Springfield, Massachusetts This article is about the town/city of Springfield.
Springfield, Massachusetts City of Springfield Symphony Hall - Springfield, Massachusetts - DSC03277.JPG The Puritan by St.
Court Square, Springfield Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Memorial Bridge, Springfield Springfield Armory Museum - Springfield, Massachusetts - DSC02481.JPG Gaudens, the Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield Armory National Historic Site, Hampden County Memorial Bridge overlooking the Connecticut River, Court Square Historic District, and Symphony Hall Flag of Springfield, Massachusetts Flag Official seal of Springfield, Massachusetts Nickname(s): The City of Firsts; The City of Progress; The City of Homes; A City in the Forest; Hoop City; Springfield, Massachusetts is positioned in the US Springfield, Massachusetts - Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a town/city in New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the easterly bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the Westfield River, the easterly Chicopee River, and the easterly Mill River.
As of the 2010 Census, the city's populace was 153,060. Metropolitan Springfield, as one of two urbane areas in Massachusetts (the other being Greater Boston), had an estimated populace of 698,903 as of 2009. The first Springfield in the New World, it is the biggest city in Western New England, and the urban, economic, and cultural capital of Massachusetts' Connecticut River Valley (colloquially known as the Pioneer Valley).
Springfield has a several nicknames The City of Firsts, because of its many innovations (see below for a partial list); The City of Homes, due to its Victorian residentiary architecture; and Hoop City, as basketball one of the world's most prominent sports was invented in Springfield by James Naismith.
Hartford, the capital of Connecticut, lies 23.9 miles (38 km) south of Springfield, on the bank of the Connecticut River.
Bradley International Airport, which sits 12 miles (19 km) south of Metro Center Springfield, is Hartford-Springfield's airport. The Hartford-Springfield region is known as the Knowledge Corridor because it hosts over 160,000 college students and over 32 universities and liberal arts universities the second-highest concentration of higher-learning establishments in the United States. The town/city of Springfield itself is home to Springfield College; Western New England University; American International College; and Springfield Technical Community College, among other higher educational establishments.
9.1 City of Springfield View of Springfield, Massachusetts on the Connecticut River about 1840-45, by Thomas Chambers, petroleum on canvas, as seen at the Springfield Metropolitan Museum of Art Main article: History of Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield was established in 1636 by English Puritan William Pynchon as "Agawam Plantation" under the administration of the Connecticut Colony.
In 1641 it was retitled after Pynchon's hometown of Springfield, Essex, England, following incidents that precipitated the settlement joining the Massachusetts Bay Colony. During its early existence, Springfield flourished as both an agricultural settlement and trading post, although its prosperity waned dramatically amid (and after) King Philip's War in 1675, when natives laid siege to it and burned it to the ground.
The initial settlement today's downtown Springfield was positioned up on bluffs at the confluence of four rivers, at the hub of trade routes to Boston, Albany, New York City, and Montreal, and with some of the northeastern United States' most fertile soil. In 1777, Springfield's locale at various crossroads led George Washington and Henry Knox to establish the United States' National Armory at Springfield, which produced the first American musket in 1794, and later the famous Springfield rifle. From 1777 until its method amid the Vietnam War, the Springfield Armory thriving skilled workers to Springfield, making it the United States' longtime center for precision manufacturing. The near-capture of the U.S.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, Springfielders produced many innovations, including the first American-English dictionary (1805, Merriam Webster); the first use of interchangeable parts and the assembly line in manufacturing (1819, Thomas Blanchard); the first American horseless car (1825, Thomas Blanchard); the discernment and patent of vulcanized rubber (1844, Charles Goodyear); the first American gasoline-powered car (1893, Duryea Brothers); the first prosperous motorcycle business (1901, "Indian"); one of America's first commercial airways broadcasts (1921, WBZ, broadcast from the Hotel Kimball); and most famously, the world's second-most-popular sport, basketball (1891, Dr.
Springfield underwent a protracted diminish during the second half of the 20th century, due largely to the decommission of the Springfield Armory in 1969; poor town/city planning decisions, such as the locale of the elevated I-91 along the city's Connecticut Riverfront; and overall diminish of trade throughout the northeastern U.S.
During early 21st century, Springfield sought to overcome its downgrade in reputation via long-term revitalization projects and undertook a several large, but unfinished projects, including a $1 billion high-speed rail (New Haven-Hartford-Springfield high-speed rail;) a proposed $1 billion MGM Casino; and various other assembly and revitalization projects. Springfield is positioned at 42 6 45 N 72 32 51 W (42.112411, 72.547455). According to the United States Enumeration Bureau, the town/city has a total region of 33.2 square miles (86 km2), of which 32.1 square miles (83 km2) is territory and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2) (3.31%) is water.
Once nicknamed "The City in a Forest," Springfield features over 4.0 square miles (10.4 km2) of urban parkland, (which equals 12% of its total territory area.) Located in the fertile Connecticut River Valley, surrounded by mountain peaks, bluffs, and rolling hills in all cardinal directions, Springfield sits on the easterly bank of the Connecticut River, near its confluence with two primary tributary rivers the Westfield River, which flows into the Connecticut opposite Springfield's South End Bridge; and the easterly Chicopee River, which flows into the Connecticut less than 0.5 miles (0.8 km) north of Springfield, in the town/city of Chicopee, (which constituted one of Springfield's most crowded neighborhoods until it separated and became an autonomous municipality in 1852.) The Connecticut state-line sits only 4 miles (6 km) south of Springfield, beside the wealthy suburb of Longmeadow, which itself separated from Springfield in 1783. Springfield's densely urban Metro Center precinct encircling Main Street is mostly flat, and follows the north-south trajectory of the Connecticut River; however, as one moves eastward, the town/city becomes increasingly hilly.
