Jim Bridgman

50 Years Ago

  • The Daily Hampshire Gazette moved its offices from Armory Street to Conz Street on Oct. 20. During the weeks leading up to the move, the Gazette did not miss a single day in publishing its newspaper.
  • The Masonic Building, a four-story, 77-year-old structure on the northeast corner of Main Street in Northampton, was sold for $145,000 yesterday. Roger Kirwood, owner of Fitzwilly’s Restaurant at 23 Main St., bought the building from Twin Reality, a firm headed by local real estate agent Felix Borawski.

25 Years Ago

  • With a dose of caution, state Rep. William P. Nagle, Jr., D-Northampton, is optimistic the state will help fund a $90 million biotech research center for the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. With a new $75 million building on the UMass campus and a renovated building at Baystate Medical center, the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Initiative would give western Massachusetts a foothold in the burgeoning biotech industry, Nagle said.
  • Artist Anna Schuleit’s plan to flood the former Northampton State Hospital with a classical music at noon on Saturday remained a technical challenge today, as sound engineers worked to finish placing concert hall loudspeakers and run thousands of feet of cable. By 12:30 p.m. tomorrow, Schuleit’s uphill quest to stage this unique playing of J.S. Bach’s “Magnificat” will have made its case as a work of art — or not — and then weather the reviews.

10 Years Ago

  • A Dunkin’ Donuts franchise is set to be built at 142 Main St. in Haydenville, the site of the former Berkshire Bank, after the Zoning Board of Appeals approved a special permit Monday. The plans call for demolishing the building on the property and constructing a 2,400-square-foot building with 17 parking spaces.
  • In a response to a list of demands from Amherst College students, including a call for the removal of the school’s unofficial mascot, “Lord Jeff,” college President Carolyn “Biddy” Martin has issued a statement supporting students’ causes and enumerating a list of goals for the college to increase racial equity on campus.