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CHAPTER 11
The Five-College Area
There are five colleges in the valley: Mount Holyoke, Hampshire, Amherst, and Smith Colleges,
and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMass). Mount Holyoke students have access
to many services and facilities at the Five Colleges. For example, students can take classes or
take out books from any of the Five College libraries. Students can access the Five College
Calendar of Events, http://calendar.fivecolleges.edu/FiveCol/calendrome.cgi, a calendar that lists
various events taking place in the Five College area such as lectures, concerts, conferences,
parties, and films. Check out what is going on and take advantage of these opportunities!
Transportation
Five College Buses
The Five College buses (known as the PVTA) provide free transportation between the four other
campuses. They also make other stops on the bus route that connects to other places in South
Hadley, Amherst and Northampton. Hampshire Mall is another PVTA destination which is very
popular among Five College students. Bus schedules are available free of charge on the buses, at
the Blanchard Information Desk, and at the other colleges. This information is also available
online at http://www.umass.edu/bus and at http://www.pvta.com. There is a reduced schedule on
weekends and holidays. No buses run during Winter/December Break or during the
summer.
Campus Bus Stops at Mount Holyoke:
By Blanchard Student Center (main stop)
Across from Mary Woolley Hall
Across from Pearsons Hall
On Park Street (across from Torrey Hall)
Public Buses
Public buses provide most transportation outside the Five College area. The Peter Pan Bus
system provides service to Springfield. There are Peter Pan buses available from Springfield to
other major cities such as Hartford, Boston, and New York. Bus schedules are available online at
http://www.peterpanbus.com. Peter Pan also provides transportation to the Ingleside/Holyoke
Mall and there are also weekly vans provided by the college to the Mall for a small fee. Holyoke
Mall is a three-story shopping mall where you can get all kinds of goods: clothes, stationery,
CDs, electronics, food, dishes, etc. Information for the Mall is also available online at
http://www.holyokemall.com.
College Vehicles
The College arranges regular van trips to Stop and Shop (food store) and Holyoke Mall for a fee
of $1.00. The seats on the van are on first-come, first-served basis. College vans provide
transportation to Stop and Shop as well as Price Rite during Thanksgiving Break, Winter Break
and Spring Break as well.
Local Taxis
Taxis, though much more expensive, are also available for travel within Pioneer Valley and
beyond. Local taxi companies are:
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GoGreen Cab Co. Address: 1 Roundhouse Plaza, Northampton, MA 413-586-0707
Patient Transport Co. Address: 230 Linden Street, Holyoke, Tel: 413-534-4522
Fast Ride. Address: P.O. Box 652, Chicopee, Tel: 413-734-2424
City Cab Company Address: 288 Verge St, Springfield, MA 01129, Tel: 413-543-2700
Yellow Cab Company Address: 55 Randall Pl, Springfield, MA 01108, Tel: 413-739-9999
Dial a Ride Address: 304 Belmont Avenue, Springfield, MA 01108, Tel: 413-731-8485
Quality Transport, Tel: 413 532 222
Miscellaneous
Michael's Limousine Service (http://www.michaels-limo.com/)
There is no online reservation option. You’ll need to call 800-533-8470 toll free or 413-5338470.
Valley Transporter provides transportation to Bradley ($45), Logan Airport in Boston ($185),
and JFK/LaGuardia Airports in New York ($275).
Tel: (413) 253-1350 or 1-800-872-8752.
Seemo Shuttle also provides transportation to Bradley ($40), Logan ($190) and JFK/LaGuardia
($290) Airports. Tel: 1-800-908-2829.
Quality Transport provides transportation from Bradley, Logan and JFK Airports to Mount
Holyoke College. Tel: 413 532 222.
Bluebird Airport Transportation provides transportation from Bradley, Logan and JFK
Airports to Mount Holyoke College. Tel: 413-221-4512.
Places of Interest in the Valley
South Hadley
The Village Commons: Located across the street from Mount Holyoke, the Village Commons is
a community of shops, restaurants, theatres, offices and residences built in the style of a
traditional New England shopping center. Among the stores most frequented by Mount Holyoke
students are:
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¡Authentica!: Mexican food which is primarily for take-out.