Aside from its rivers, Springfield's 2nd most prominent topographical feature is the city's 735 acres (297 ha) Forest Park, designed by famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.
Forest Park lies in the southwestern corner of the city, surrounded by Springfield's attractive garden districts, Forest Park and Forest Park Heights, which feature over 600 Victorian Painted Lady mansions.
Springfield shares borders with other well-heeled suburbs such as East Longmeadow, Wilbraham, Ludlow and the de-industrializing town/city of Chicopee.
The small metros/cities of Agawam and West Springfield, Massachusetts lie less than a mile (1.6 km) from Springfield's Metro Center, athwart the Connecticut River.
The City of Springfield also owns the Springfield Country Club, which is positioned in the autonomous town/city of West Springfield, Massachusetts, the latter of which separated from Springfield in 1774. Springfield, like other metros/cities in southern New England, has a humid continental climate (Koppen: Dfa) with four distinct seasons and rain evenly distributed throughout the year.
During winter, nor'easter storms can drop momentous snowfalls on Springfield and the Connecticut River Valley.
On the occasions that hurricanes have hit New England, Springfield's inland, upriver locale has caused its damages to be considerably less than shoreline metros/cities like New Haven, Connecticut and Providence, Rhode Island.
On June 1, 2011, Springfield was directly hit by the second-largest tornado ever to hit Massachusetts. With wind speeds exceeding 160 mph (257 km/h), the 2011 Springfield tornado left 4 dead, hundreds injured, and over 500 homeless in the City of Springfield alone. The tornado caused hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage to Springfield and finished nearly everything in a 39-mile (63 km) path from Westfield, Massachusetts to Charlton, Massachusetts. It was the first deadly tornado to strike Massachusetts since May 29, 1995.
Indian Orchard Boston Road Pine Point Sixteen Acres Forest Park East Forest Park East Springfield Bay Mc - Knight Metro Center Old Hill Six Corners South End Upper Hill Liberty Heights Memorial Square Brightwood For a more complete topographical description, see Springfield, Massachusetts neighborhoods.
The City of Springfield is divided into 17 distinct neighborhoods; in alphabetical order, they are: East Springfield features Smith & Wesson and the Performance Food Group.
Forest Park features Frederick Law Olmsted's famous 735 acres (3.0 km2) Forest Park and the Forest Park Heights Historic District, (established 1975). Residential in character, featuring a commercial precinct at "The X" and an upper-class garden precinct encircling Olmsted's park.
Formerly a suburb of Springfield, Indian Orchard advanced separately as a milltown on the Chicopee River before joining Springfield.
Liberty Heights features Springfield's three nationally ranked hospitals: Baystate Health, Mercy Medical, and Shriner's Children's Hospital.
Liberty Heights includes eclectic districts like Hungry Hill and Atwater Park, and Springfield's 3rd biggest park, Van Horn Park.
North End not technically a Springfield neighborhood, but rather three northern Springfield neighborhoods.
Old Hill features Springfield College.
Located between Springfield College and American International College.
As of the 2010 Census, there were 153,060 citizens residing in the City of Springfield.
This figure does not include many of the 17,000-plus undergraduate and graduate college students who reside in Springfield amid the academic year.
This was the highest average of home occupancy among the four, distinct Western New England metropolises, (the other three being Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport, Connecticut.) Also, as of 2010, Springfield features the highest average home owner occupancy ratio among the four Western New England metropolises at 50% 73,232 Springfielders live in owner-occupied units, versus 74,111 in rental units.
In terms of race and ethnicity, Springfield is 51.8% White, 22.3% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4% Asian (1.2% Vietnamese), 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 18.0% from Some Other Race, and 4.7% from Two or More Races (1.5% White and Black or African American; 1.0% White and Some Other Race).
Springfield is considered to have a "mature economy," which protects the town/city to a degree amid recessions and inhibits it somewhat amid bubbles. Springfield is considered to have one of America's top emerging multi-cultural markets the town/city features a 33% Latino populace with buying power that has increased over 295% from 1990 to 2006.
With 25 universities and universities inside a 15-mile (24 km) radius from Springfield, including a several of America's most prestigious universities and liberal arts colleges, and more than six establishments inside the town/city itself, the Hartford-Springfield urbane region has been dubbed the Knowledge Corridor by county-wide educators, civic authorities, and businessmen touting its 32 universities and liberal arts colleges, various highly regarded hospitals, and nearly 120,000 students.
As of 2009 Springfield rates as the 24th most meaningful high-tech center in the United States with approximately 14,000 high-tech jobs. The City of Springfield is the economic center of Western Massachusetts.
Springfield is home to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' biggest Fortune 100 company, Mass - Mutual Financial Group.
Springfield is also home to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' third biggest employer, Baystate Health, with over 10,000 employees.
