Exhibits at Historic Northampton

Faces of Northampton, Enduring and Forgotten:
Main Street, 125 Years

May 17 - July 10, 2011

Reception: Friday, June 10, 2011, 5 - 8 pm

Contemporary Photographs by Stan Sherer

Historical Photographs from the Archive of Historic Northampton

I moved to Northampton from New York 40 years ago, drawn by the city's remarkable blend of small town atmosphere and sophisticated populace, even though many shops downtown were closed and storefronts were boarded up. The downtown revival that began in the mid 1970s featured a lively mix of locally owned shops, some new, some old, and a few chain stores. Happily, today many are single-proprietor, family-owned enterprises with a friendly, personal atmosphere.

Faces of Northampton, Enduring and Forgotten: Main Street, 125 Years is a documentary photography project to acknowledge and celebrate small shops of Northampton, past and present. Not for nostalgia's sake, but to remind us that small shops are the foundation of an inviting and satisfying downtown. It is up to us, the people of this city, to encourage this tradition.

This exhibition, which features some of these small shops, continues another Northampton tradition: recording and documenting aspects of the city for the archive at Historic Northampton.

- Stan Sherer, 2011

This program is supported in part by a grant from the
Northampton Arts Council, a local agency which is supported by the
Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

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