Nestled within the beautiful Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts is the City of Pittsfield, a place that residents note combines old-fashioned New England tranquility and charm with contemporary living. Incorporated in 1761, this diverse community of 50,000 people offers a rich quality of life. Here, residents and visitors enjoy the cultural offerings of nearby Tanglewood, Jacobs Pillow, Williamstown Theater Festival and other performing arts organizations and museums as well as the four-season splendor of the Berkshire Hills.
Pittsfield's industrial base has earned it the epithet, "Plastics Technology Center of the Nation". More than 40 area firms, including G.E. Plastics, work together through Berkshire Plastics Network, a consortium of independent plastics companies that includes every discipline in the production of plastics products and components. Major area employers include Berkshire Health Systems and Martin Marietta.
Pittsfield's Fourth of July Parade brings thousands of visitors to the city for the annual celebration. Hancock Shaker Village, established more than 200 years ago, gives visitors an opportunity to explore the simple beauty and peacefulness of the Shaker way of life. At Arrowhead, another Pittsfield landmark, Herman Melville completed "Moby Dick" and wrote several other pieces. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Nathaniel Hawthorne frequented the city. Today, many contemporary writers and artists call Pittsfield home.