Baystate is the ground of Tufts University School of Medicine. Baystate Health is in the midst of a $300 million addition nicknamed "The Hospital of the Future," it is the biggest assembly universal in New England. In addition to Baystate, Springfield features two other nationally ranked hospitals; Mercy Medical, run by The Sisters of Providence, and Shriners Hospital for Children.
Friendly Ice Cream Corporation Founded in Springfield, headquartered in the Springfield suburb of Wilbraham, Massachusetts.
Headquartered in Springfield until its relocation to suburban East Longmeadow, Massachusetts.
A manufacturing plant was set up on Hendee Street in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the former 'American Wire Wheel Company' building.
Six Flags New England sits on the Connecticut River athwart from Springfield's South End Within two miles (3 km) of Springfield are New England's biggest and most prominent amusement park, Six Flags New England, and its biggest and most prominent fair, The Big E.
Six Flags New England, positioned athwart Springfield's South End Bridge in Agawam features Superman the Ride, a roller coaster that has ranked first or second every year since 2001 in the annual Golden Ticket Awards printed announcement by Amusement Today.
The Eastern States Exposition ("The Big E") is positioned athwart Springfield's Memorial Bridge in West Springfield.
Hoop City Jazz Festival: an annual event sponsored by the Springfield-headquartered Hampden Bank, which in the past has featured Springfield native and jazz legend Taj Mahal, the Average White Band, and others.
It features various VIP galas, awards dinners, and press conferences. Enshrinement takes place in Springfield's Neo-Classical Symphony Hall on Court Square.
Armory Big Band Concerts: annually each summer the Springfield Armory National Park and National Historic Site features 1940s big band concerts.
Springfield Gay Pride Week: Springfield jubilated its first gay pride event June 8 16, 2011.
Stearns Square Concert Series and Bike Nights: annually from June through September on Thursday evenings from 7 to 10pm, Springfield sponsors no-charge live music at Stearns Square, in the heart of Metro Center's Club Quarter.
Mattoon Street Arts Festival: one of the biggest annual art celebrations in Springfield.
Patrick's Day Parade: 7 miles (11 km) north of Springfield's Metro Center, the small town/city of Holyoke, Massachusetts stages the United States' 2nd-largest, annual St.
World's Largest Pancake Breakfast: annually, near the city's beginning date (May 14) Springfield attempts to break the Guinness Book of World Records' mark for biggest number of pancakes served.
Star Spangled Springfield: annually on July 4, Springfield stages an evening of patriotism, pageantry and pyrotechnics.
Caribbean Festival: in general held in late August each year, Springfield's Caribbean Festival jubilates the culture of the West Indies, which has increased greatly in Springfield amid recent years.
A 75-foot (23 m) inflatable "Cat in the Hat" and a dozen or more big balloons, bands, and colorful marching contingents parade through Springfield's Metro Center at 11 am on the day after Thanksgiving.
Springfield is home to five distinct exhibitions at the Quadrangle, along with the ornate Springfield Public Library an architecturally momentous example of the City Beautiful movement.
The Quadrangle's five exhibitions are the Museum of Fine Arts, which features a large Impressionist collection; the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, a compilation of Asian curiosities; the Springfield Science Museum, which features a life-size Tyrannosaurus Rex, and aquarium, and the United States' first planetarium; the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum, which, as visitors find out, is inextricably linked with American History; and the Museum of Springfield History, a exhibition about the multi-faceted city. The Springfield Symphony Orchestra performs in Springfield Symphony Hall, a venue known for its ornate, Greek Revival architecture and "perfect acoustics." Famous musicians from Springfield include blues legend Taj Mahal; the band Staind and its frontman Aaron Lewis; Linda Perry, former prestige singer of 4 Non Blondes and now famous songwriter and producer; Taj Mahal's sister, Carole Fredericks, a soul singer very prominent in France; various jazz musicians, including Joe Morello, drummer for the Dave Brubeck Quartet; Phil Woods, saxophonist for Quincy Jones; Tony Mac - Alpine, keyboardist and guitarist with Steve Vai; and Paul Weston, composer for Frank Sinatra, among many others.
The City of Springfield' Club Quarter is the eveninglife capital of the Pioneer Valley and the Knowledge Corridor, featuring approximately 60 dance clubs, bars, music venues, LGBT venues, and after-hours establishments.
Springfield's Club Quarter features a large (and growing) LGBT eveninglife scene at establishments like Oz (397 Dwight Street), Pure (324 Chestnut Street), The Pub Lounge (382 Dwight Street), and Club Xtatic (240 Chesnut Street, featuring dancers).
There has been a notable increase in Springfield's LGBT eveninglife since Massachusetts legalized gay marriage in 2004.
However, it is separated from Springfield's Metro Center by the 8-lane highway, Interstate 91.
Held on a permanent fairgrounds approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Springfield's Metro Center, athwart the ornate Memorial Bridge in West Springfield, it attracts more than 1 million visitors per year amid its 14- to 17-day run beginning in mid-September.
City Stage Springfield's best-known playhouse features off-Broadway productions, comedians, and children's programming.
Springfield's range of eveningclubs and entertainment is part of what makes it, as stated to Yahoo!, one of America's ten best metros/cities for dating. LGBT and dance clubs are integrated with hip-hop, rock, jazz, and blues clubs.
