Winter in the Berkshires has always been a bit unpredictable. Lately, weather apps on our mobile phones have often been… well, mistaken. It seems like many mornings have dawned with unexpected, freshly fallen snow.
The photograph shown above was taken in the 1880s in downtown Great Barrington. It is interesting to see horses “parked” on Main Street. The white building on the corner of Main and Railroad streets was formerly an Episcopal Church. It was converted into stores and offices when the bluestone St. James Episcopal Church was erected a few blocks south in 1857. After a fire destroyed the former church building, it was replaced in 1895 by the Robbins Block building shown in the present-day photograph below.
An additional “Then & Now” winter scene is also featured and described below.
