Springfield is the largest
city on the Connecticut River and the county seat of
Hampden
County
, Massachusetts
, United
States
.
In the
2000 census, the
city population was 154,082.
It is the third largest city in Massachusetts
and fourth largest in New
England
(behind Boston
, Worcester
, and Providence
). Springfield has two nicknames —
The
City of Homes and
The City of Firsts.
Historically the first Springfield in the United States, it is the
largest city in
Western
Massachusetts and the
Pioneer
Valley.
Springfield is notable as birthplace of
Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as
Dr. Seuss, as well as the city where
James Naismith invented
basketball.
It is home to the Basketball Hall
of Fame
and the Springfield
Falcons AHL hockey
team. It also holds the western world's largest
collection of Chinese cloisonné at
the G.W.
Vincent Smith Art Museum.
The
Springfield
Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of three counties:
Hampden, Hampshire
, and Franklin
. As of the 2000 census, the Springfield MSA
had a population of 680,014 (though a July 1, 2007 estimate placed
the population at 682,657). It is also part of a larger
metropolitan area known as the
Northeast megalopolis.
In an
economic and cultural partnership with Hartford,
Connecticut
, the Springfield-Hartford region constitutes New
England's Knowledge
Corridor — the second-largest concentration of
institutions of higher learning in New England, after Greater Boston.
History
Colonial settlement
Contact with European explorers, conquerors, and colonists from the
1500s onward brought diseases which decimated the native population
of North America. By 1635, the still-active epidemics had left an
estimated 5,000 Indians in all of New England.
In 1635,
William Pynchon, then the
assistant treasurer of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony, led an
expedition with John Cable and John Woodcock, either up the
Connecticut River or west across land from the Boston settlement,
to the site of the Native American village of Agawam (which was
associated with either the
Pocomtuc or
Nipmuck tribe) on the western bank. The
lands nearest the river were both clear of trees due to occasional
burns by the Indians, and covered in nutrient-rich river silt from
occasional floods.
They constructed a pre-fabricated house
south of the Westfield River in what
is now Agawam,
Massachusetts
. Cable and Woodcock were supplied with food
and goods to trade over the winter.
In 1636, Pynchon led a settlement expedition with at least seven
other men, among them
Deacon Samuel
Chapin. The English settlers and their livestock traveled over
land from the existing settlements in eastern Massachusetts, while
some supplies were transported by boat. Pynchon's party purchased
land on both sides of river from the 18 inhabitants of the village,
representing the inner tracts of what is now Agawam, West
Springfield, Longmeadow, Springfield, and Chicopee. The Indians
retained foraging and hunting rights, the rights to their existing
farmlands, and were granted the right to compensation if the
English cattle ruined their corn crops.
The
settlement was originally named Agawam Plantation, but in 1640 it
was renamed Springfield after the village near Chelmsford
, Essex in England
where Pynchon was born.
After warnings about the west side being prone to flooding, and to
"avoid trespassing" on the reserved Indian lands, the settlement
moved to the less favorable farmland on the east side of the river,
and the initial land grants to English families were made there.
Long, narrow plots of farmland were created, extending out from the
river, in addition to more distant forested "wood lots". A
warehouse was also constructed at Warehouse Point in Connecticut,
to facilitate the main profit-generating industry for the
settlement - trade with the Indians for beaver skins.
Purchases of large swaths of land from the Indians continued
throughout the 1600s, enlarging Springfield's territory and forming
other colonial towns elsewhere in the Pioneer Valley. Westfield was
the westernmost settlement of Massachusetts Bay Colony until 1725,
making Springfield a "frontier town" for a number of decades. Over
decades and centuries, portions of Springfield were sectioned off
to form neighboring towns.
Due to imprecision in surveying the colonial borders, Springfield
was soon embroiled in a boundary dispute between the Massachusetts
Bay Colony and the
Connecticut
Colony which was not resolved until 1803-4. (See the article on
the
History
of Massachusetts.) As a result, some lands originally
administered by Springfield are now in Connecticut.
Springfield remained a small working town when its security was
threatened in 1675, during
King
Philip's War. The leader of the
Wampanoag Indian tribe,
Wamsutta, died shortly after being questioned at
gunpoint by Plymouth colonists. Soon thereafter, the war began.
Wamsutta's brother and successor,
Metacomet, known as Philip to the colonists,
started war with the colony to avenge his brother's death; the
Pocomtuc tribe attacked Springfield and
destroyed more than half the town on October 5, 1675.
Springfield Armory
Springfield Armory
During
the 1770s, George Washington
selected Springfield as the site of the National
Armory
. By the 1780s the Arsenal was a major
ammunition and weapons depot. The term
Springfield Rifle may refer to any sort of
arms produced by the Springfield Armory for the
United States armed forces.