Connecticut River Walk Park a landscaped park that snakes along the Connecticut River, affording views of the Mount Tom Range, Mount Holyoke Range, and Springfield's skyline.
However, this park is separated from Springfield by the badly designed, 8-lane Interstate 91 highway, which cuts through three Springfield riverfront neighborhoods, and thus presents a primary obstacle to accessing this riverfront park.
In 2010, the Urban Land Institute released a plan for Springfield's riverfront, which has given Springfielders cause for hope that Interstate 91 will either be moved or made more easily passable via new design features that would allow citizens to access the River Walk and the Basketball Hall of Fame. Court Square a park, referred to as "Springfield's front door," it remains the city's only topographical constant since its beginning in 1636.
Located on Main Street and surrounded by ornate architecture, including the iconic Springfield Municipal Group, Court Square is the civic heart of Springfield.
First Game of Basketball Sculpture positioned directly on the site of the first game of basketball, this illuminated sculpture in Springfield's Mason Square commercial precinct has turn into a site of pilgrimage for basketball fans from around the world.
Forest Park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the famous landscape designer of New York City's Central Park, Springfield's Forest Park is nearly the same size as Central Park at 735 acres (297.4 ha).
King Philip's Stockade an historic, town/city park where in 1675, the Pocumtuc Indians organized by Chief Metacomet, also known as King Philip initiated the Attack on Springfield amid King Philip's War.
Mass - Mutual Center formerly known as the Springfield Civic Center, this 8,000-seat arena and meeting hall received a $71 million renovation in 2003 2005.
Located athwart from historic Court Square in Metro Center, the arena homes the American Hockey League's Springfield Thunderbirds.
Originally positioned in Stearns Square, it has been positioned in Merrick Park in the Quadrangle for over 100 years and turn into a motif of Springfield.
It includes the world-class Museum of Fine Arts, known for its Impressionist and Dutch Renaissance collections, as well as its extensive compilation of American masters, including works by Springfielder James Mc - Neill Whistler.
The world-class Springfield Science Museum features the United States' first planetarium (built 1931), and a large dinosaur exhibit.
The Quadrangle also features two county-wide history exhibitions: the Connecticut Valley Historical Society, which tells the story of "The Great River" and its citizens , and the new Museum of Springfield History, which showcases the innovations that make Springfield "The City of Progress" amid the abolitionist reconstructionand Industrial Revolution, which includes the first American-English dictionary, the first gasoline-powered car, the first prosperous motorcycle company, the first undivided fire engine, and dozens of other firsts (see below for a more complete list).
Six Flags New England positioned 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Springfield's South End in Agawam, this amusement park is the biggest in the Northeast and features a top-ranked roller coaster, Superman the Ride.
The Springfield Armory National Historic Site established by General George Washington and Henry Knox in 1777; the site of Shays' Rebellion in 1787, which led directly to the U.S.
Symphony Hall dedicated in 1913 by President William Howard Taft as part of the Springfield Municipal Group, Springfield Symphony Hall features "perfect acoustics." Stearns Square designed by the famous creative team of Stanford White and Augustus Saint-Gaudens in 1897, this small park is the center of Springfield's Club Quarter. It features ornate architectural and sculptural details from the initial team's design; however, most of those were meant to accompany The Puritan, and thus moved to storage.
Besides Springfield's historic connection with basketball, the town/city has a rich sporting history.
Volleyball was invented in the adjoining town/city of Holyoke, and the first exhibition match was held in 1896 at the International YMCA Training School, now known as Springfield College.
Ice hockey has been played professionally in Springfield since the 1920s, and Springfield is home to the league command posts of the American Hockey League.
The Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League (now positioned in Utica, New York) was the earliest minor league hockey charter in existence.
On the amateur level, the Junior A Springfield Olympics played for many years at the Olympia, while American International College's Yellow Jackets compete in NCAA Division I hockey.
Prior to the 2014 15 season, Springfield was home to the Springfield Armor of the NBA Development League, which began play in 2009 at the Mass - Mutual Center.
Beginning in the 2011 2012 season, the Armor was the exclusive partner of the Brooklyn Nets. For many years, the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic has been the semi-official start to the college basketball season, and the NCAA Division II championships are usually held in Springfield.
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference will play its championships in Springfield from 2012 to 2014. The New England Blizzard of the ABL played its first game in Springfield, and a several minor pro men's and women's squads have called the town/city home, including the Springfield Fame of the United States Basketball League (the league's inaugural champion in 1985) and the Springfield Hall of Famers of the Eastern Professional Basketball League.
Springfield has had experienced baseball in the past, and as stated to its current mayor, remains intent on pursuing it in the future. The Springfield Giants of the Single and Double-A Eastern League played between 1957 and 1965.
Pynchon Park's grandstands were finished by fire the year after in 1966. Before that time, the Springfield Cubs played in the minor league New England League from 1946 until 1949, after which the league folded; they then played in the International League until 1953.
The team positioned closest are the Valley Blue Sox of the New England Collegiate Baseball League who play their games in close-by Holyoke, but home their team offices at 100 Congress Street in Springfield.
Springfield has an official roller derby team: Pair O Dice City Roller Derby.
See also: List of tallest buildings in Springfield, Massachusetts In addition to its nickname The City of Firsts, Springfield is known as The City of Homes for its attractive architecture, which differentiates it from most medium-size, Northeastern American cities.
