Springfield, Massachusetts

This article is about the city of Springfield. For the metropolitan area, see Springfield, Massachusetts metropolitan area.

City of Springfield
City
Official seal of City of Springfield Seal
Nickname(s):  The City of Firsts; The City of Progress;; The City of Homes; A City in the Forest; Hoop City; The Metropolis of Western New England
Motto:  Make it Happen!
Location in Hampden County in Massachusetts
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Hampden
Settled	1636
Incorporated	1852
Government
• Type	Mayor-council city
• Mayor	Domenic J. Sarno (D)
Area
• City	33.2 sq mi (86.0 km2)
• Land	32.1 sq mi (83.1 km2)
• Water	1.1 sq mi (2.9 km2)
Elevation	70 ft (21 m)
Population  (2010)
• City	153,060
• Density	4,768.2/sq mi (1,841.9/km2)
• Metro	698,903
• Demonym	Springfielder
	Metro area refers to the Pioneer Valley
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP code	01101 01103 01104 01105 01107 01108 01109 01119 01128 01129 01151
Area code	413
FIPS code	25-67000
GNIS feature ID	0609092
Website	www.springfieldcityhall.com/COS/

Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States.Template:Geographic reference 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. Metropolitan Springfield - one of two metropolitan areas in Massachusetts (the other being Greater Boston) – has an estimated population of 698,903 (2009.)

The first Springfield in the New World, it is the largest city in Western New England, and the urban, economic, and cultural capital of Massachusetts' Connecticut River Valley, (colloquially known as the Pioneer Valley). It is the third-largest city in Massachusetts and fourth-largest in New England (Boston, Worcester, and Providence are larger). Springfield has several nicknames – The City of Firsts, because of its many innovations (see below for a partial list); The City of Homes, due to its attractive Victorian residential architecture; and Hoop City, because basketball – currently the world's second-most-popular sport – was invented in Springfield.

Hartford, the State of Connecticut's capital city, lies only 23.9 miles (38.5 km) south of Springfield, on the western bank of the Connecticut River. Springfield and Hartford share Bradley International Airport, which lies equidistant between them. The Hartford-Springfield region is known as the Knowledge Corridor because it hosts over 160,000 university students and over 32 universities and liberal arts colleges - the second-highest concentration of higher-learning institutions in the United States. The City of Springfield itself is home to Springfield College; Western New England University; Tufts University School of Medicine; American International College; the University of Massachusetts Amherst's School of Urban Design; Cambridge College; and Springfield Technical Community College, among other higher educational institutions.

The City of Springfield has played an important role throughout American history, due largely to its geography. Founded on New England's most fertile soil, at a natural crossroads of four rivers and ancient roads headed in all directions, it is located midway between Boston and Albany; it is only slightly farther from New York City, and is the closest major New England city to Montreal. In 1777, Springfield's location led George Washington and Henry Knox to found the fledgling United States' National Armory at Springfield, which produced the first American musket in 1794, and later the famous Springfield rifle. From 1777 until its controversial closing during the Vietnam War, the Springfield Armory attracted skilled laborers to Springfield, making it the United States' longtime epicenter for precision manufacturing. Springfielders produced many of America's most significant innovations, including the first American-English dictionary (1805, Merriam Webster); the first use of interchangeable parts and the assembly line in manufacturing, (1819, Thomas Blanchard;) the first American horseless car, (1825, Thomas Blanchard;) the discovery and patent of vulcanized rubber, (1844, Charles Goodyear;) the first American, gasoline-powered car, (1893, Duryea Brothers); the first successful motorcycle company, (1901, "Indian"); America's first commercial radio station, (1921, WBZA from the Hotel Kimball); and most famous for the world's second-most-popular sport, basketball, (1891, Dr. James Naismith).

History

Colonial settlement

Town	Date of separation
Westfield	1669
Suffield (CT)	1682
Enfield (CT)	1683
Stafford (CT)	1719
Somers (CT)	1734
Wilbraham	1763
East Windsor (CT) (northern part)	1768
West Springfield	1774
Ludlow	1774
Southwick	1775 (from Westfield)
Montgomery	1780 (from Westfield)
Longmeadow	1783
Russell	1792 (from Westfield)
Holyoke (southern part)	1850 (from W. Springfield)
Agawam	1855 (from W. Springfield)
Chicopee	1848
Hampden	1878 (from Wilbraham)
East Longmeadow	1894 (from Longmeadow)

The First Church of Christ in Springfield's Court Square was the 20th parish gathered in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, in 1637.