In 1787 poor farmers from western Massachusetts, led by
Daniel Shays, tried to seize the arms at
Springfield. This came to be known as
Shays's Rebellion, and was a key event
leading to the Federal
Constitutional
Convention. Those involved in the rebellion planned to use the
weapons to force the closure of the Commonwealth and county courts,
which were seizing their lands for debt. Shays Rebellion played an
important part in moving the United States away from the
Articles of Confederation to the
current
Constitution.
Industrialization
Main Street, looking north, 1905
The Armory played an important role in the early Industrial
Revolution as it became a center of invention and development.
Thomas Blanchard and his lathe led
to an increased use of
interchangeable parts and
mass production. Springfield and its Armory
played a key role in the
Industrial Revolution.
Springfield is known as the
City of Homes, a nickname
given to it in the late 19th century due to its many
Victorian mansion, as well as
multitudes of single-family houses inhabited by workers.
Wason Manufacturing
Company, one of the earliest makers of railway passenger coach
equipment in the United States, was established in Springfield in
1845.
On May 2, 1849 the Springfield Railroad was chartered to build from
Springfield to the Connecticut state line. By the 1870s it had
become the
Springfield and New London
Railroad.
In 1856,
Horace Smith and
Daniel B. Wesson formed
Smith & Wesson to manufacture
revolvers. The company headquarters are
still located in Springfield.
Charles Gilbert and
John Barker formed the Gilbert and Barker
Manufacturing Company in 1865.
The company produced gasoline pumps in
Springfield until moving to West
Springfield, Massachusetts
in 1912. The company became Gilbarco and moved to Greensboro,
North Carolina
in 1965[13888].
Charles and
Frank Duryea, built a
gasoline powered
automobile in their bicycle garage on Taylor
Street in 1893. The
Duryea
Motor Wagon's first test was conducted on Howard Bemis's farm
on September 20, 1893 and soon became to be the first ever offered
for sale. The Duryeas were joined in the
automobile industry in 1900 by
Skene (which disappeared the next year)
and
Knox (which survived until
1914).
Indian Motorcycles were
manufactured in Springfield from 1901 to 1953. Chief and Scout
models were the best sellers from the 1920s to the 1950s. The
Hendee Manufacturing Company, Indian's parent company, also
manufactured other products such as
aircraft engines,
bicycles, boat motors, and
air conditioners.
From 1921 to 1931 the only North American
Rolls-Royce factory was in Springfield
and assembled nearly 3000
Silver Ghost and
Phantom before production was halted
by the
Great Depression and the
decision by Rolls Royce not to retool the plant.
[13889]
Granville Brothers
Aircraft manufactured aircraft at Springfield Airport from 1929
until their
bankruptcy in 1934. They are
best known for the trophy and speed record holding Senior Sportster
series of racing aircraft.
Floods
In 1936, Springfield suffered its most devastating natural
disaster. The Connecticut River flooded, reaching record heights,
inundating the South End and the North End where some of
Springfield's finest houses stood. Damages were estimated at
$200,000,000 in 1936. This
flood occurred at the height of the Great Depression. The water
damage was repaired after
WPA money was made available
to Springfield. However, large riverfront portions of the North and
South Ends no longer exist.
Two years later, water hit Springfield again. The
New England Hurricane of 1938
came up the east coast of the United States on September 21, 1938,
flooding the Connecticut River Valley once again.
Birthplace of basketball
The city of Springfield is most commonly known as the birthplace of
basketball. In 1891, James Naismith, a physical education teacher
in Springfield, invented the sport at the Springfield
YMCA, now
Springfield
College, to fill the gap between the football and baseball
seasons. The sport quickly became popular worldwide. On February
17, 1968, The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame was opened
on the Springfield College campus, which was replaced by a larger
facility on the east bank of the Connecticut river in 1985. In
2002, a newer facility for the Hall of Fame opened next to the
existing site. Shaped like a
basketball and illuminated at night, it
has become a memorable addition to the
cityscape. The first building to serve as an
indoor basketball court resides at
Wilbraham and Monson Academy
and has since been converted into a dormitory (Smith Hall).
State takeover
After an ongoing fiscal crisis, the
Massachusetts General Court
granted control of the city (especially finance, personnel, and
real estate matters) to the Springfield Finance Control Board on
June 30, 2004. The Board was composed of three appointees of the
State Secretary of Administration and Finance, the Mayor, and the
President of the City Council, and is expected to be in charge of
the city until June 30, 2009.
The fiscal problems had already resulted in wage freezes, cuts in
city services, fee increases, and layoffs.