Most of Springfield's housing stock consists of Victorian "Painted Ladies" (similar to those found in San Francisco;) however, Springfield also features Gilded Age mansions, urban condominiums buildings, brick apartment blocks, and more suburban post-World War II architecture (in the Sixteen Acres and Pine Point neighborhoods).
While Springfield's architecture is attractive, much of its built-environment stems from the 19th and early 20th centuries when the town/city experienced a reconstructionof "intense and concentrated prosperity" today, its Victorian architecture can be found in various states of rehabilitation and disrepair.
As of 2011, Springfield's housing prices are considerably lower than close-by New England metros/cities that do not feature such intricate architecture.
In Metro Center, some of Springfield's former hotels, factories, and other establishments have been converted into apartment buildings and luxury condominiums.
For example, Springfield's ornate Classical High School (235 State Street), with its immense Victorian atrium where Dr.
Presidents as guests and once featured the United States' first commercial airways broadcast (WBZ), has been converted into The Kimball Towers Condominiums. The former Mc - Intosh Shoe Company (158 Chestnut Street), one of Springfield's finest examples of the Chicago School of Architecture, has been converted into industrial-style condominiums; and the red-brick, former Milton Bradley toy factory is now Stockbridge Court Apartments (45 Willow Street).
In the Ridgewood Historic District, the 1950s-futurist Mulberry House (101 Mulberry Street), is now a condominium building that features some of the finest views of Springfield.
Forest Park (and Forest Park Heights), encircling Frederick Law Olmsted's beautiful 735 acres (297.4 ha) Forest Park, is a New England Garden District that features over 600 Victorian Painted Ladies.
The Mc - Knight National Historic District, America's first prepared residentiary neighborhood, (1881), features over 900 Victorian Painted Ladies, many of which have been rehabilitated by Springfield's burgeoning LGBT community.
Maple High, which is architecturally (and geographically) distinct from, but often encompassed with Springfield's economically depressed Six Corners neighborhood, was Springfield's first "Gold Coast." Springfield like many mid-size Northeastern cities, e.g., Hartford, Albany, and New Haven from the 1950s 1970s, razed a momentous number of historic commercial buildings in the name of urban renewal.
In 1961, this encompassed Unity Church, the first building designed by the young Henry Hobson Richardson. Springfield's Metro Center remains more beautifulally cohesive than many its peer cities; however, as elsewhere, the town/city presently features a patchwork of parking-lots and grand old buildings.
Current accomplishments are underway to advancement the cohesion of Springfield's Metro Center, including the instead of Main Street and State Street Corridor enhancement projects, the upcoming $70 million renovation to Springfield's 1926 Union Station and the renovation of the Epiphany Tower on State Street into a new hotel.
In 2010, Springfield was cited as the 4th "Greenest City" in the United States the biggest city cited in the Top 10.
The recognition noted Springfield's various parks, the purity of its drinking water, its county-wide recycling center, and organizations like Re - Store Home Improvement Center, which salvages building materials. Springfield features over 2,400 acres (10 km2) of parkland distributed among 35 urban parks, including the grand, 735 acres (297.4 ha) Forest Park.
Apremont Triangle Park is a triangular, pocket park in front of Springfield's historic Kimball Towers in Metro Center.
Armoury Commons is a rectangular park just south of the Springfield Armory, positioned at the corner of Pearl and Spring Streets in Metro Center.
However, Interstate 91's position, height, and ancillary structures including a 1756-car, below-grade parking lot, (the biggest in the city, ) and 20-foot (6 m) contemporary walls block all views of the Connecticut River, and all but three passages to the park from Metro Center.
Even with Springfield's rating as one of the most walkable metros/cities in the U.S., due to the poor planning of I-91, this park can be difficult to reach on foot. Court Square has been Springfield's one topographical constant since colonial days it is positioned in Metro Center.
Featuring monuments to Springfield's hero amid King Philip's War of 1675, Miles Morgan; President William Mc - Kinley; and a Civil War memorial Court Square is surrounded by extraordinarily fine architecture, including H.H.
Richardson's Richardsonian Romanesque Courthouse; the Springfield Municipal Group featuring the Greek Revival City Hall, Symphony Hall, and the 300-foot (91 m) Italianate Campanile; and also the 1819 ongoing standard of the 1638 Old First Church.
Five Mile Pond is a Naturalist park and pond approximately 5 miles (8 km) from Springfield's Metro Center in the Pine Point neighborhood of Springfield.
Amenities include the Zoo at Forest Park, which features many exotic animals; the United States' first enhance swimming pool (1899;) various playgrounds; an ice-skating rink; a formal rose garden; the 31 acres (12.5 ha) Porter Lake, which features fishing and paddle-boating; 38 tennis courts; various basketball and bocce courts; lawn bowling fields; Victorian promenades and water plant nurseries; dozens of hiking and walking trails; an aquatic park; various sculptures; and the Carriage House of Springfielder Everett Hosmer Barney, the man who invented the ice skate and popularized the roller skate amid the 19th century.