In 1635, the business-minded Puritan William Pynchon - an original settler of Roxbury, Massachusetts, magistrate, and then assistant treasurer of the Massachusetts Bay Colony - led a scouting expedition with John Cable and John Woodcock, either north up the Connecticut River or west across the inland "Bay Path" (present-day Boston Road) from the Massachusetts Bay Colony village of Roxbury, Massachusetts. Eventually, they reached what they believed to be the Connecticut River Valley's most advantageous spot for both farming and conducting trade: present-day Springfield. The site is located at the confluence of a major river (the Connecticut) with two of its major tributaries: one to the west (the Westfield River;) and one to the east, (the Chicopee River;) and a confluence with the smaller, quick-running Mill River. Its rivers and geological history have dictated that its soil is among the finest for farming in the Northeast.

At that time, on the western bank of the Connecticut River, the explorers found the Pocomtuc (or perhaps Nipmuck) Indian village of Agawam. The land near the river was clear of trees due to burns by the Indians, and covered in nutrient-rich river silt from floods. Just south of the Westfield River, the colonists constructed a pre-fabricated house in what is present-day Agawam, Massachusetts. Cable and Woodcock were supplied with food and goods to trade with the Natives over the winter, while Pynchon returned to Roxbury to spread news of fertile farmland and "The Great River."

In 1636, Pynchon led a settlement expedition with a larger group, including Henry Smith (Pynchon's son-in-law), Jehu Burr, William Blake, Matthew Mitchell, Edmund Wood, Thomas Ufford, and John Cable. Springfield's English founders came from both the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Plymouth Colony - indeed, Springfield was Massachusetts' first settlement for non-religious reasons, although many of its settlers were very religious, as indicated by their first article of incorporation, "Wee intend by God's grace, as soon as we can, with all convenient speede to procure some Godly and faithfull minister we purpose to joyne in church covenant, to walk in all the ways of Christ" Dutch and Plymouth Colonists had been leapfrogging their way up "the Great River" - to that point, as far north as Windsor, Connecticut - attempting to establish its northernmost village to gain the greatest access to the region's raw materials. Pynchon selected a spot just north of Enfield Falls, the first spot on the Connecticut River where all travelers have to stop to negotiate a waterfall, 32 feet (9.8 m) in height, and then transship their cargoes from ocean-going vessels to smaller shallops. By founding Springfield, Pynchon positioned himself as the northernmost trader on the Connecticut River. Near Enfield Falls, he erected a warehouse to store goods awaiting transshipment, which to this day is still called "Warehouse Point," located in the town now known as Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Pynchon's party purchased land on both sides of Connecticut River from 18 tribesman who lived at a palisade fort at the current site of Springfield's Longhill Street. The price paid was 18 hoes, 18 fathoms of wampum, 18 coats, 18 hatchets and 18 knives. 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. Originally, in 1636, the English settlement was named Agawam Plantation.

After warnings from the Natives about the Connecticut River's west side being prone to flooding, most Springfield settlers moved to the east side of the river, which was slightly less advantageous for farming because of its prominent bluffs and hills. The initial land grants to English families were made there in what is today Springfield's Metro Center, along what is today Main Street. Long, narrow plots of farmland were created, extending outward from the river. In addition, more distant forested "wood lots" were offered. The original, main profit-generating industry for Springfield was trade with the Indians for beaver skins, which were then exported around the colonial world.

Choosing to join Massachusetts

In 1640 and 1641, two events took place that forever changed the political boundaries of the Connecticut River Valley. From its founding until that time, Springfield had been administered by Connecticut along with Connecticut's three other settlements - at Wethersfield, Hartford, and Windsor. In the spring of 1640, grain was very scarce and cattle were dying of starvation. The nearby Connecticut River Valley settlements of Windsor (then called "Matianuck") and Hartford (then called "Newtown") gave power to William Pynchon to buy corn for all three English settlements. If the natives would not sell their corn at market prices, then Pynchon was authorized to offer more money. The natives refused to sell their corn at market prices, and then later refused to sell it at "reasonable" prices. Pynchon refused to buy it, believing it best not to broadcast the English colonists' weaknesses, and also wanting to keep market values steady.

