Springfield is the largest city in Western Massachusetts, the seat of Hampden County, and the economic center of the southern end of the Pioneer Valley. It’s bigger than the rest of the valley combined: a full city, with a museum quadrangle, a major urban park, and the Connecticut River as its western edge.
The Quadrangle
Five museums share a single downtown campus at State and Chestnut streets: the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History, the Springfield Science Museum, and the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden. One admission ticket covers all five, plus the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum at the edge of the quad. Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel was born and raised in Springfield, and the sculpture garden by his stepdaughter Lark Grey Dimond-Cazalet renders his characters at life size in bronze.
Basketball
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on West Columbus Avenue, along the river, honors James Naismith’s invention of the game at the International YMCA Training School (now Springfield College) in December 1891. The current domed building opened in 2002.
Forest Park
Forest Park occupies 735 acres on Springfield’s south side, one of the largest urban parks in New England. It was designed in part by Frederick Law Olmsted’s firm and contains the Zoo at Forest Park, a rose garden, and miles of walking paths.
Getting there
Springfield is the transit hub of Western Massachusetts. Union Station serves Amtrak’s Valley Flyer, Vermonter, Lake Shore Limited, and regional bus lines. I-91, I-291, and the Mass Pike (I-90) all meet in the city.
Sources
- City of Springfield, Massachusetts
- Springfield, Massachusetts — Wikipedia (2020 U.S. Census population: 155,929)