The FCB operated under the overall direction of
Massachusetts
Secretary of Finance and Administration Leslie Kirwan. The FCB
legislation included a state loan of $52 million to be paid back
with future city tax receipts. A $20 million grant was originally
included, but then-
House
Speaker Thomas Finneran
eliminated that section, fearing it would invite fiscal
irresponsibility among other municipalities. Initial estimates
placed the city's operating deficit at over $40 million
annually.
The original FCB bill filed by then-
Governor Mitt Romney included a suspension of
Chapter 150E, the
state law that defines the collective bargaining process for public
employees (state employees are not covered by federal labor laws).
Opposition from the unions eliminated that section.
City and state officials disagree over the causes. The State blamed
overspending relative to income by the city. Municipal officials
blame dwindling local aid during the statewide financial crisis in
2003. Other observers noted a weak economy and years of
mismanagement and corruption in city government.
On June 30, 2009, the State of Massachusetts turned the Finance
Control Board back to the City of Springfield.
Geography
Springfield is located at (42.112411, -72.547455). According to the
United States Census
Bureau, the city has a total area of 33.2 square miles
(86.0 km²), of which, 32.1 square miles (83.1 km²)
of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) of it
(3.31%) is water.
Springfield sits on the bank of the Connecticut River, just a few
miles north of the border between Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Along the river, the city is fairly low and flat. Moving outward
from the river, the terrain becomes more hilly, most prominently
along State Street and Belmont Avenue.
Springfield is typically divided up into eighteen distinct
neighborhoods. They are, as defined by the city Election
commission: Bay, Boston Road, Brightwood, East Forest Park, East
Springfield, Forest Park, Indian Orchard, Liberty Heights,
McKnight, Memorial Square, Metro Center, North End, Old Hill, Pine
Point, Six Corners, Sixteen Acres, South End, and Upper Hill. Their
exact boundaries are disputed by Census data, civic wards, precinct
borders, zip codes, and the opinions of the city's citizens. Many
of the neighborhoods are subdivided again according to landmarks or
voting precincts. Some names are unofficial, but are used by area
residents nonetheless. For example, the Hollywood section in the
South End actually refers to a housing complex, and Mason Square
(formally known as Winchester Square) is the central intersection
in the McKnight neighborhood.
Forest Park lies in the
southwestern part of the city, along the border with affluent
Longmeadow,
Massachusetts
. The park is one of the largest municipal
parks in the United States.
The city shares borders with the towns of
Longmeadow, East
Longmeadow
, Wilbraham
, Ludlow
and the city of Chicopee. The cities of
Agawam, and West Springfield are across the Connecticut River.
The city
owns Cobble Mountain Reservoir, its water supply, located in the
towns of Blandford
, Granville
, and Russell
, at the western edge of Hampden County. It
also owns Franconia Golf Course, located mostly in East
Longmeadow.
Climate
Springfield's climate is, as with the rest of New England,
classified as
humid continental
(hot summer subtype). Winters are cold; in January the average high
is , while the low is . Summers are very warm; in July the average
high is , and the average low is .
Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year, with an
average annual precipitation of 48.53 in (1,233 mm). Winter
snowfall averages about 49 in (1,245 mm).
Demographics
As of the 2000 census, there were 152,082 people, 57,130
households, and 36,391 families residing in the city. The
population density was 4,737.7 people per
square mile (1,829.3/km²). There are nearly 2 million residents in
the greater Springfield-Hartford metro region. In Springfield
proper, there were 61,172 housing units at an average density of
1,905.6/sq mi (735.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was
56.11%
White, 1.92%
Asian, 0.09%
Pacific Islander, 21.01%
African American,
0.37%
Native American,
16.45% from
other races, and
4.04% from two or more races. 27.18% of the population were
Hispanic of any race.
Ancestries include:
Irish (12.6%),
Italian (9.3%),
French (8.2%),
Polish (6.0%), and
English (4.8%).
[13890]
There were 57,130 households out of which 33.7% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 34.7% were married couples living
together, 23.8% had a female householder with no husband present,
and 36.3% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up
of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years
of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the
average family size was 3.19.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.9% under the age
of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to
64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was
31.7 years. For every 100 females there were 89 males. For every
100 females age 18 and over, there were 84 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,417, and the
median income for a family was $36,285. Males had a median income
of $32,396 versus $26,536 for females. The
per capita income for the city was
$15,232. 19.3% of families and 23.1% of the population were below
the
poverty line, including 34.3% of
those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.
The 2007 Springfield, MA, population is 151,176. 51.80% of people
are white, 22.36% are black, 2.37% are Asian, 0.46% are native
American, and 22.97% claim 'Other'.