Leading citizens of what would become Hartford were furious with Pynchon for not purchasing any grain. With Windsor's and Wethersfield's consent, the three southerly settlements commissioned the famed Native American-conqueror Captain John Mason to travel to Springfield with "money in one hand and a sword in the other." On reaching what would become Springfield, Mason threatened the local natives with war if they did not sell their corn at a "reasonable price." The natives capitulated and ultimately sold the colonists corn; however, Mason's violent approach led to the natives' deepening distrust of the English colonists. Pynchon, an avowed "man of peace," believed in negotiation with the natives (and thus, quickly made a fortune), whereas Mason – a hero of the Pequot Wars and conqueror of Connecticut – believed in subduing natives by force. This philosophical difference led to Mason using "hard words" against Pynchon. Pynchon's settlement, however, agreed with him and his philosophy, and that same year voted to separate from the Connecticut Colony and be annexed by the Massachusetts Bay Colony. As this local controversy was heating up the Massachusetts Bay Colony decided to reassert its jurisdiction over the land bordering the Connecticut River, realizing that it was its most valuable for farming. William Pynchon was named magistrate of Agawam by the Massachusetts Bay Colony and, in honor of him the settlement was renamed Springfield after the village of Springfield near Chelmsford, Essex in England, where William Pynchon was born and raised. For decades, Springfield - which, at the time, included modern-day Westfield - was the westernmost settlement in Massachusetts.

The philosophical differences between Springfield and Connecticut were exacerbated by one final confrontation in 1641. Hartford had been keeping a fort at the mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, for protection against the natives and the New Netherland Colony. After Springfield sided with the Massachusetts Bay Colony over the Connecticut Colony, Connecticut demanded that Springfield's boats pay a toll when passing the Fort at Old Saybrook, (which, at the time, was not even administered by the Connecticut Colony, but the short-lived Saybrook Colony.) Pynchon would have been agreeable to this if Springfield could have had representation at the fort, as Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor did. However, Pynchon did not agree with the idea of taxation without representation. Connecticut refused to allow Springfield representation at the Fort at Saybrook, so Pynchon instructed his boats to refuse to pay Connecticut's toll. When the Massachusetts Bay Colony heard of this, it took Pynchon's side and immediately drafted a resolution that required Connecticut ships to pay a toll when entering Boston Harbor. Connecticut, which was then dependent largely on trade with Boston, immediately dropped its tax on Springfield.

Early "firsts"

In 1645, 46 years before the Salem witch trials, Springfield experienced America's first accusations of witchcraft when Mary Parsons accused a widow named Marshfield, who had moved from Windsor to Springfield, with witchcraft - an offense then punishable by death. For this, Mary Parsons was found guilty of slander. In 1651, Mary Parsons was accused of witchcraft - to be specifical "divers devilish practices by witchcraft, to the hurt of Martha and Rebeckah Moxon," two daughters of Springfield's first minister - and also of murdering her own child. In turn, Mary Parsons then accused her own husband, Hugh Parsons, of witchcraft. At America's first witch trial, both Mary and Hugh Parsons were found not guilty of witchcraft for want of satisfactory evidence; however, Mary was found guilty of murdering her own child. For this, she was sentenced to death, but died in prison in 1651, before receiving her death sentence.

William Pynchon was the New World's first commercial meat packer – in 1641, he began exporting barrels of salt-pork; however, in 1650 he became famous for writing the New World's first banned book. In 1649, Pynchon found time to write a book, The Meritous Price of Our Redemption, a theological study that was published in London in 1650. Several copies made it back to the Massachusetts Bay Colony and its capital, Boston, which, this time reacted with rage to Pynchon rather than with support. For his critical attitude toward Massachusetts' Calvinist Puritanism, Pynchon was accused of heresy, and his book was burned on the Boston Common. Only 4 copies survived. By declaration of the Massachusetts General Court, in 1650, The Meritous Price of Our Redemption became the first-ever banned book in the New World. The first work ever to be officially "banned in Boston", in 1651, Pynchon was accused of heresy in Boston – at exactly the same meeting of the Massachusetts General Court where Springfielder Mary Parsons was sentenced to death in America's first witch trial. Standing to lose all of his land-holdings – the largest in the Connecticut River Valley – William Pynchon transferred ownership to his son, John, and then, in 1652, moved back to England with his friend, the Reverend Moxon.

