About Visiting Us
The Pilates Museum™ Preserving the Legacy and Heritage of Joseph and Clara Pilates in the Berkshires
The Pilates had a rich history in the Berkshire mountains of western Massachusetts. First with Joe Teaching his Contrology system too and working with the dancers and students at Jacob’s Pillow Dance festival starting in 1942. Then Purchasing 56 aches less than a mile away to build and develop a training school in the mountains.
Now almost 80 years later Joe’s dream is becoming a reality again. Sean Gallagher who bought what was left of the property and buildings I’m 1997 has slowly but consistently with persistence and perseverance with the help of many other pilates people restored the original studio and has made it into a Museum/Studio for the Pilates community and like minded teacher interested in the actual history a pilates Source® to visit, explore, learn and find theirs and Pilates spirit on the Joe’s Contrology Journey they are on.
Museum Timing
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
11:00am to 4:00PM
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
11:00am to 4:00PM
11:00am to 4:00PM
2026 SEASON – MAY THRU OCTOBER
Exhibitions, Events, Workshops
17
APRIL
3 days of education
Pilates at the Pillow®
Pilates Museum Tour
One of the highlights of the Pilates At The Pillow® Conference/Festival is the tour of the Pilates Headquarters and Joe’s Studio now a Museum and working Studio. Where participants get to not only see Pilates History but experience it by doing Contrology exercises on Joe’s Actual apparatus!
28
JUNE
10am – 4:00PM
Pilates Museum Conservation Volunteer day
Pilates History in the making
The conservation and maintenance of the largest and most diverse collection of Joe’s original apparatus, Archives, Studio items, household items and property once owned by Joe and Clara is an on going process. Are you someone who’s passionate about pilates history and would like to help maintain the pilates heritage and legacy for generations to come? Join us every summer on the last Sunday of June, July and August for our Pilates Museum Volunteer day!
19
JULY
10am – 4:00PM
Pilates Museum Conservation Volunteer day
Join Like minded pilates people for an all day pilates experience like no other.
Join us as we clean, restore, organize, digitize and fantazie pilates on a grand scale. Building friendships and camaraderie the pilates way that will enhance your pilates history knowledge as well as help build connections for your pilates journey. It’s an all day affair from 10:00am till 5:00pm with drinks and lunch provided. Join us every summer on the last Sunday of June, July and August for our Pilates Museum Volunteer day!
30
AUGUST
10am – 5:00pm
10am – 5:00pm
Pilates Museum Conservation Volunteer day
Repairing , Conservation and Restoration
The last time the entrance pillars had conservation work done on them was over 25 years ago. Last year and this year from the foundations to the top lions we have been working to bring these iconic structors back to life and ready to face the harsh elements of nature in the Berkshire mountains. Working to replace crumbling cinder block and then scraping and cleaning both pillars and lions. Two coats of outdoor paint on both to ensure that they last another 25 years or more. We also painted Joe’s rock at the entrance. (There is an archival picture of Joe Posing on it and now so can visitors to the museum.
Yellow and White pages phone books, flag pole, wheel barrel and more.
Found around the compound
Acquisitions
1940’s Phone Books, Flag Pole, Wheel Barrel
Like all museums we not only rely on donations but we also make acquisitions to enhance and help complete certain aspects of the pilates history so that all can experience when visiting the museum the most comprehensive display, interaction and hands on of pilates related history only found at the Pilates Source® through this interactive museum.
If you have a historical pilates item that you would like to see preserved and maintained please contact us as the museum makes acquisitions in certain circumstances to add to our collection.
Allen Family Bench Mat and Jr Reformer
– Currently in storage
One of Joe’s original Magic Circles Currently On Display
Donations
The Allen Family Donations, Rhinebeck Pilates Magic Circle Donation
The museum is dedicated to preserving and sharing Pilates history in all of it;s aspects and we have been so fortunate that others have entrusted us with the preservation of the heritage of the pilates by donating pilates related apparatus that have been in their family for decades.