30.90% of the people in Springfield, MA, claim Hispanic ethnicity,
69.10% claim non-Hispanic.
As of 2007 The median age is 32.7. The US median is 37.6. 44.06% of
people in Springfield, MA, are married. 10.10% are divorced.
The average household size is 2.63 people. 15.04% of people are
married, with children. 18.53% have children, but are single.
Government
Springfield became a city on May 25, 1852, by decree of the
Massachusetts
Legislature. Springfield, like all municipalities in
Massachusetts, enjoys limited
home rule.
Prior to the Control Board, Springfield's government had the power
to establish commissions, pass city ordinances, set tax rates,
write a budget, and other miscellaneous operations specifically
relating to the city. The current
city
charter, in effect since 1959, uses a "strong mayor" government
with most power concentrated in the
mayor, as in Boston and
elsewhere. The mayor representing the city's executive branch
presents the budget, appoints commissioners and department heads,
and in general runs the city. The Mayor is former City Councilor
Domenic Sarno, elected November 6, 2007 by a margin of 52.54% to
47.18% against incumbent Charles Ryan. He took office in January,
2008. In November 2009, Sarno won reelection.
The
City Council, consisting of nine
members, is the city's legislative branch. Each of the members are
elected at-large, along with the mayor, every odd numbered year. It
passes the budget, authorizes bond sales, holds hearings, creates
departments and commissions, and amends zoning laws. The city
council appoints a president who becomes acting mayor should a
vacancy occur in the office.
The mayor's office and city council chambers are in city hall -
part of the
Municipal
Group in downtown Springfield. The Finance Control Board met
there as well.
| Springfield City Council 2008-2009 |
- James J. Ferrera III
- William T. Foley, President
- Patrick Markey
- Rosemarie Mazza-Moriarty
- Timothy J. Rooke
- Bruce W. Stebbins, Vice-President
- Jose Tosado
- Kateri Walsh
- Bud L. Williams
|
Switch to Ward Representation
In the past, efforts have been made to provide each of the city's
eight wards a seat in the city council, instead of the current
at-large format. There would still be some at-large seats under
this format. The primary argument for this has been that City
Councilors currently live in only four of the city's wards. An
initiative to change the composition failed to pass the City
Council twice. In 2007 More recently Mayor Charles V. Ryan and City
Councilor Jose Tosedo proposed a home-rule amendment that would
expand the council to thirteen members adding four seats to the
existing nine member at large system, but allocated between eight
ward and five at large seats. This home-rule petition was adopted
by the City Council 8-1, and was later passed by the State Senate
and House and signed by the Governor. On election day, November 6,
2007, city residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of changing the
City Council and School Committee. The ballot initiative that
established a new council with five at-large seats and eight ward
seats passed 3-1. On November 3, 2009, Springfield held
first-in-a-generation ward elections.
The results of the 2009 election were as follows.
| Springfield City Council-Elect 2009 |
- Thomas Ashe—At-Large
- James J. Ferrera III(i)--At-Large
- Timothy J. Rooke(i)--At-Large
- Jose Tosado(i)--At-Large
- Kateri Walsh(i)--At-Large
- Zaida Luna—Ward 1
- Michael Fenton—Ward 2
- Melvin Edwards—Ward 3
- E. Henry Twiggs—Ward 4
- Clodo Concepcion—Ward 5
- Keith Wright—Ward 6
- Tim Allen—Ward 7
- John Lysak—Ward 8
|
Many proponents of ward representation argue that the slim
Caucasian majority in Springfield keeps the city council out of
touch with the needs of Springfield's large black and Hispanic
populations, and that the cost of running a city-wide campaign is
prohibitively high for local black or Hispanic politicians who
could represent their home wards more effectively than they are
currently being represented. Others argue that some blacks and
Hispanics have run for office, and that the current minority
representation on the Council would not increase under ward
representation as proposed. Some citizens believe that the problem
might be corrected by greater voter turnout among blacks and
Hispanics. The plaintiffs hoped to postpone the 2005 municipal
election pending the judge's ruling, but the motion was denied. The
case itself is ongoing; however, further action by the Court has
been stayed pending the local ballot measure.
Courts
Like every other municipality in Massachusetts, the city has no
judicial branch itself. Rather, it uses the Springfield based state
courts, which include Springfield district court and Hampden County
Superior Court. The
Federal
District Court also hears cases regularly in Springfield.
Education
Public schools
Springfield has the third largest school district in Massachusetts.
