Boston Road is Springfield, Massachusetts's principal commercial and retail corridor, located on the eastern edge of the city. [1] The Boston Road neighborhood, historically known as Springfield Plain, [2] is named for being a major waypoint on the Boston Post Road system.
Boston Road remains a commercial stronghold, home to the Eastfield Mall, various big-box stores, and a movie theater.
Springfield city parks, including Five Mile Pond and Loon Pond, provide places to swim, fish, boat, and picnic. The High School of Science & Technology and the controversially renovated Putnam Vocational High School are located in this neighborhood. [3]
The neighborhood also features numerous local and chain restaurants and a handful of independently owned restaurants and bars.
The area was sparsely settled until the 1890s. [4]
The first Friendly's Restaurant opened on Boston Road. [5]
Hampden County is a non-governmental county located in the Pioneer Valley of the U.S. state of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, Hampden County's population was 465,825. Its traditional county seat is Springfield, the Connecticut River Valley's largest city, and economic and cultural capital; with an estimated population of 154,758, approximately one-third of Hampden County residents live in Springfield.
Springfield is the most populous city in and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern Mill River. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 155,929, making it the 3rd most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the 4th most populous city in New England after Boston, Worcester, and Providence. Metropolitan Springfield, as one of two metropolitan areas in Massachusetts, had a population of 699,162 in 2020.
Chicopee is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in western Massachusetts after Springfield. Chicopee is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The communities of Chicopee Center (Cabotville), Chicopee Falls, Willimansett, Fairview, Aldenville, Burnett Road, Smith Highlands and Westover are located within the city.
Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of 4.4 square miles (11 km2) in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of Roxbury. The community seceded from Roxbury during the formation of West Roxbury in 1851 and became part of Boston when West Roxbury was annexed in 1874. In the 19th century, Jamaica Plain became one of the first streetcar suburbs in America and home to a significant portion of Boston's Emerald Necklace of parks, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.
Inman Square is a neighborhood and historic district in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It lies north of Central Square, at the junction of Cambridge, Hampshire, and Inman Streets near the Cambridge–Somerville border.
Forest Park in Springfield, Massachusetts, is one of the largest urban, municipal parks in the United States, covering 735 acres (297 ha) of land overlooking the Connecticut River. Forest Park features a zoo, aquatic gardens, and outdoor amphitheater, in addition to design elements like winding wooded trails, and surprising, expansive views. The site of America's first public, municipal swimming pool, currently, during the holiday months Forest Park hosts a popular high-tech lighting display, known as Bright Nights. Contrary to popular belief, the park was not designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, although it was designed by his firm.
Friendly's is a restaurant chain on the East Coast of the United States. The first location, selling ice cream cones, was in Springfield, Massachusetts, opened in 1935. It was founded by brothers S. Prestley Blake and Curtis Blake. It has 10,000 employees. George Michel is the CEO. It offers diner-style cuisine and highlights its 22 ice cream flavors. Many locations offer an ice-cream only take-out window alongside of the table service option. Friendly's restaurants are found in Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Its ice cream is also sold in some East Coast supermarkets.
Uphams Corner, or Upham's Corner, is a commercial center in Dorchester, the largest neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The intersection of Dudley Street/Stoughton Street and Columbia Road is the heart of Uphams Corner, and one of Dorchester's main business districts.
Metro Center is the original colonial settlement of Springfield, Massachusetts, located beside a bend in the Connecticut River. As of 2019, Metro Center features a majority of Western Massachusetts' most important cultural, business, and civic venues. Metro Center includes Springfield's Central Business District, its Club Quarter, its government center, its convention headquarters, and in recent years, it has become an increasingly popular residential district, especially among young professionals, empty-nesters, and creative types, with a population of approximately 7,000 (2010.)
East Forest Park is a neighborhood in the south central part of Springfield, Massachusetts. The neighborhood borders East Longmeadow, Forest Park, and the Sixteen Acres neighborhood. It is a primarily residential middle-class neighborhood.
Indian Orchard is a village in the City of Springfield, Massachusetts. Located in the northeast corner of Springfield, next to the Chicopee River, Indian Orchard is the city's fifth largest neighborhood.
Pine Point is a neighborhood in Springfield, Massachusetts. Located along Boston Road -- one of Springfield's commercial thoroughfares, home to the Eastfield Mall -- the middle-class Pine Point neighborhoods features streets of cozy capes and ranches as well as some of the most interesting Craftsman style bungalows in the region.
The McKnight National Register Historic District is a neighborhood of Springfield, Massachusetts and was one of the first planned residential neighborhoods in the United States. It is one of the city's smallest neighborhoods, at 306.5 acres.
South End is a neighborhood in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. Interstate 91 separates it from the Connecticut River and the Basketball Hall of Fame museum and entertainment complex.
Sixteen Acres is a neighborhood in Springfield, Massachusetts. Much of the neighborhood was constructed after World War II and is suburban in character. Unlike what its name might suggest, the neighborhood covers 4,506 acres.
The Entertainment District is located in Springfield, Massachusetts, in the Metro Center district surrounding historic Stearns Square. Stearns Square is bordered by Worthington Street to the north and Bridge Street to the south; however, the Entertainment District extends for several city blocks north, south, east and west of Stearns Square. For over 100 years, this area of Springfield, surrounding Stearns Square and Springfield Union Station have been home to the city's most prominent clubs, restaurants, bars, music venues, movies houses, and coffee houses. Currently, there are over 75 restaurants, nightclubs, and bars in Springfield's Entertainment District, making it the largest entertainment district between New York City and Montreal, Canada. The Entertainment District is a primary reason why Springfield was recently ranked among America's Top Ten Best Cities for Singles by Yahoo and Sperling's Best Places.
The City of Springfield, Massachusetts, has 19 distinct neighborhoods. Many feature subdivisions known by other names, such as The X, Hungry Hill, and Mason Square. Springfield's neighborhoods fan out north, south, and east, from its original, colonial settlement in what is now Metro Center.
This is a list of roundabouts in the state of Massachusetts in the United States. Intersections that are called traffic circles or roundabouts in the rest of the US are referred to as "rotaries" in Massachusetts, as well as other parts of New England including parts of Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine Rhode Island, & Vermont.
The Student Prince Cafe & The Fort Restaurant, commonly referred to as The Student Prince, is a German restaurant, established in 1935, located at the corner of Fort and Main Street in the Metro Center neighborhood of Springfield, Massachusetts. The restaurant has been described by The Boston Globe and The New York Times as a city landmark, and has served German foods and beer in its grand hall for 89 years. Closing briefly from June until November 2014, the restaurant was purchased from longtime owner Rudi Scherff by Peter Picknelly of Peter Pan Bus Lines and Andy Yee, of the former Hu Ke Lau restaurant, in an agreement making them general partners, with Scherff remaining "the face of Student Prince". In 2008, Gourmet listed it among "20 Legendary American Restaurants", among the company of Galatoire's, Locke-Ober, and the Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant.
After reaching the top of State Street, the Post Road continues on a plain until it reaches the Chicopee River near Indian Orchard and Ludlow, northeast of the main part of the city. This was called in the old days Springfield Plain.