Johnny’s: A restaurant serving salads, sandwiches and tavern specialties. Happy Hour
specials (when particular dishes are discounted) from 4 pm to 6 pm on weekdays are
especially popular.
Main Moon: Chinese restaurant that serves lunch and dinner.
Ochoa for Hair: A hair salon offering the latest hair cuts, as well as more traditional hair
styling.
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Odyssey Bookshop: The area's best selection of literature, art, history, poetry and travel,
women's studies and children's books and tapes, cards and stationery. Joan Grenier and her
staff are available to answer your questions about textbooks and book orders (534-7307).
Tailgate Picnic: A deli that serves a variety of coffees, salads, sandwiches, bagels, desserts,
in addition to an interesting variety of "junk" foods.
Tower Theatres: Two movie theaters featuring both new releases and classic films. The
tickets costs $6.00 for students and are $5.00 before 6:00 pm.
Thirsty Mind: A coffee shop with a great ambience, serving coffee, desserts, and ice cream,
and sells a wide selection of second hand books. Live bands and poetry readings are
frequently hosted by “the Mind”.
Crazy Moon: This store has a wide selection of different kinds of jewelry and accessories
for young people.
It is worth noting, however, that shops in the Commons are sometimes more expensive than the
local malls. You may find it helpful to compare prices and goods available at the Commons with
those at the Holyoke or Hampshire Malls or at stores in Northampton or Amherst.
Northampton
Northampton is about 20 minutes from MHC by car (40 minutes by the Five-College bus). On
Main Street you can find many art galleries, bakeries, cafes, restaurants serving various types of
cuisine, beauty shops, stationery and art supplies stores, movie theatres, bookstores and so on.
At the end of Main Street is Smith College. It is a lively city and is a little bigger than Amherst.
Explore and find your own favorite place!
A sample of the variety of services available in Northampton is:
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Thorne's market: A small shopping mall on Main Street that has a range of goods from
toys to organic food.
Dynamite Records: A record store in the basement of Thorne's.
Faces: A store with a little bit of everything, from clothes to funny toys.
Herrell’s: One of the best ice cream parlors around.
The Haymarket: A coffee house with lots of books and magazines to peruse.
India House: For Indian food...of course!
Beyond Words and Raven Used Books: Two of the many bookstores in town.
Iron Horse Café: Hosts some great concerts, off Main Street.
Pizzeria Paradiso: Very good pizza and Italian bread.
Pearl Street: Disco and concert facility.
Ten Thousand Villages: Awesome handicrafts from around the world!
Amherst
The town of Amherst is a little smaller than Northampton. It is about 15 minutes by car from
MHC (25 minutes by the Five-College bus). This is where Amherst College and UMass are
located. Amherst has cafés and restaurants, bookstores, CD stores, and various other places of
interest.
Here is a sample of what is available in Amherst:
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CVS: A large drug/beauty aids/supplies store.
Hair East: A reasonably priced hair salon.
Council Travel: Economical travel packages.
Panda East: For Chinese food and sushi - luncheon specials are a bargain.
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Atkins Farms: Fresh fruit, plants, traditional New England foodstuffs. It is on the Amherst
bus route, just before Hampshire College.
Bueno Y Sano: Burritos n all! Extremely delicious.
Antonio's: The best pizza around – it’s cheap and open till 1 am or later!
Pasta e Basta: Very good pasta and other Italian dishes.
Salvation Army Store: Used clothes sold at low prices
Bart’s: Good ice cream and it’s open till midnight!
Northampton and Amherst, as well as the other towns near South Hadley, feature a variety of
other shops, restaurants and cultural events that might interest you. Be sure to explore the area
after you settle in at Mount Holyoke. The fall is one of the most beautiful times of the year and
you should take this opportunity to walk around the campus as well as to explore the local area.
You may find that some of your friends have cars and it will be easy to visit places that do not
fall on the PVTA route. If not, don’t be afraid to ask someone if you can borrow her bike. Take
a long walk when it’s warm outside. Enjoy being at Mount Holyoke; it’s going to be an amazing
experience!