William's son, John Pynchon, and his brother-in-law, Elizur Holyoke, quickly took on the settlement's leadership roles. They began moving Springfield away from the diminishing fur trade into agricultural pursuits. In 1655, John Pynchon launched America's first cattle drive, prodding a herd from Springfield to Boston along the old Bay Path Trail.

Purchases of large swaths of land from the Indians continued throughout the 17th century, enlarging Springfield's territory and forming other colonial towns elsewhere in the Connecticut River Valley. Westfield was the westernmost settlement of Massachusetts Bay Colony until 1725 - and Springfield was, as it remains today, the Colony's most populous and important western settlement. Over decades and centuries, portions of Springfield were partitioned off to form neighboring towns; however, throughout the centuries, Springfield has remained the region's most populous and most important city.

Due to imprecision in surveying colonial borders, Springfield became 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-Connecticut Border). As a result, some lands originally administered by Springfield – including the William Pynchon's Warehouse Point - are now administered by Connecticut.

King Phillip's War

Main article: Attack on Springfield

Portrait of King Philip, by Paul Revere.

In 1675, Springfield became one of two major settlements burned to the ground during the New World's first major Indian War, King Phillip's War. (The other major settlement burned was Providence, Rhode Island). King Phillip's War permanently ended the harmonious relations that had existed between the Natives and Springfield's settlers. Thousands of New England settlers and Native Americans died in King Phillip's War, which to this day remains the most violent war per capita in American history. The carnage resulted in the clearing of the Native populations from southern New England and the unopposed expansion of the New England colonies. It also became the ruthless model on which the United States based its dealings with its native peoples.

After years of encroaching upon Indian land and decimating the native population with European diseases, the leader of the Eastern Massachusetts Wampanoag Indian tribe, Wamsutta, died shortly after being questioned at gunpoint by Plymouth colonists. Wamsutta's brother, Chief Metacomet (known to Springfielders as "Phillip,") who had long been friendly and helpful to European settlers, took revenge. Initially inciting his own tribe to rebel against English colonists in eastern Massachusetts, King Phillip himself visited the theretofore peaceful Agawam (Pocomtuc) Indians by Springfield, and incited them to rebel and burn Springfield to the ground. Springfielders were given advance warning of the attack by a Native from Windsor, Connecticut named Toto, who history often records as "The Windsor Indian." Despite the advance warning, during the Attack on Springfield, 45 of Springfield's 60 houses were burned to the ground, as were the grist and saw mills belonging to village leader John Pynchon, which became smoldering ruins. Following the Attack on Springfield, serious thought was given to abandoning the village of Springfield and defecting to nearby towns; however, wiser heads prevailed. The residents of Springfield endured the winter of 1675 under siege conditions. During that winter, Captain Miles Morgan's block-house became Springfield's fortress – it held-out until messengers had been despatched to Hadley, after which thirty-six men (the standing army of the Massachusetts Bay Colony), under command of Captain Samuel Appleton, marched to Springfield and raised the siege. Both of Captain Miles Morgan's sons died defending Springfield in the conflict, and thus today, a large bronze statue of Miles Morgan - the hero of King Phillip's War - stands in Springfield's Court Square, showing him in huntsman's dress with a rifle over his shoulder.

During King Phillip's War, over 800 settlers were killed and approximately 8000 Natives were killed, enslaved, or made refugees. The war ended in the summer of 1676, when colonists shot Metacomet twice with a musket, leading to the Native Americans' surrender. Following the war, Springfield's Natives, who had, before the war, frequently been seen around town, virtually disappeared. On the occasions that they were seen, they generally raided Springfield. Thereafter fighting between the Connecticut River Valley's originally peaceful First People (and their allies, the French), and the English colonists continued for over 100 years.

Today, the hilltop on which King Phillip incited the Agawam Indians to attack Springfield is known as King Phillip's Stockade. It is a Springfield city park offering excellent views of the Connecticut River, city skyline, picnic pavilions, and a statue depicting the famous Windsor Indian who tried to warn the residents of Springfield of impending danger.

