attractions, Williamstown has a good number of hotels, motels and inns.
Transportation
Your choices are car and bus. The nearest Amtrak train station is in Pittsfield MA.
Bus
Peter Pan Bus runs buses from Boston and Logan International Airport to Williamstown, and also from New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal to Williamstown. More...
You may have to change buses in Springfield MA or Pittsfield MA.
Train
The nearest Amtrak train station is in Pittsfield MA. More...
Local & Regional Buses
Local buses run by the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority connect Berkshire County towns and resorts with one another. More...
Distances from Williamstown MA:
Bennington VT: 14 miles (22.5 km) N, 25 minutes
Boston MA: 157 miles (253 km) E, 3 hours
Lenox MA: 23 miles (37 km) S, 40 minutes
New York City: 194 miles (313 km) SW, 4 hours
North Adams MA: 6 miles (10 km) E, 15 minutes
Pittsfield MA: 21 miles (34 km) S, 35 minutes
What to See & Do
Several world-class art museums, theater, theater and more theater, some concerts, and the highest mountain in Massachusetts, with a monument—and perhaps a School of Witchcraft & Wizardry—on top.
Williams College
Founded in 1793, this small private liberal arts college is renowned for its high standards and famous alumni, and is considered one of the finest undergraduate colleges in the USA. The 100+ buildings on its 450-acre (182-hectare) campus cover the town and its 2,200 students and 334 faculty dominate its social, intellectrual and cultural life.
Sterling & Francine Clark
Art Institute
Among the finest small museums in the USA (map), with rich collections of French Impressionists, 19th-century American masters, and European Old Masters.
The historic old marble building
of the Sterling
and Francine Clark Art Institute,
Williamstown MA.
The marvelous collections of the Clark Art Institute are the achievement of Robert Sterling Clark (1877-1956), a Yale engineer whose forebears had been successful in the sewing machine industry.
Clark began collecting works of art in Paris in 1912, married a French woman named Francine, and eventually housed his masterpieces in a classic white marble temple here in Williamstown (map).
The pristine original museum was greatly expanded in 1973 into new, modern exhibit space adjoining. In 2014 a new entrance, lobby, gift shop and parking lot were added.
The Clark has strong collections of paintings by the Impressionists, their academic contemporaries in France, and the mid-century Barbizon artists, including Millet, Troyon, and Corot.
Of the Americans, there are significant works by Cassatt, Homer, Remington, and Sargent.
Earlier centuries are represented by well-chosen pieces of Piero della Francesca, Memling, Gossaert, Jacob van Ruisdael, Fragonard, Gainsborough, Turner, and Goya.
There are some sculptures, including Degas' famous Little Dancer of Fourteen Years, as well as prints, drawings, and noteworthy collections of silver and porcelain.
Williams College Museum of Art
A nice small collection (map) with interesting changing exhibits, in the center of Williamstown.The Williams College Museum of Art (tel 413-597-2429), on Main Street in Williamstown MA, is in Lawrence Hall, the Greek Revival building with the rotunda, on Main Street (map).
Admission is free to the permanent collection of about 12,000 objects spanning world cultures and the history of art.
American art from the late 1700s to the present, and especially since 1945, is particularly well-represented, with works by Ida Applebroog, Lynda Benglis, Willem de Kooning, Jim Dine, Philip Guston, Ann Hamilton, Jenny Holzer, Sol LeWitt, Robert Mangold, Robert Morris, Louise Nevelson, Philip Pearlstein, Adrian Piper, Robert Rauschenberg, Ad Reinhardt, Faith Ringgold, Larry Rivers, Cindy Sherman, Lorna Simpson, David Smith, Kiki Smith, Mark Tansey and Andy Warhol.
The museum is closed Monday (though open on major Monday holidays).
Williams College Museum of Art
15 Lawrence Hall Drive (map)
Williamstown MA 01267
Tel: 413-597-2429
Fax: 413-458-9017
MASS MoCA
The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in nearby North Adams (map) displays the latest and most audacious works of art in vast old factory spaces. More...