It operates 38 elementary schools, six high schools, six middle
schools (6–8) and seven specialized schools. The main high schools
in the city include the High School of Commerce, Springfield
Central High School, Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical High
School, and the High School of Science and Technology, better known
as Sci-Tech. The city School Committee recently passed a new
neighborhood school program to improve schools and reduce the
growing busing costs associated with the current plan. The plan
faces stiff opposition from parents and minority groups who claim
that the schools are still unequal. The city is required under a
1970s court order to balance schools racially which had
necessitated busing. However, since then, the city and the school's
population has shifted and many of the neighborhoods are more
integrated, calling into question
the need for busing at all. Though the plan is likely to be
challenged in court, the state
Board
of Education decided it did not have authority to review it,
sidestepping the volatile issue while effectively blessing it.
Springfield also has a charter school SABIS International which is
one the top ranking schools ranked 1299 of all high schools that
puts it in the top 5% of all schools in America.
Private schools
The
Roman
Catholic Diocese of Springfield operates five
Catholic elementary schools in the city, all of
which will be consolidated into a single entity, St. Michael's
Academy, in the autumn of 2009.
The diocese also runs Cathedral High School
, which is the largest Catholic high school in the
area.
A non-denominational Christian school, the Pioneer Valley Christian
School, is located in the Sixteen Acres neighborhood of the
city.
Two
nonsectarian schools are also
located in Springfield: The
MacDuffie
School, which was founded in 1890 and teaches grades six though
twelve, and Academy Hill, which teaches
kindergarten through grade eight.
Higher education
Greater Springfield boasts the second-largest concentration of
institutions of higher learning in New England.
The City of
Springfield is home to three four-year colleges: Springfield College, Western New England College and
American
International College
. Springfield Technical Community
College
is on the grounds of the former Springfield
Armory. The greater Springfield area is home to ten
additional colleges and universities: Elms
College, Westfield State College
, Amherst
College
, Mount Holyoke College
, Smith
College
, Bay Path
College
, Hampshire College
, the University of Massachusetts
at Amherst,Holyoke Community College
, and The
Career Institute of American International
College.
Economy
Springfield is the economic center of western Massachusetts.
Greater Springfield is largest concentration of retail
establishments in the area. Springfield is also home to the largest
Fortune 500 company in Massachusetts.
Baystate Health is the city's largest
employer with over 10,000 employees.
With it's high concentration of institutes of higher learning and
large medical centers such as Baystate Medical Center, the area has
a number of
biotech firms. Springfield
also has a regional
Shriners
Hospital.
Springfield is home to Baystate Health, the
largest medical center in western New England and the Western
Campus of Tufts
University
. Baystate
Medical Center is currently adding a $500 Million addition, the
largest current construction project in New England.
As with every other northern U.S. industrial city, Springfield has
had economic challenges, due largely to a decline in manufacturing.
Many major companies that maintained factories in the city closed
their facilities, moving to the suburbs or out of New England
altogether.
A downtown revitalization project known as
Baystate West,
was completed in 1973. The construction contributed to
Springfield's modern skyline. Following Baystate West, many other
modern buildings were constructed through the 1980s. Since the 90s
though, no tall buildings have been built. However, there have been
several important projects during this time such as the $120
Million Civic Center renovation and the $150 Million new Basketball
Hall of Fame.
The
Eastfield
Mall
was built in Springfield's more suburban like
Sixteen Acres neighborhood in 1969. Consequently,
Springfield's largest retail area is now on Boston Road, on the
northeastern edge of the city, rather than downtown. The
Holyoke Mall at Ingleside, the
largest mall in western New England, opened in the 1980s in nearby
Holyoke.
Many banks headquartered in Springfield closed or merged with
larger banks. Several local and regional banks still remain such as
Hampden Bank,
TD Banknorth, and the Bank of Western
Massachusetts remain in Springfield.
As of 2009 Greater Springfield ranks as the 24th most important
high-tech center in the United States with almost 14,000 high-tech
jobs.
Companies
Former Springfield Businesses
Culture
The Dr. Seuss Memorial and Museum of
Fine Arts at The Quadrangle
Springfield retains strong ethnic characteristics seen in the
variety of restaurants available in all parts of the city.
Springfield is home to many fine museums at
The
Quadrangle along with
its main library. The collection includes the first
planetarium in the country and the Dr Suess National Memorial.
Springfield also has its own
orchestra.
Greater Springfield is also home to the
Eastern States Exposition, also
known as the "Big E". The Big E acts as New England's state fair.
The fair is one of the largest in the country and brings thousands
of tourists to the area each September.
Due to its distance from Boston, many residents of Springfield feel
that the city and region have been ignored by the powers that be in
the eastern parts of the state. Said powers are periodically
accused of lumping Springfield and its formerly industrial
neighbors together with the rest of the agricultural areas west of
Worcester.
Some have observed, sarcastically, that Springfield maintains a
better relationship with Hartford than with Boston.