The Springfield Armory

The Springfield Armory, opened by George Washington in 1777, was controversially closed in 1968

Then as now, a major crossroads, during the 1770s, George Washington selected a high bluff in Springfield as the site of the U.S. National Armory. Washington selected Springfield for its centrality to important American cities and resources, its easy access to the Connecticut River and because, as today, the city served as the nexus for well-traveled roads. Washington's officer Henry Knox noted that Springfield was far enough upstream on the Connecticut River to guard against all but the most aggressive sea attacks. He concluded that “the plain just above Springfield is perhaps one of the most proper spots on every account” for the location of a National Arsenal. During the War of Independence, the arsenal at Springfield provided supplies and equipment for the American forces. At that time, the arsenal stored muskets, cannons, and other weapons; it also produced paper cartridges. Barracks, shops, storehouses, and a magazine were built, but no arms were manufactured. After the war the government retained the facility to store arms for future needs.

By the 1780s the Arsenal was the United States' largest ammunition and weapons depot, which made it the logical focal point for Shay's Rebellion (see below). On the recommendations of then U.S. President George Washington, Congress formally established the Springfield Armory in 1794. In 1795, the Springfield Armory produced the first American-made musket, and during that year, produced 245 muskets. Until its closing in 1968, the Armory developed and produced a majority of the arms that served American soldiers in the nation’s successful wars. Its presence also set Springfield on the path of industrial innovation that would result in the city becoming known as the "City of Progress" and later as the "City of Firsts."

The term Springfield Rifle may refer to any sort of arms produced by the Springfield Armory for the United States armed forces. Other famous arms invented in Springfield include the Garand Rifle, the Repeating Pistol, and the Semi-automatic Rifle (the M-1 rifle).

The 55 acres (220,000 m²) within the Armory's famous ornamental cast-iron fence are now administered by Springfield Technical Community College and the National Park Service. Most of the buildings were erected during the 19th century, with the oldest dating from 1808. The complex reflects the Armory commanders’ goal of creating an institution with dignity and architectural integrity worthy of the increasing strength of the federal government.

Shays' Rebellion

Shays's Rebellion - the most crucial battle of which was fought at the Springfield Armory in 1787 - was the United States' first populist revolt. It has also been called "the last battle of the American Revolution." Concerns about Shay's Rebellion resulted in a complete change of the United States' governmental structure—from the original United States Articles of Confederation to the United States Constitution, which greatly enhanced the U.S. Federal Government's power over the States. It prompted George Washington to come out of retirement, and catalyzed the U.S. Founding Fathers to craft the U.S. Constitution, which still guides the country today. On May 25, 1787, General Henry Knox, the Secretary of War, addressed the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia: “The commotion of Massachusetts have wrought prodigious changes in the minds of men in the State respecting the Powers of Government... They must be strengthened, there is no security of liberty or property.”

Shay's Rebellion was led, in part, by Revolutionary War hero Daniel Shays, and thus acquired the nickname "Shay's Rebellion." In January 1787, Shays and the "Regulators" as they were then called, tried to seize the Arsenal at Springfield. At the time of Shay's Rebellion, the Arsenal at Springfield was not yet an Armory; however, it contained brass ordnance, howitzers, traveling carriages, shot strapt, canisters filled, quilted grape, iron shot, shells, powder, musket ball, cylinders, caps, paper cartridges, fuzes filled, muskets, swords, various military stores, and implements. If the Regulators had captured the Arsenal at Springfield, they would have had exponentially more firepower than their adversaries, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, led by former U.S. General Benjamin Lincoln.

Supreme Judicial Court at Springfield shutdown by angry mob

Engraving – there are no portraits – depicting Daniel Shays (left) and Job Shattuck of Shays' Rebellion.

In July 1786, a diverse group of Western Massachusetts gentlemen, farmers, and war veterans - often mischaracterized as "poor yeoman farmers" by the Massachusetts and Federal governments, in attempt to belittle or explain participants' reasons for rebelling - convened in Southampton, Massachusetts, to write-up a list of grievances with the 1780 Massachusetts State Constitution. Among the conventioneers was William Pynchon, the voice of Springfield's - and the Connecticut River Valley's - most powerful family. The convention produced twenty-one articles - 17 were grievances, necessitating radical changes to Massachusetts' State Constitution. They included moving the Massachusetts State Legislature out of Boston to a more central location, where Boston's mercantile elite could no longer control the state government for its own financial gain; abolishing the Massachusetts State Senate, which was dominated by Boston's merchants and was in essence a redundant given that Massachusetts already had a State Legislature that dealt with similar issues; and revising election rules so that State Legislators would be held accountable yearly via elections. Grievances were also voiced about Massachusetts' excessively complex, seemingly money-driven court system and the scarcity of paper money to pay state taxes.