King Philip's Stockade is an historic park, famous as the site where Native Americans organized the 1675 Sack of Springfield; The Stockade features various picnic pavilions, excellent views of the Connecticut River Valley, and a sculpture of The Windsor Indian, who tried in vain to warn the inhabitants of Springfield of coming danger. Leonardo da Vinci Park is a small greenspace (0.4 acres), positioned in the historically Italian South End of Springfield.
It links Springfield's Metro Center with the Quadrangle cultural grouping, (the exhibitions and sculptures sit up on a steep bluff).
Stearns Square is a rectangular park between Worthington Street and Bridge Street in Springfield's Club Quarter, positioned in Metro Center.
Van Horn Park is a large park in the Hungry Hill section of Liberty Heights in Springfield.
The City of Springfield employs a strong mayor form of town/city government.
Police, fire, enhance works, parks, enhance health, housing, economic development, and the Springfield Public School System, New England's 2nd biggest enhance school system. Springfield's legislative body is its City Council, which features a mix of eight ward delegates even though the town/city has more than double that number of neighborhoods, resulting in a several incongruous "wards" and five at-large town/city representatives, a several of whom have served for well over a decade.
The Springfield Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the town/city and holds the distinct ion of being one of the earliest established fire departments in the United States. In 2003, the City of Springfield was on the brink of financial default, and thus taken over by a Commonwealth-appointed Finance Control Board until 2009.
Disbanded in June of that year, the Control Board made great strides stabilizing Springfield's finances. While Springfield has accomplished balanced budgets since 2009, the town/city has not enlarged its tax-base, and thus many of its enhance works projects which have been in the pipeline for years, some even decades remain unfinished, (e.g., repairs to Springfield's landmark Campanile.). Springfield is being considered for a $800 million evolution project; MGM Springfield.
Sarno's (2008 present) despite the Great Recession and a several natural and man made disasters: June 1, 2011 tornado Springfield Tornado, Hurricane Irene, a freak October Snow Storm (which in some ways was more damaging than the tornado), and a large gas explosion in the downtown region in 2012.
Like every other municipality in Massachusetts, Springfield has no judicial branch itself.
Rather, it uses the Springfield-based state courts, which include Springfield precinct court and Hampden County Superior Court, both of which are based in Springfield.
The Federal District Court also regularly hears cases in Springfield now in an architecturally award-winning building on State Street, constructed in 2009.
See also: List of mayors of Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield became a town/city on May 25, 1852, by decree of the Massachusetts Legislature, after a decade-long internal dispute that resulted in the partition of Chicopee from Springfield, and thus the loss of 2/5 of the city's population.
Springfield, like all municipalities in Massachusetts, appreciates limited home rule.
The Springfield City council, consisting of thirteen members, is the city's legislative branch.
Springfield's ethnic North End neighborhoods Memorial Square and Brightwood share a ward with Metro Center, Springfield's downtown.
The mayor's office and town/city council chambers are positioned in town/city hall part of the Municipal Group in Metro Center, Springfield.
Springfield City Councilors 2016 2017 On November 3, 2009, Springfield held its first ward elections in 50 years.
During the late 1990s and first decade of the 21st century, Springfield experienced a wave of violent crime that negatively impacted the city's reputation, both regionally and nationally.
At one point in the first decade of the 21st century, Springfield ranked as high as 18th in the United States' annual "City Crime Rankings." Since approximately 2006, the City of Springfield has experienced a dramatic, (nearly 50%) drop-off in citywide crime. In 2010, Springfield ranked 35th in the United States' City Crime Rankings its 2nd lowest ranking in recent years, (in 2009, it ranked 51st).
The metros/cities of Hartford, Connecticut and New Haven, Connecticut, both of which in 2007 were cited as "resurgent" metros/cities that Springfield should seek to emulate by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, are now by nearly all statistical measures, decidedly more dangerous than Springfield. (New Haven presently rates 18th in the annual U.S.
City Crime Rankings, and Hartford rates 19th). The Urban Land Institute states that presently "the perception of crime [in Springfield] appears to be worse than the reality." Springfield has the second biggest school precinct in Massachusetts and in New England.
The chief high schools in the town/city include the High School of Commerce, Springfield Central High School, Roger L Putnam Vocational-Technical High School, and the Springfield High School of Science and Technology, better known as Sci-Tech.
There are also two charter secondary schools in the City of Springfield: SABIS International, which rates among the top 5% of high schools nationally in academic character, and the Hampden Charter School of Science.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield directed five Catholic elementary schools in the city, all of which were merged into a single entity, St.
Non-sectarian elementary schools inside the City of Springfield include the Pioneer Valley Montessori School in Springfield's Sixteen Acres neighborhood and Orchard Children's Corner in suburban Indian Orchard, a Pre-Kindergarten, among others.
A non-denominational Christian school, the Pioneer Valley Christian Academy, is positioned in the suburban Sixteen Acres neighborhood of the city. Two nonsectarian private schools are also positioned in Springfield: Commonwealth Academy positioned on the former ground of the Mac - Duffie School (which moved to Granby, Massachusetts in 2011 after 130 years in Springfield), and teaches grades four through twelve, soon to enroll students in grades K-12; and the Academy Hill School, which teaches kindergarten through undertaking eight.
Within 15 miles (24 km) of Springfield are many private prep schools, which can serve as day schools for Springfield students; they include the Williston Northampton School in Easthampton, Massachusetts; Wilbraham & Monson Academy in Wilbraham, Massachusetts; and Suffield Academy in Suffield, Connecticut.
