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.
Mulberry Street is a historic street and tourist destination in Springfield, Massachusetts. Made famous by Dr. Seuss' first children's book And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, the street is less than one mile from Springfield's Metro Center neighborhood, the Springfield Armory, and the Quadrangle. It is also less than one mile southwest of Dr. Seuss' boyhood home on Fairfield Street.
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 Springfield, Massachusetts. Located in the northeast corner of Springfield, next to the Chicopee River, Indian Orchard is the city's fifth largest neighborhood.
East Springfield is a neighborhood located in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Liberty Heights is a neighborhood in Springfield, Massachusetts, named for its main thoroughfare of Liberty Street.
The Six Corners and Maple Heights neighborhoods are located in Springfield, Massachusetts. They are often combined for political purposes, although they feature dramatically different political and socioeconomic characteristics.
Boston Road is Springfield, Massachusetts's principal commercial and retail corridor, located on the eastern edge of the city. The Boston Road neighborhood, historically known as Springfield Plain, is named for being a major waypoint on the Boston Post Road system.
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.
The North End of Springfield, Massachusetts, is a name that describes three distinct Springfield neighborhoods: Brightwood, Memorial Square, and Liberty Heights. For more than a century, Springfield's North End neighborhood has served as a first home for some of the city's various immigrant communities, from Greeks in Memorial Square to Russians in Liberty Heights. As of 2011, the contemporary Puerto Rican flavor of the North End is evident in numerous banners depicting traditional Carnival masks and the coquí, Puerto Rico's unofficial mascot.
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.
The Brightwood neighborhood of Springfield, Massachusetts, is located in the northwest corner of the city, along the Connecticut River; however, it is separated from the rest of Springfield by the Interstate 91 elevated highway. Many recent academic papers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst' School of Urban Design have focused on the detrimental physical and sociological effects that Interstate 91 has had on the Brightwood neighborhood and on Springfield in general.
The Bay neighborhood is located in Springfield, Massachusetts. It covers 556.5 acres of land, making it one of the city's smallest neighborhoods.
Upper Hill is a neighborhood in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts.
Watershops Pond is a lake in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. Located in the Upper Hill neighborhood, it is the city's second-largest body of water, after the Connecticut River. Watershops Pond features 7 miles of shorelines and 186 acres. It was a major site for fishing, featuring species ranging from Black Crappie, Bluegill, Brown Trout, Chain Pickerel, Channel Catfish, Common Carp, Largemouth Bass, Pumpkinseed, Rainbow Trout, and Yellow Bass. The city after multiple lowering of the dam draining the pins for lengthy periods had destroyed the habitat. Not only had it decimated the fish population, leaving primarily pumpkinseed, calico bass, and carp, it also lost aquatic mammals such as the muskrat. The pond was formed by damming the Mill River, which flows out of the westernmost end and continues 1.25 miles until its confluence with the Connecticut River.
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 Mill River is a 1.25-mile-long (2.01 km) tributary of the Connecticut River in Springfield, Massachusetts. It flows from Watershops Pond to its confluence with the Connecticut River. It is referred to as "The Miracle Mile" in a 2009 master's thesis that outlines possibilities for reclaiming the river's mouth as a recreational area. As of 2011, the final 350 feet (110 m) of the river, including its mouth, is confined in a pipe underneath Interstate 91, railroad tracks and a car dealership. Many Springfield residents have bemoaned the loss of the Mill River as a recreational area, and hope to gain greater access to both it and the Connecticut River in upcoming years. As it has for over a century, today the Mill River serves as a barrier between Springfield neighborhoods. Surrounding it are some of the most densely urbanized locations in Springfield.
Stone Dog II is a granite statue of a golden retriever posed standing guard in front of the Zoo at Forest Park in Springfield, Massachusetts. This 2013 statue, crafted by Getty Granite in Connecticut, replaced the original Stone Dog which went missing from the park in 1987, and continues a tradition with roots in the late 19th century. The present statue is almost identical to the original, measuring about 2.5 feet tall, 4 feet long, and 2 feet wide, and weighing approximately 1,000 pounds.