Rather than address the Southampton Convention's grievances, both houses of the Massachusetts State Legislature went on vacation. After this, "Regulators" as they were then called, began gathering in mobs of thousands, forcing the closure of Massachusetts' county courts. The Regulators shut down court proceedings in Northampton, Worcester, Concord, Taunton, Great Barrington, and then finally, even the Supreme Judicial Court in Springfield.

Massachusetts' Governor Bowdoin - along with Boston's former patriots, like Samuel Adams, who had, it seemed, lost touch with common people - were zealously unsympathetic to the Regulators' cause. Samuel Adams wanted the Regulators "put to death immediately." In response, Governor Bowdoin dispatched a militia financed by Boston merchants led by former Revolutionary War General Benjamin Lincoln, as well as a militia of 900 men led by General William Shepard to protect Springfield. The militia members, however, generally sympathized with the Regulators and more often than not, defected to the Regulators rather than remain with Massachusetts' militia. News of the Rebellion in Western Massachusetts reached the Continental Congress in late 1786. The Congress authorized troops to put down the rebellion; however, the government refused to give an honest reason for the authorization of troops, insisting that it was for fighting Indians in Ohio. In the Massachusetts State Legislature, Elbridge Gerry noted that the 'fighting Indians in Ohio' excuse was "laughable."

The Battle of the U.S. Arsenal at Springfield

By January 1787, thousands of men from Western Massachusetts, Eastern New York, Vermont, and Connecticut had joined the Regulators; however, many were scattered across the expanse of Western Massachusetts. On January 25, 1787, three major Regulator armies were coalescing on Springfield in attempt to overtake the U.S. Federal Arsenal at Springfield. The armies were commanded by, respectively, Daniel Shays, whose army was camped in nearby Palmer, Massachusetts; Luke Day, whose army was camped across the Connecticut River in West Springfield, Massachusetts; and Eli Parsons, whose army was camped just north of Springfield in Chicopee, Massachusetts. The plan for commandeering the Arsenal at Springfield was for a three-pronged attack on January 25, 1787; however, the day before the scheduled attack, General Luke Day unilaterally postponed the attack to January 26, 1787. Day sent a note postponing the attack to both Shays and Parsons; however, it never reached them

On January 25, 1787, Shays's and Parson's armies approached the Arsenal at Springfield expecting Day's army to back them up. General William Shepard's Massachusetts militia - which had been withered by defections to the Regulators - was already inside the Arsenal. General Shepard had requested permission from U.S. Secretary of Defense Henry Knox to use the weaponry in the Arsenal, because technically its firepower belonged to the United States, and not the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Secretary of War Henry Knox denied the request on the grounds that it required Congressional approval and that Congress was out of session; however, Shepard used the Arsenal's weapons anyway.

When Shays, Parsons, and their forces neared the Arsenal, they found Shepard's militia waiting for them - and they were baffled by the location of Luke Day's army. Shepard ordered a warning shot. Two cannons were fired directly into Shays's men. Four of the Shaysites were killed, and thirty were immediately wounded. No musket fire took place. The rear of Shays's army ran, leaving his Captain James White "casting a look of scorn before and behind," and then fled. Without reinforcements from Day, the rebels were unsuccessful in taking the Springfield Arsenal.

The militia captured many of the rebels on February 4 in Petersham, Massachusetts. Over the course of the next several weeks, the rebels were dispersed; however, skirmishes continued for approximately a year thereafter.

Governor Bowdoin declared that Americans would descend into "a state of anarchy, confusion, and slavery" unless the rule of the law was upheld. Shays's Rebellion, however, was - like American Revolution - an armed uprising against a rule of law perceived to be unjust. Ultimately, Shays's Rebellions' legacy is the United States Constitution.

The City of Progress

The abolitionist John Brown in Springfield, where he lived during his "transformative years" from 1846-1850. Here Brown stands beside the flag of Subterranean Pass Way, his militant counterpart to the Underground Railroad.

