Thanks to the COM352 students for contributing a bunch of new pages! I'll be moving these pages into the main area of the wiki soon.
Northampton
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Northampton is a city near Amherst accessible via PVTA route B43 and B40 (UMass Express), both of which depart from Haigis Mall. Alternatively, cyclists can reach Northampton using the Norwottuck Rail Trail. Northampton is famous among students for its restaurants, shops, and music venues. Northampton is also home to Smith College, one of the Five Colleges.
Northampton is often an interesting contrast between those individuals who have lived in the area all their lives and those who are fresh and/or temporary residents; beyond even this distinction there are people of all ages, backgrounds, cultures that mix and mingle in the area. This highly diverse mix is often reflected in the local politics: the prevailing political philosophies are often highly diverse, and despite the high-visibility of more liberal politics, there are often surprisingly conservative mobilizations, most recently with regards to overrides for city services and as financial watchdogs.
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[edit] Movie Theaters
Though Cinemark Theaters in Hadley provides most mainstream movies, Northampton's movie theaters provide films that might otherwise be overlooked.
Venues include Pleasant Street Theater and the Academy of Music.
[edit] Bars
There are many bars in Northampton. Friday and Saturday nights find Northampton to be vibrantly and diversely populated, with a very active nightlife. The following list is only a few of the local bars/pubs in the area:
The Dirty Truth The Dirty Truth ("Dirtys") is a Bar Hall Style pub, very similar in guiding philosophy to The Moan and Dove, as they are owned by the same person. Great beers, many (30+) different taps, all kinds of imports. If you're a beer fanatic, great place to go. If you don't like beer, great place to find a beer you DO like. You will.
Hugo's This is the a Dive Bar Style pub and arguably the greatest bar in Northampton, if you are measuring in terms of bang for your buck. Act nice or LEAVE, otherwise you face the wrath of Chris (you don't even want to know what happens if you make Linda mad!). Star Wars geek friendly, with a new darts section, Red Sox games and Stephen Colbert on flat screen tv, and (of course) a Jager machine known as Satan's lair, Hugo's is a must-visit for anyone who wishes to experience an authentic Northampton bar.
Ye Olde Watering Hole This is also a Dive Bar Style pub. It's cash only as well, but they have a cash machine. This place has two dart boards, about four pool tables, and is home to the "Beer Can Museum", which is located in the rafters and parts of the ceiling. I've never counted, but there are many many hundreds of cans. The clients here are similar to Hugo's, with more pool players.
Packard's This is a Pub and Grub Style bar/restaurant. They have good food, an outside area for drinks/food/smoking, and a LOT of very well-kept pool tables. All tables are located upstairs, either the stairs in the back of the restaurant or the set right by the door. The first floor hosts tables that play on quarters, the top floors are by-the-hour pool tables. Get balls at the bar. Each separate floor shares one jukebox. They also have televisions around the bar, not a bad place to catch a game, eat a burger and have a beer.
Tunnel Bar This is a Lounge Style bar, they have killer $8 Martinis, a few beers on tap and some various fruit plates, etc. You come here for the atmosphere, the place is filled with deep-seated leather chairs, oak, dark lights... oh! It's also found in an old train tunnel that used to run through Northampton. Great place to stop in on an early weekday; on the weekend this place is so packed you'll be standing.
[edit] Music stores
- Dynamite records: used/new, vinyl/tape/CD, some rare/punk stuff- reasonable prices...
150 Main St, Northampton, MA (413) 584-1580
- Turn It Up: Largely seond hand: has 1$ tape bin- w/ some good finds like Ramones or 80's thrash metal. Stocks vinyl.
5 Pleasant St, Northampton, MA (413) 582-1885
- Distort!: A DIY hole in the wall store, dedicated primarily to punk/DIY screamo, with some underground metal and psychadelia mixed in. Both used and new, mostly vinyl, some CD's, also sells a small but excellent selection of zines and DVD's. Great selection of band patches, utterly stunning. It's run by a guy from the local screamo band Ampere.
413-387-6750 http://www.distortstore.com/
[edit] Trivia
A fictionalized Northampton is the setting for the popular webcomic Questionable Content, drawn by Easthampton resident Jeph Jacques. One of the characters, Marten, works at the library at Smith College, which is frequently referred to as "Smif." A frequent setting for the comic is Coffee of Doom, a fictional coffeehouse in downtown Northampton. Northampton is also the fictional setting of the comic Minimalist Stick Figure Theatre, drawn by Northampton resident (and UMass alum) "Thanatos Omega". The characters frequent spots around Pioneer Valley, including UMass and Smith College ("the college").
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