Springfield is
physically closer to Hartford, shares a major interstate highway, and Bradley
International Airport
. Sometimes they are considered twin cities
.
Parks
Country Home Magazine named Springfield one of the "Greenest
Cities" in the Country. Among others, the city is home to Forest
Park, one of the largest municipal parks in the country. The park
was designed by
Frederick Law
Olmstead.
Points of interest
- The Quadrangle, a grouping of art, history and science museums
as well as the Dr Seuss National Memorial.
- Bright
Nights is a cultural attraction during the Christmas season. A 2+ mile road in
Forest Park is decorated
with lights in the form of various characters and scenes, many of
which are animated, including some from the works of Springfield
native Dr. Seuss.
- CityStage and Symphony Hall offer concerts,
off-Broadway productions, children's programming, and guest
speakers.
- St. Michael's
Cathedral
- Basketball Hall of Fame
City of Firsts
Springfield is known as the City of First because of the many
inventions that were brought into the world here. Among these
are:
National Register of Historic Places
Springfield has many locations and buildings on the
National Register of
Historic Places, including:
- Apremont Triangle Historic District
- Bangs Block
- Baystate Corset Block
- Belle and Franklin Streets Historic District
- Bicycle Club Building
- Burbach Block
- Carlton House Block
- Chapin National Bank Building
- Colonial Block
- Court Square Historic District
- Cutler and Porter Block
- Downtown Springfield Railroad District
- Driscoll's Block
- Edisonia Theater Block
- Forest Park Heights Historic District
- Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
- McKnight District
- Milton-Bradley Company
- Quadrangle—Mattoon Historic District
- Smith Carriage Company District
- Springfield Armory National Historic Site
- Springfield Fire & Marine Insurance Co.
- Upper Worthington Historic District
Sports
Besides Springfield's historic connection with basketball, the city
has a rich sporting history.
Volleyball
was invented in the adjacent city of Holyoke, and the first
exhibition match was held in 1896 at the
International YMCA Training
School.
Ice hockey has been played professionally in
Springfield since the 1920s, and the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League (now located
in Peoria,
Illinois
) was the oldest minor league hockey franchise in
existence. In 1994 the team relocated to
Worcester and was replaced by the current Springfield Falcons, who play at the
MassMutual
Center
. Springfield is still home to the league
office of the
American Hockey
League. For parts of two seasons (1978-80) the
NHL Hartford Whalers played in Springfield
while their arena was undergoing repairs after a roof collapse.
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.
Basketball remains a major factor in the city. The Hall of Fame
Tip-Off Classic has been the semi-official start to the college
basketball season for many years, and the NCAA Division II
championships are usually held in Springfield. The
New England Blizzard of the
ABL played
its first game in Springfield, and several minor pro men's and
women's teams have called the 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 is home to the
Springfield
Armor of the
NBA Development
League, to begin play for the 2009-10 season with home games at
the MassMutual Center. The Armor are affiliated with the
New Jersey Nets,
New York Knicks, and
Philadelphia 76ers.
The city has had professional baseball. The
Springfield Giants of the Single- and
Double-A
Eastern League
played between 1957 and 1965. The team was quite successful,
winning consecutive championships in 1959, 1960 and 1961, by
startling coincidence the same seasons in which the Springfield
Indians won three straight
Calder Cup
championships in hockey. The Giants played at Pyncheon Park by the
waterfront, and were forced to move when Pyncheon Park's
grandstands were destroyed by fire. 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. For many years before the Giants, Springfield was also a
member of the Eastern League, between 1893 and 1943. Generally the
team was named the
Ponies, but it
also carried the nicknames of "Maroons" (1895), "Green Sox" (1917),
"Hampdens" (1920-21), "Rifles (1932, 1942-43) and "Nationals"
(1939-41).
Media
Newspaper
Springfield's largest local
newspaper is
The Republican. It was
formerly the
Springfield Union-News & Sunday
Republican. Smaller papers such as
The
Reminder and the
Valley Advocate also serve
Greater Springfield.Other newspapers
include
Predvestnik (a
Russian language newspaper) and
El Pueblo Latino, which serves the Hispanic community, and Unity
First which serves the African-American community.
Television
Springfield has a long history of broadcast television, including
two of the oldest
UHF television stations on the air
today.
+WFXQ-CA rebroadcasts WWLP.