Within 16 miles (26 km) of Springfield's Metro Center, there are 18 universities and liberal arts colleges, which enroll approximately 100,000 students. Within the City of Springfield itself are three well-regarded private universities and universities: Springfield College, Western New England University, and American International College in addition to the enhance University of Massachusetts Amherst's urban planning program, and Springfield Technical Community College, Massachusetts' only improve college dedicated to technology.
As of 2015, Springfield attracts over 20,000 college students per year.
Its universities and universities include Western New England University, famous for its law and pharmacy programs; Springfield College, famous as the place of birth of the sport of basketball (1891) and the nation's first physical education class, (1912), which specializes in sports and sports medicine; American International College, established to educate America's immigrant population, is notable as the inventor of the Model Congress program; UMass Amherst relocated its urban design center graduate program to Court Square in Metro Center, and has pointed out that a larger commitment (probably in the soon-to-be renovated former hotel building on Court Square) is possible inside the next year. Also, Cambridge College Springfield Regional Center, an institution that caters to working grownups, is positioned in Springfield.
For example, Amherst College, 15 miles (24 km) north of Springfield, and Smith College, 13 miles (21 km) north of Springfield, persistently project among America's top 10 liberal arts colleges.
Mount Holyoke College the United States' first women's college persistently rates among America's Top 15 colleges, and it is positioned only 9 miles (14 km) north of Springfield.
Hampshire College, the creative and free-thinking college that has produced luminaries such as the documentarian Ken Burns and critically famous author and mountain climber Jon Krakauer, is positioned only 14 miles (23 km) north of Springfield.
The 30,000-student University of Massachusetts Amherst is positioned 16 miles (26 km) north of Springfield.
Approximately 10 miles (16 km) west of Springfield, athwart the Memorial Bridge in Westfield, is Westfield State University, established by noted education reformer Horace Mann.
Just outside Springfield's northern town/city limits is Elms College, a fine Catholic college that for many years educated only women.
Likewise, just 2 miles (3.2 km) below Springfield's southern town/city limit in Longmeadow is the park-like ground of Bay Path College, which once also admitted only women.
In 1968, following the Pentagon's controversial method of the Springfield Armory, Springfielders established Springfield Technical Community College on 35 acres (14.2 ha) behind the Springfield Armory National Park.
Springfield Technical Community College is the only "technical" improve college in Massachusetts, and was established to continue Springfield's tradition of technical innovation. Holyoke Community College, 8 miles (13 km) north of Springfield, is Greater Springfield's more traditional improve college.
Further information: Quadrangle (Springfield, Massachusetts) Springfield City Library; and Indian Orchard Branch Library Efforts to establish the Springfield Public Library began in the 1850s. In fiscal year 2008, the town/city of Springfield spent 1.13% ($5,321,151) of its budget on its enhance library some $35 per person. In fiscal year 2009, Springfield spent about 1% ($5,077,158) of its budget on the library some $32 per person. Springfield has Massachusetts' 2nd biggest library circulation, behind Boston.
Other newspapers serve specific communities of interest, such as El Pueblo Latino, serving the Hispanic community, Unity First and the Af - Am Point of View, both of which serve the black community, and The Rainbow Times, which serves Springfield's LGBT community.
WGGB and WSHM-LD broadcast small-town news under the branding "Western Mass News", and maintain a relationship with the Springfield Republican.
WSHM-LD and WGGB broadcast small-town news under the branding "Western Mass News", and maintain a relationship with the Springfield Republican.
Springfield was home to the first commercially licensed airways broadcast in the United States, and the earliest airways broadcast of any kind in New England: WBZ, which broadcast live from Springfield's luxurious Hotel Kimball at 140 Chestnut Street, (now the Kimball Towers Condominiums) before moving to Boston in 1931. WSCB 89.9 FM Springfield Springfield College College Radio WTCC 90.7 FM Springfield Springfield Technical Community College Public Radio WAIC 91.9 FM Springfield American International College College Radio WAQY 102.1 FM Springfield Saga Communications of New England Classic modern WNEK-FM 105.1 FM Springfield Western New England University College Radio Springfield is called the Crossroads of New England because it is the primary shipping hub from New York City, Boston, Montreal and the Great Lakes (via Albany, New York).
Much of the cargo heading from one of these places to another crosses through the City of Springfield. As a geographical trade center, Springfield has more advantages than just being equidistant to these other large trade centers it sits beside the Connecticut River, is positioned near some of the most fertile farmland in the Northeast, and is served by various rail lines and Interstate Highways, including I-90 (Mass Pike) and I-91, which connect New Haven, Hartford, Holyoke, Northampton, and Vermont to Springfield.
One of the several spurs of I-91 in Massachusetts, I-291, runs through Springfield, and provides a secondary connection between I-90 and I-91.
Springfield's Amtrak station sits at the junction of lines serving Vermont (Vermonter); Chicago and Boston (Lake Shore Limited); and New Haven and beyond.
The New Haven Springfield Line is being upgraded for high-speed intercity commuter and freight rail.
The trains on the route between New Haven and Springfield will, it has been reported, reach speeds of 110 mph (177 km/h).
There are no primary freight yards in Springfield proper, but Connecticut Southern Railroad and CSX serve the West Springfield Yard athwart the Connecticut River.
