The Porches Inn

The former mill town of North Adams was well on its way to ghost-town status when a gamble on culture-driven urban renewal paid off in a big way: the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art brought new life to North Adams on a scale most urban planners can only dream about. And with an influx of artists, academics and cultural tourists — not to mention an influx of tech-industry business — comes a need for a proper contemporary boutique hotel, which the Porches Inn most definitely is.

It’s named for the porch that runs the length of these six finely restored old Victorian rowhouses, an outdoor space that serves as an all-purpose lounging and socializing venue, with an atmosphere an ordinary hotel lobby can’t touch. The guest rooms pay tribute to the houses’ historical style, though they’ve been updated with a contemporary decorator’s eye, so they’re crisp, clean, vibrantly colored, but always cozy and welcoming. The 21 suites branch out into more luxurious territory, and the long-stay suites come with home-like comforts, like laundry facilities and fireplaces.

The question in so many newly hip small-town inns is what on earth there is to do there, but it’s not a problem Porches has. There’s a splendid little swimming pool around the back of the houses, for a start — but the main attraction, of course, is MASS MoCA, which happens to be the biggest contemporary art museum in America. Small-town charm and cosmopolitan culture is a winning combination.