- WWLP
, UHF 22
(Digital 11). WWLP is the ((NBC)) affiliate for the area. While WWLP is
licensed to Springfield, they moved their studios to nearby
Chicopee from their old studios atop Provin Mountain
. WWLP is the oldest TV station to air
regularly scheduled programming in the market, launching its
schedule on March 17, 1953, on Channel 61. WWLP also operated
WRLP, a UHF station licensed to Greenfield
, whose transmitter was in Winchester,
New Hampshire
as well as W69AQ, a low power station that
transmitted from the WWLP tower on Provin Mountain. WWLP
remains the only full-power station in the market with an analog
television signal on the air.
- WGGB
, UHF 40
(Digital 40). WGGB is the ((ABC)) and primary ((Fox)), secondary ((MyNetworkTV)) affiliate for the area. WGGB's
studios are on Liberty Street near the Chicopee line. WGGB
(originally WHYN) signed on on April 1, 1953 on Channel 55. In
1958, WHYN switched to UHF 40. Guy Gannett Broadcasting bought the
station in 1979 and changed its call sign to the current WGGB-TV
effective at the start of the following year. In 2008, WGGB
launched a secondary service called "Fox 6", named after its
channel position on the local Comcast cable
lineup. FOX6 also appears on WGGB's DTV sub-channel 40.2. WGGB is the only
locally owned station, owned by businessman John G. Gormally.
WGGB's analog television signal signed off permanently in late
November 2008, due to a transmitter failure.
- WGBY
, UHF 57
(Digital 58 until April 18, 2009, Digital 22
thereafter). WGBY is the ((PBS))
affiliate for the area. WGBY's studios are in downtown Springfield,
near Interstate 91 and the Conrail train
lines. WGBY signed on in 1963. WGBY is owned by Boston-based
WGBH. WGBY signed off their analog signal
permanently in November 2008, to allow for the replacement of
transmission antennas.
- WSHM
, UHF 67
(to be Digital 41/WSHM-LD), WSHM is owned and operated by Meridith
Broadcasting. WSHM is Springfield's ((CBS)) affiliate operated by Hartford's WFSB. WSHM has
studios in the Monarch Tower in downtown Springfield. WSHM-LP does
local newscasts, including a 10pm news on cable and online. They
are the original 10pm newscast in the Springfield market. WSHM is
the former W67DF, a low-power station run by Trinity Broadcasting.
WSHM is referred to as "CBS 3", denoting its cable channel
assignment within the market and it is a way to have long-time
viewers of WFSB stay with WSHM.
Springfield does not have its own CW affiliate. Instead CW is
carried on the two local cable operators via a closed circuit
satellite feed.
Cable Operators
Springfield proper is serviced exclusively by
Comcast cable. Springfield had a unique "dual plant"
cable system from 1980 until 2001. All homes wired for cable had
two cable drops run into their house.
Radio
Springfield was home to the first
commercially licensed radio station and the oldest radio station of
any kind in New England, WBZ
, which
moved to Boston in 1931.
Transportation
Ground
The Pioneer Valley is often referred to as the "Crossroads of New
England" because of the crossing of major east-west and north-south
railroads.
While the same railways exist and operate
today, the city is also served by a number of Interstate Highways including I-90 (Mass Pike)
and I-91, which connect New Haven
, Hartford, Holyoke, Northampton
, and Vermont
to Springfield. One of the few spurs of I-91
in Massachusetts,
I-291, runs through the city
and provides a secondary connection between I-90 and I-91. (There
is an unnumbered connector in West Springfield.)
Rail
Springfield also has an Amtrak station
served by trains destined for New York City
, Washington, D.C.
, Boston, Vermont, and Chicago
. Amtrak operates out of its own station
facility built into one of the old platforms of the city's old
train station on Frank B. Murray St. with an entrance on Lyman
street, which lies on the side of the railroad embankment opposite
the station.
Plans exist for redevelopment of the city's Union Station into an
Intermodal Transportation facility for both Amtrak and bus lines.
While significant federal, state, and civic investment has been
appropriated for this project, disputes between the owners of the
right-of-way and the planners in charge of the project. As of June
8, 2007, new funding has been awarded to create a new revised
development plan.
Plans also exist for a
New
Haven-Hartford-Springfield Commuter Rail Line. As of August
2006, the Connecticut General Assembly has committed $146 million
to the project, which is considered only a first step. In order to
complete the project, the state of Connecticut must provide further
funding, as must the state of Massachusetts if the line is to cross
the state line. The line could become operational as soon as
2011.
Bus
Buses running into the city use a facility owned and operated by
Peter Pan Bus Lines, located on the corner of Main and Liberty
streets. The
Pioneer
Valley Transit Authority is the regional public transit
provider, operating a fleet of buses from the Peter Pan terminal
and its main garage on Main Street.
Air
The
Springfield-Hartford area is served by Bradley
International Airport in nearby Windsor Locks, Connecticut
and Westover Metropolitan Airport
in Chicopee.