Local transit buses running into and out of the town/city use a facility owned and directed by Peter Pan Bus Lines, which is headquartered in Springfield at the corner of Main and Liberty Streets, next to the Gothic arch that denotes entrance into Metro Center Springfield.
As of 2011, Peter Pan's Bus Terminal is need of a primary beautiful overhaul the opportunity for Peter Pan, Greyhound, and the PVTA to move athwart the street to Springfield's Unions Station intermodal facility should render the point moot. Plans call for a bus station to be assembled on the plot adjoining to Union Station the site of the former Hotel Charles with a 23-bay bus terminal on lower levels and a 400-space enhance parking lot on upper levels.
Currently, the PVTA, headquartered at the Peter Pan Terminal, provides services to the metros/cities of Springfield, Chicopee, West Springfield, Westfield, and Holyoke.
Bradley International Airport, in Windsor Locks, Connecticut is 12 miles (19 km) south of Metro Center Springfield, and 12 miles north of Hartford.
Westover Metropolitan Airport is 5 miles (8 km) from downtown Springfield.
Logan International Airport in Boston is approximately 80 miles (130 km) northeast of Springfield.
The town/city purchased the Springfield Aqueduct Company in 1872. SWSC provides retail water in Springfield and Ludlow; wholesale water to Agawam, East Longmeadow, and Longmeadow; partial or peak service to Southwick, Westfield, and West Springfield; and emergency service to Chicopee and Wilbraham. See also: Category:People from Springfield, Massachusetts Samuel Bowles, journalist, founder of Springfield Republican, one of framers of United States Republican Party Miles Morgan, hero of King Philip's War of 1675, a statue of Morgan stands in Springfield's Court Square William Pynchon, founder of City of Springfield; earlier established Roxbury, Massachusetts; in 1649, wrote America's first banned book National Register of Historic Places listings in Springfield, Massachusetts "The City of Progress New City Library, Merrick Park, State Street Springfield, MA".
"The City Of Progress, Winchester Square Springfield, MA".
"Progressive Springfield, Massachusetts by George Storrs Graves".
"Picturesque Springfield and West Springfield, Massachusetts".
"Progressive Springfield, Massachusetts".
"Picturesque Springfield and West Springfield, Massachusetts".
The Price & Lee Co.'s Springfield Directory.
The history of Springfield in Massachusetts for the young: being also in some part the history of other suburbs and metros/cities in the county of Hampden.
"Firsts | Springfield 375".
"New Museum of Springfield History to Open October 10 News".
"New Haven Hartford Springfield Rail Program".
"MGM Springfield Our Vision".
"Springfield Redevelopment Authority: Union Station".
"Amenities | Choose Springfield, Massachusetts".
Springfield present and prospective: the town/city of homes.
"Four dead in Springfield tornadoes | WTNH.com Connecticut".
"Indian Orchard, 01151 | Choose Springfield, Massachusetts".
"Springfield (city), Massachusetts".
"Welcome | Mattoon Street Arts Festival Springfield, Mass".
"City of Springfield, Mass.: Riverfront".
"Springfield Armory National Historic Site (U.S.
"Springfield's NBA Development League Team Unveils Name and Logo".
"MAAC Names Mass - Mutual Center in Springfield Site for 2012 2014 MAAC Basketball Championships".
"Springfield's Pynchon Park, rarely accessible since 1976, reopens after renovations".
"City of Springfield, Mass.: Alphabetical Project Update List".
"Springfield's monuments and memorials | masslive.com".
"Springfield, Massachusetts Neighborhoods on Walk Score".
"Weddings and Corporate Events at the Carriage House at the Barney Estate, Forest Park, Springfield, MA 01108".
"Springfield Schools Superintendent Daniel Warwick touts students' gains in academics, attendance, behavior | masslive.com".
"Towards a More Prosperous Springfield, Massachusetts: Project Introduction and Motivation" (PDF).
"Springfield, Mass.
Springfield City Council https://wmasspi.com/2014/01/council-makes-history-president-fenton-promises-busy-year.html "City of Springfield, Mass.: 2009 Municipal Elections".
"Reinvigorating Springfield's Economy: Lessons from Resurgent Cities" (PDF).
"Court Square Springfield, Mass.: Home Page".
Springfield City Library (April 10, 2012).
City of Springfield.
About the Commission | Springfield Water and Sewer Commission.
Water System History | Springfield Water and Sewer Commission.
West Springfield Massachusetts: A Town History.
Atlas of Springfield City, Massachusetts.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Springfield, Massachusetts.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Springfield, Massachusetts.
Wikisource has the text of a 1911 Encyclop dia Britannica article about Springfield, Massachusetts.
City of Springfield, Massachusetts Official town/city website Springfield, Massachusetts
Categories:
Springfield, Massachusetts - Cities in Massachusetts - County seats in Massachusetts - Early American industrialized centers - Irish-American culture in Massachusetts - Irish-American history - Populated coastal places in Massachusetts - Populated places established in 1636 - Cities in Hampden County, Massachusetts - Populated places on the Connecticut River - Springfield, Massachusetts urbane region - University suburbs in the United States - Russian-American culture in Massachusetts - Hispanic and Latino American culture in Massachusetts - 1636 establishments in Massachusetts
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