The Allen Family have donated A Junior Reformer and Bench mat made by Joe to the museum collection that is being shared with museum visitors as well as with Pilates teachers from around the world at every Pilates at The Pillow® Conference held yearly at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival ground and the Pilates compound.
Elaine Ewing of Rhinebeck Pilates® was able to purchase two of Joe’s original Magic circles. She wanted those that visit the Pilates Museum to be able to experience an original first hand so she donated one of her magic circles as well as a display case so that all could view it when visiting. As the handles on the magic circles are to fragile to allow it to be physically shared it is now on display in the museum in it’s custom made display case.
If you have or know someone who has pilates related items that they would like to have preserved for generations of Pilates teachers and lovers to be able to see and experience please have them contacts us to make a donation.
Visiting for a Tour
Visiting the Museum and Property
Joe’s Library
What we know about Joe’s books
It is clear from archival pictures of his back room in his NYC studio Joe had a rather large collection of books. Some of the books were brought up to his Becket studio and we are sure more purchased and read during his time there as well. There is a broad range of titles and Genres including literature, art, film, science, physical culture and more.
The Museum Building
The history of Joe’s original Gymnasium in the Berkshires
The Pilates Museum/Studio building was built by Joe and his helpers sometime between when the property was purchase in 1948 and 1951 when we see an article about Joe in the Berkshires and the studio mostly finished in the picture behind him while he is holding a wheel barrel.
The Property Entrance
Lion’s are not caged with Joe and he wasn’t either!
When the property was purchased in 1997 one of the pillars was in need of major conservation work with a number of the cinder blocks crumbling and needed to be replaced. Fast forward to 2026 and the ones that were not replaced almost 30 years ago are being replaced this year. Conservation is a never ending process when the elements are at work.
The Grounds
Historic Archaeology of the Pilates Buildings
After interviewing Paul Allen who as a teenager helped maintain the Pilates property with his dad we are now able to give an accurate description as to what most of the structures on the property are as well as what has changed ( the pilates house has been replaced by a newer one but on the same basic foot print.
Pilates
at the
Pillow®
Tours
Special Museum Tours
Pilates At The Pillow® Museum Tours
2018
Fall
Pilates Head Quarters and Museum
Pilates Museum™ Tour 1
The first ever Pilates at the Pillow® conference included the first ever tour of the original pilates Berkshire gymnasium that was being brought back to life for the pilates community. This conservation effort allowed us to be able to have one of our workshops – The return of the Pilates Resistor apparatus in the studio space since all the apparatus and other contents of the museum were in storage while the restoration was in progress. This unique opportunity allow us to anchor the resister units to the 2×4 since the space was gutted to the beams as the interior had been in such bad shape from water damage, animal and bug infestation. Since it was all removed and the space cleaned it was an amazing way to let the festivals participants experience the magic and spirit of Joe in a once in a lifetime way. We also had lots of Museum items out on the deck for participants to also try out and experience as well.
2019
Spring
Pilates Head Quarters and Museum
Pilates Museum™ Tour 2
Our Second P@P™ conference Allowed us to bring back much of the original pilates apparatus into the studio space as the space had been insulated with repurposed insulation to be as environmentally conscious as we could in the restoration process. .
2019
Fall
Pilates Head Quarters and Museum
Pilates Museum™ Tour 3
The passage experienced a surge in popular tyuring the 1960s when Letraset used it on their drytrnsfer sheets, and again during.
2023
November
8am – 8.55am
Pilates Head Quarters and Museum
Pilates Museum™ Tour 4
The passage experienced a surge in popular tyuring the 1960s when Letraset used it on their drytrnsfer sheets, and again during.
2024
November
8am – 8.55am
Pilates Head Quarters and Museum
Pilates Museum™ Tour 5
The passage experienced a surge in popular tyuring the 1960s when Letraset used it on their drytrnsfer sheets, and again during.
2026
November
8am – 8.55am
Pilates Head Quarters and Museum
Pilates Museum™ Tour 6
The passage experienced a surge in popular tyuring the 1960s when Letraset used it on their drytrnsfer sheets, and again during.
