The Atlantis Corp. crane prepares to lift the 30-foot fir into place.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city installed its two Christmas trees on Monday.
"The weather is perfect and we hope it holds up," Wire and Alarm Inspector Mitchell Meranti said. "We always enjoy this and are always ready for it."
The first of the trees was paraded down Main Street on Monday morning.
The 30-foot balsam fir was placed on the monument end of Main Street. It was donated by Tony Gazzaniga of North Adams.
Meranti said the tree is a bit wider than past trees.
"It will be a challenge, but it is a little shorter so that helps," he said. "We have had trees in the past that were spilling out into the road. If it is a problem I will just put some cones around it. But usually, people are pretty careful."
The second tree that was placed on the City Hall end of Main Street is a blue spruce. It is 25 feet tall and was donated by Jake, Betsey and Lucas Elder of Clarksburg.
According to a statement from the Elder family.
"We want to acknowledge Betsey's parents, Bill and Louise Sherman, who lived here for 45 years and planted this tree. We are happy the City of North Adams can utilize this majestic tree for Christmas and the Tree Lighting."
The annual tree lighting takes place the night before Thanksgiving. Festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. with the Drury High School band and band front will leading the way with festive songs and the North Adams Fire Department's vintage fire engine will arrive with Santa Claus. Santa and his helpers will hand out gifts to the first 500 children.
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North Adams Takes Possession of Historic Church Street Houses
By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
The porch collapsed on 116 Church several years ago.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The state Land Court in February finalized the city's tax taking of four properties including the brick Church Street mansions.
The prestigious pair of Queen Anne mansions had been owned by Franklin E. Perras Jr., who died in 2017 at age 79.
The properties had been in court for four years as attempts were made repeatedly to find Perras' heirs, including a son, Christopher. According to court filings, Christopher reportedly died in 2013 but his place of death is unknown, as is the location (or existence) of two grandchildren listed in Perras' obituary.
Mayor Jennifer Macksey said the next steps will be to develop requests for proposals for the properties to sell them off.
She credited Governor's Councillor Tara Jacobs for bringing the lingering tax takings to the Land Court's attention. Jacobs said she'd asked about the status of the properties and a few days later they were signed off.
It wasn't just the four North Adams properties — the cases for three Perras holdings in Lanesborough that also had been in the court for years were closed, including Keeler Island. Another property on Holmes Road in Hinsdale is still in the court.
The buildings at 116, 124 and 130 Church St., and a vacant lot on Arnold Place had been in tax title since 2017 when the city placed $12,000 in liens.
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