Old Hill, Springfield, Massachusetts

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Old Hill is one of the seventeen neighborhoods of Springfield, Massachusetts. It is composed, almost entirely, of Victorian buildings overlooking Springfield's Metro Center.

Springfield, Massachusetts City in Massachusetts

Springfield is a city in the state of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. 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. As of the 2010 Census, the city's population was 153,060. As of 2017, the estimated population was 154,758, making it the third-largest city in Massachusetts, the fourth-most populous city in New England after Boston, Worcester, and Providence, and the 12th-most populous in the Northeastern United States. Metropolitan Springfield, as one of two metropolitan areas in Massachusetts, had a population of 692,942 as of 2010.

Victorian architecture series of architectural revival styles

Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. Victorian refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian were used in construction. However, many elements of what is typically termed "Victorian" architecture did not become popular until later in Victoria's reign. The styles often included interpretations and eclectic revivals of historic styles. The name represents the British and French custom of naming architectural styles for a reigning monarch. Within this naming and classification scheme, it followed Georgian architecture and later Regency architecture, and was succeeded by Edwardian architecture.

Metro Center, Springfield, Massachusetts human settlement in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States of America

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.)

At the start of the twenty-first century, the Old Hill neighborhood struggled to maintain its vitality. Drugs and traffic had become a problem. Despite that, Old Hill had neighborhood groups and committed residents, numerous religious organizations, supportive neighborhood businesses, and Springfield College, all of which banded together to revitalize the neighborhood. Currently, crime is down 50%, and many of Old Hill's "Painted Lady" Victorians are being restored. [1]

Painted ladies architectural structure

In American architecture, painted ladies are Victorian and Edwardian houses and buildings repainted, starting in the 1960s, in three or more colors that embellish or enhance their architectural details. The term was first used for San Francisco Victorian houses by writers Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen in their 1978 book Painted Ladies: San Francisco's Resplendent Victorians. Although polychrome decoration was common in the Victorian era, the colors used on these houses are not based on historical precedent:

... the California literary agents Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen published Painted Ladies, a photo essay on the modern painting practices of San Francisco. Fantastically colorful and published in an inexpensive paperback, this often tongue-in-cheek record of a Bay Area phenomenon has subsequently been embraced by large numbers of well-meaning Americans thinking too often that they were following a historical precedent. Painted Ladies and its sequels say more about the taste of the 1970s and 1980s than they do about the 1870s and 1880s.

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Forest Park (Springfield, Massachusetts) urban park in Springfield, Massachusetts

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. Designed by the renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Forest Park features a zoo, aquatic gardens, and outdoor amphitheater, in addition to typical Olmsted 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.

Newington Junction neighborhood in Newington, Connecticut, United States

Newington Junction is a section of the town of Newington, Connecticut. It is centered at the intersection of Willard Avenue and West Hill Road in the northwestern part of the town, in the area generally just south of the Hartford city line. The name of the area refers to the railroad junction where the railroad line from New Haven meets with the railroad line from Bristol and Waterbury. The development of Newington Junction as a result of the railroad was instrumental in the separation of the town of Newington from its mother town of Wethersfield.

Mulberry Street (Springfield, Massachusetts)

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.

Indian Orchard, Springfield, Massachusetts human settlement in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States of America

Indian Orchard is a neighborhood in the City of Springfield, Massachusetts. Located in the northeast corner of Springfield, Indian Orchard affords the quickest commute to Worcester, I-495, and Boston by way of the Mass Turnpike (I-90).

East Springfield is a neighborhood located in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Liberty Heights, Springfield, Massachusetts human settlement in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States of America

The Liberty Heights neighborhood is a neighborhood in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Boston Road is Springfield, Massachusetts's principal commercial and retail corridor. 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 in Springfield, Massachusetts is known worldwide to urban-planners as one of the first planned residential neighborhoods in the United States of America. Begun in 1870, to the North of the Old Hill neighborhood, a mixed-use area including homes and a variety of industrial uses, which had already been developed to serve workers at the Springfield Armory, the McKnight was built on land originally considered to be "Un-improvable Pine barrens" when the Armory and the area around it was laid out in the 1780s. Economic conditions had changed drastically by 1868 when the horse-drawn streetcars of the Springfield Street Railway first started to run on State Street, to the south of what became the McKnight District.

North End, Springfield, Massachusetts human settlement in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States of America

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.

Brightwood, Springfield, Massachusetts human settlement in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States of America

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.

Upper Hill is a neighborhood in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts.

Van Horn Park

Van Horn Park is a park in Springfield, Massachusetts' northern Liberty Heights neighborhood, in a subdivision called Hungry Hill. It is the second largest park in the City of Springfield.

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 is 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 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.

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 (2.01 km) long 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 bemoan the loss of the Mill River as a recreational area, and hope to gain greater access to both it and Connecticut Rivers 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.

References

Coordinates: 42°6′15.3″N72°34′4.2″W / 42.104250°N 72.567833°W / 42.104250; -72.567833

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.