Williamstown Theatre Festival
Since 1954 the festival has staged new, experimental and traditional works, some of which have gone on to Broadway and fame. Founded in 1954, the Williamstown Theatre Festival has staged many original works that have moved on to Broadway and other prestigious venues.
The '62 Center for
Theatre and Dance, Main Stage for the Williamstown
Theatre Festival.
The all-summer festival performances take place in a number of locations around Williamstown MA, chief among which is the Main Stage company's performances in the dramatic 512-seat '62 Center for Theatre and Dance.
The 173-seat Nikos Stage in the Adams Memorial Theatre is the venue for new and experimental plays and workshops.
Other performances include Cabaret comedy and singing, and kid-friendly Free Theatre performances and events for families.
ArtCountry combination tickets give you discouted admission to this area's prime art museums, as well as discounted theater festival tickets. More...
Click herefor information on other theater performances and venues in the Berkshire Hills.
Williamstown
Theatre Festival
P O Box 517
Williamstown MA 01267
Tel: 413-597-3400 (Box Office)
Concerts
The Williams College Department of Music arranges numerous concerts from September through May when college is in session.
In the summer, Williamstown Chamber Concerts (tel 413-458-8273) organizes several chamber music performances at the Clark Art Institute.
Mount Greylock
Massachusetts's highest mountain is right next door to Williamstown in neighboring North Adams. Fine views from the summit, where you'll find a curious war memorial, miles of hiking trails, and perhaps Isolt Sayre's Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. More...
Nearby Towns
An overnight visit to Williamstown can include the sights in the nearby towns of North Adams MA and Bennington VT, or you can wander south through the beautiful Berkshire Hills to Pittsfield, Lenox, Stockbridge, and other Berkshire arts towns. More...
Where to Stay
Williamstown has hotels, motels and inns to north, east and south, as well as right in the center.
Right in the Center
Prime location at the top of the hill near the intersection of MA Route 2 and US Route 7 (map), walking distance to Williams College and the Williamstown Theatre Festival venues, is the 3-star, 33-room Northside Motel, a good choice.
Other lodging choices are east, south and north of the town center.
East along MA Route 2
Along MA Route 2 (Main Street) east of the center, toward North Adams, in a commercial district are several good hotels and motels of various price and comfort levels. Starting from the town center:
The closest motel to the town center is the tidy Maple Terrace Motel, with guest rooms at the back away from the busy road.
The 3-star, 17-room Willows Motel is just a bit farther along MA 2 on the north side of the road.
The most luxurious lodgings east of the town center are at the 4-star, 49-room Orchards Hotel, about a mile east of the center on MA Route 2.
Just a bit farther east you'll see the 3-star, 18-room Williamstown Motel, and the 3-star, 35-room Howard Johnson Express Inn Williamstown.
Continue 4 miles (6.4 km) east and you'll be in bNorth Adams, Massachusetts, with its own selection of hotels and inns. More...
South along US Route 7
Along US Route 7 (Cold Spring Road) south of the center are two good choices set in the verdant countryside rather than in a commercial district.
The 5-star, 6-room 1896 House Luxury Inn Williamstown , 1.8 miles (2.9 km) south of the center of Williamstown, is perhaps the most luxurious lodging in the area. If the rates are a bit too high for you, or if it is fully booked (as is often the case), try the adjoining 4-star, 30-room 1896 House Country Motel.
The 3-star, 21-room Berkshire Hills Motel is 2.3 miles (3.7 km) south of the town center, in quiet country.
North along US Route 7
The thriftiest lodging choices are north of Williamstown along US Route 7 (Sand Springs Road), good especially if you plan to continue to Bennington or other places in Vermont.
The 2-star, 12-room Cozy Corner Motel, 1.6 mile (2.6 km) north of the town center, is among the thriftiest of Williamstown's lodgings. Just north of it, the 1-star, 13-room Villager Motel is often even cheaper, and still comfortable. The 2-star, 17-room Green Valley Motel Williamstown is very near the Vermont border.
More Information...
The Berkshire Visitors Bureau can provide you with information on all of Berkshire County, including Williamstown, and indeed the entire western end of Massachusetts.