Main Street in The City of Progress, circa 1910.

President William Howard Taft introduces the Springfield Municipal Group on Dec. 8, 1913, as "one of the most distinctive civic centers in the United States, and indeed the world."

The City of Springfield, and, in particular, the Springfield Armory played an important role in the early Industrial Revolution. As of 2011, Springfield is nicknamed The City of Firsts; however, throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, its nickname was The City of Progress. Throughout its history, Springfield has been a center of commercial invention, ideological progress, and technological innovation. For example, in 1819, inventor Thomas Blanchard and his lathe led to the uses of interchangeable parts and assembly line mass production, which went on to influence the entire world - while originally making arms production at The Springfield Armory faster and less expensive. Blanchard – and Springfield – are credited with the discovery of the assembly line manufacturing process. Blanchard also invented the first modern car in Springfield, a "horseless carriage" powered by steam.

The first American-English dictionary was produced in Springfield in 1806 by the company now known as Merriam Webster. Merriam Webster continues to maintain its worldwide headquarters in Springfield, just north of the Springfield Armory.

In Springfield, "The City of Progress," many products were invented that are still popular and necessary today. For example, in 1844, Charles Goodyear perfected and patented vulcanized rubber at his factory in Springfield. (The automobile had not yet been invented, so Goodyear patented his rubber stamp rather than tires, for which he later became known). In 1856, the world's first-ever adjustable monkey wrench was invented in Springfield. In 1873, America's first post card was invented in Springfield by the Morgan Envelope Factory. Also, America's first horse show and dog show were both produced in Springfield – 1853 and 1875, respectively.

Well known for it “firsts," Springfield also has the distinction of being the last New England city to free another state's slave. In Massachusetts, the cruel institution was outlawed by 1783, in a court decision upholding the 1780 Massachusetts Constitution. In 1808, a man from New York – where slavery, at the time, was legal – came to Springfield demanding the return of his escaped slave: a woman named Jenny who had been living in Springfield for several years. In a show of support for abolitionism, the citizens of Springfield raised enough money to buy Jenny's freedom from the New Yorker. Jenny lived a free woman in Springfield thereafter.

John Brown, the celebrated abolitionist and hero of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, became a national leader in the abolitionist movement while living in Springfield. Indeed, Springfield's role in the abolitionist movement was far greater than the city's population at the time, (approximately 20,000 before the separation of Chicopee). In 1836, Springfield's American Colonization Society was its first radical abolitionist group. Nearly all Springfielders - from its wealthiest merchants to its influential newspaper publisher - supported abolitionism. In 1846, Brown moved into this progressive climate and set-up a wool commission. Brown began attending church services at the traditionally-black Sanford Street Church (now St. John's Congregational Church.) In Springfield, Brown spoke with Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth, while learning about the successes of Springfield's Underground Railroad. Also, in Springfield, Brown met many of the contacts he would need in later years to fund his work in Bleeding Kansas. In 1850, in response to the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act, John Brown formed his first militant anti-slavery organization in Springfield: The League of Gileadites. Brown founded the group by saying, "Nothing so charms the American people as personal bravery. [Blacks] would have ten times the number [of whites friends than] they now have were they but half as much in earnest to secure their dearest rights as they are to ape the follies and extravagances of their white neighbors..." The League of Gileadites protected slaves who escaped to Springfield from slaver-catchers. It is worth noting that after the foundation of Brown's organization in 1850, a slave was never again "captured" in the city. As of 2011, St. John's Congregational Church - one of the Northeast's most prominent black congregations, now celebrating its 167th year in existence - still displays John Brown's Bible.

In 1852, Springfield was chartered as a city; however, only after decades of debate, which, in 1848, resulted in the partitioning off of the northern part of Springfield into Chicopee, Massachusetts - in order to reduce Springfield's land and population. The partition of Chicopee from Springfield deprived Springfield of approximately half of its territory and approximately two-thirds of its population. To this day, the two cities of Springfield and Chicopee feature relatively small land areas and remain partitioned. Springfield's first mayor was Caleb Rice, who was also the first President of MassMutual Life Insurance Company. As of 2011, the MassMutual Life Insurance Company, headquartered in Springfield, is the second wealthiest company from Massachusetts listed in the Fortune 100.