Our Collection
Museum Collections
Original Apparatus
When the property was purchased by Mr. Gallagher in 1997 originally he was only interested in purchasing the original apparatus that had been stored in the studio building for decades. The owner said if you want the equipment you’ll have to buty the property and luckily He did otherwise the museum building and the property most likely would have been lost to time.
The apparatus that was in the studio included one of Joe’s original claw foot reformers from the NYC studio, A hand built Cadillac, Old and very much used high chair, A bench mat, bednaziums (2 in the studio and 2 in the guest house bungalow), A broken down massage table ( that had been repurposed from a bench mat that was discovered when it was reupholstered), the chair that was the preciser for the baby chair, the weight holders from the NYC studio, small barrel with no padding, original airplane board, a mirror from the original NYC studio, a shelving unit full of his springs small apparatus parts and lots of other tools and what nots, the two shield he and his brother used when they filmed themselves as greek/roman fighters with swards and shields on the roof top in NYC.
Donations of original Pilates apparatus have also been given to the museum So that visitors can experience and see more of Joe’s original apparatus. These donations include a non foldable Jr. Reformer and Bench mat from the Allen Family, An original Magic Circle donated by Rhinebeck Pilates®
The Library
From Archival pictures from the back room of the studio in NYC we can see that Joe had an extensive library of book. When Sean purchased the property there were a number of books in piles in the studio as well as many books in the new house below that were from Joe and the studio as they have the studio stamp in them or Joe’s Book Marks (he had 2). The amazing thing about many of these books is that Joe made notes in the marginalia and underlined passages and and outlined some sections as well. To be able to see what he thought about other peoples writings and perceive how some of his ideas and philosophy may have been based on others is truly a historical gold mine for Pilates Historics™
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Lost Apparatus Reproduced
A driving force between the museum and Pilates at the Pillow conference is the desire to do workshops with reproduced apparatus that has been lost to time. Since our first P@P™ conference we have strived to bring back at least one historical apparatus or archival workout discovered form all the extensive research being done to bring back all of Joe’s inventions, exercises and making them available for the first time quite often in decades where teachers can experience the exercises and the apparatus as close to as Joe had them as possible today.
Fall 2018 – Pilates Archival Bed-O-Pul™ and Pilates Archival Resister™
Spring 2019 – Pilates Archival Bench Mat™ @ Archival Standing Mat™ 1
Fall 2019 – Pilates Archival Toe Corrector, Magic Squares and Magic circle.
Fall 2022 – Pilates Archival Airplane Boards™, Archival Mat variations and cueing and Pilates Archival Massage Table Exercises part 1
Fall 2023 – Pilates Archival Bednasium™, Pilates Archival Massage Table™ Part 2
Fall 2024 – Pilates’ Gymnasium 101 Exerciser, Progressive and Corrective Resistant Balance for the Whole Body – Part 1 and 2
Spring 2026 –
Original Studio Sign in Books
Almost from the begging the pilates used sign in books att their studio to keep track of their clients and as a way to get in touch with them if needed. The date, name, address and phone number were usually included. Clients only signed into the book the first time they came or if their information had changed, usually a new address . The collection of sign in books transposes from the 1920’s to the 1980’s as it was continued until the studio closed in 1987.
In honor and in tradition the Pilates Museum has reintroduced the sign in book for all guest to the museum and currently has over 100 guest signatures from pilates teachers, enthusiasts, devotees and friends from all over the world (10 countries so far).
Testimonials
What Pilates teachers, students and friends are say about their visit. Here’s theirs praise…
P@P™ Participant
Name
Coming soon
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P@P™ Participant
Name
Coming soon
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Museum Visitor
Name
Coming soon
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Museum Visitor
Joe’s Barber & Friend
Tony Carlino
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Museum Visitor
Name
Coming soon
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Discover 80 years of Pilates History and the Pilates Dream return to life
Plan Your Visit
1898 Jacob’s Ladder Road, Becket MA 01223
Timings: Weds-Friday (Closed)
Sat-Tuesdays(By Appointment)
Visit Fee: $25
Volunteers: $ 0.00
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