Westover Metropolitan is nearby to Springfield and is 5 miles
(8 km) from downtown. It is 3 miles (5 km) from the
Massachusetts Turnpike.
Springfield and Hartford are located 25 miles (40 km) apart
with Bradley International between them.
Notable residents
- Creighton Williams Abrams, Jr.,
U.S. Army general and Chief of Staff of the
United States Army
- Travis Best, National Basketball
Association player
- Nina Blackwood, original MTV VJ and Sirius
Satellite Radio DJ
- Ron Brace, National Football League
player
- Milton Bradley, games inventor
and manufacturer
- Dr. John H. Breck, Sr., founder of Breck Shampoo
- John Brown,
abolitionist
- Nick Buoniconti, National
Football League Hall of
Famer
- Thornton Burgess, children's
author
- John Cena, WWE
wrestler
- Amzi Chapin, cabinetmaker,
singing-school teacher and shapenote composer
- Thornton Chase, the first
American convert to the Bahá'í
Faith
- Bill Danoff, member of Starland Vocal Band and wrote #1 hit
"Afternoon Delight"
- Vinny Del Negro, National
Basketball Association player and head coach
- Eddie Fontaine, singer
- Theodore Foley, Roman Catholic priest
- June Foray, voice actress for
animated films
- Carole Fredericks, singer
- John Garand, weapons inventor
- Ashley Gearing, country music
artist
- Theodor Seuss Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss), American writer and cartoonist best
known for his classic children's books
- Mike Gravel, Senator from
Alaska
- George M. Hendee and Carl Oscar Hedström, co-founders, Indian Motorcycle Manufacturing
Company
- Alan Kay, computer scientist
- Derek Kellogg - University of
Massachusetts men's basketball head coach
- Stanley King,
eleventh president of Amherst College
- Bob Kudelski, professional hockey
player
- Timothy Leary, American writer,
psychologist and advocate of psychedelic drug research and use
- Tony MacAlpine, American
jazz/rock/fusion musician
- Arthur MacArthur, Jr.,
U.S. Army general, father of Douglas
MacArthur
- Taj Mahal, blues
musician
- Rabbit Maranville,
professional baseball player
- Tim Mayotte, professional tennis
player
- Mark Mulcahy, musician
- James Naismith, inventor of
basketball
- Tom Newberry, football player
- Larry O'Brien, Postmaster General,
Democratic National
Committee chairman and Commissioner of the National Basketball
Association.
- Robert Parker, author
- Joe Philbin, Offensive Coordinator
of the Green Bay Packers
- Eleanor Powell, actress
- William Pynchon, founder of the
City of Springfield
- William Marsh Rice, founded
Rice University, Houston, Texas
- Peter Robinson,
actor and freak show performer
- Kurt Russell, actor
- Daniel Shays, leader of the
Shays Rebellion
- Eddie Shore, professional hockey
player and owner
- Stass Shpanin, contemporary visual
artist included in the Guinness Book of World
Records as the Youngest Professional Artist in the World
- Tommy Tallarico, video game
music composer
- Antonio Thomas, professional
wrestler
- George Tomasini, film
editor
- Mike Trombley, former Major League Baseball Pitcher
- Paige Turco, actress
- Daniel Baird Wesson, weapons
inventor and founder of Smith &
Wesson
- Maura West, actress
- Wanita "D. Woods"
Woodgette, hip hop artist
- Wilbur Fenelon Young, founder of W. F.
Young, Inc.
- Maura West, actress
Bands and artists from Springfield
Notes
References
- Lepore, Jill. (1998). The Name of War: King Philip's War
and the Origins of American Identity. New York: Vintage Books.
ISBN 0-375-70262-8.
- Swift, Esther M. West Springfield Massachusetts: A Town
History. Copyright 1969, Town of West Springfield, Massachusetts.
Library of Congress Card Catalog Number 77-96767. West Springfield
Heritage Association; printed by F.A. Bassette Company,
Springfield, Massachusetts.
- Wall & Gray. 1871 Atlas of Massachusetts. Map of Massachusetts. USA. New England. Counties - Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden, Worcester, Middlesex, Essex and Norfolk, Boston - Suffolk, Plymouth, Bristol, Barnstable and Dukes (Cape Cod). Cities -
Springfield, Worcester, Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill, Newburyport, Salem, Lynn, Taunton, Fall River. New Bedford. These 1871 maps of the Counties
and Cities are useful to see the roads and rail lines.
- Beers,D.G. 1872 Atlas of Essex County Map of Massachusetts Plate 5. Click on the map
for a very large image. Also see map of 1872 Essex County Plate 7.
External links
(southern part)
in 1968
-AM in
Boston)
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