Wason Manufacturing Company of Springfield – one of the United States' first makers of railway passenger coach equipment – produced America's first sleeping car in 1857, (also known as a Pullman Car). On May 2, 1849 the Springfield Railroad was chartered to build from Springfield to the Connecticut state line. By the 1870s the endeavor had become the Springfield and New London Railroad.

In 1855, the formation of the Republican Party was championed by Samuel Bowles III, publisher of the influential Springfield daily newspaper, The Republican. The Republican Party took its name from Bowles' newspaper. On Friday, Sept. 21, 1855, the headline in The Republican read: “The Child is Born!” This marked the birth of the Republican Party. By 1858, the Republicans had taken control of many Northern States' governments. In 1860, Bowles was on the train to the Republican convention in Chicago where his friend, Springfield lawyer George Ashmun, was elected chairman of the convention that would eventually nominate Abraham Lincoln for president.

In 1856, Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson formed Smith & Wesson to manufacture revolvers. Smith & Wesson has gone on to become the largest and, it can be argued, the most famous gun manufacturer in the world. The company's headquarters remains in Springfield and as of 2011, employs over 1200 workers.

On September 20, 1893, Springfielders Charles and Frank Duryea built and then road-tested the first-ever American, gasoline-powered car in Springfield. The Duryea Motor Wagon was built on the third floor of the Stacy Building in Springfield, and first publicly road-tested on Howard Bemis's farm. In 1895, the Duryea Motor Wagon won America's first-ever road race – a 54-mile (87 km) race from Chicago to Evanston, Illinois. In 1896, the Duryea Motor Wagon Company became the first company to manufacture and sell gasoline-powered automobiles. The company's motto was "there is no better motorcar." Immediately, Duryeas were purchased by luminaries of the times, such as George Vanderbilt. Two months after buying one of the world's first Duryeas, New York City motorist Henry Wells hit a bicyclist – the rider suffered a broken leg, Wells spent a night in jail - and that was Springfield's peripheral role in the first-ever automobile accident.

The Duryeas were joined in Springfield's automobile industry in 1900 by Skene, (which disappeared shortly after), and Knox Automobile, which survived until 1927. In 1905, Knox famously produced America's first motorized fire engines for Springfield's Fire Department – the first modern fire department in the world.

In 1901, "Indian" motorcycles were the first successful motorcycle manufacturers in the United States. Chief and Scout models were the company's 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.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Springfield was known worldwide for its precision manufacturing and as "a beehive of diversified production." The American Civil War brought "intense and concentrated prosperity" to Springfield, which manufactured nearly all of the Union Army's small arms. From this period until the mid-20th century, Springfield's housing stock became increasingly attractive and ornate – not only for the wealthy, but for the middle-classes – earning Springfield its nickname The City of Homes. A 1910 publication notes that "Springfield has the most beautiful homes in New England. It has the most attractive streets in New England." To this day, Springfield's housing stock consists mostly of ornate, older homes, many of which would cost small fortunes to build today – Victorian "Painted Lady" mansions, elegant Queen Anne's, and Tudor style architecture dominate Springfield's housing stock; however, the city also features attractive condominiums, in particular in its urban, Metro Center neighborhood.

By the first decade of the 20th century, the City of Springfield featured over 10% of all manufacturing plants in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and a far greater percentage of its precision machinery manufacturing plants, (as opposed to textile manufacturing plants, which were more prevalent in eastern Massachusetts.)

In the 1920s, the city's precision manufacturing base attracted England's Rolls-Royce, who concluded, “The artisans of Springfield – from long experience in fine precision work – were found to possess the same pride in workmanship as the craftsmen of England." From 1921 until 1931, Rolls-Royce located its only manufacturing plant outside of England in Springfield. It assembled nearly 3000 Silver Ghosts and Phantoms before production was halted by the Great Depression and the decision by Rolls Royce not to retool the plant. The Rolls Royce factory is adjacent to the former Indian Motorcycle manufacturing plant, by American International College.

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 ("GeeBee") series of racing aircraft.

During this time, Springfield pioneered developments in mass media. For example, the United States' first commercial radio station was founded in Springfield in 1921, WBZ, broadcasting from Springfield's most luxurious hotel, the Hotel Kimball. Also, the United States' first UHF television station was founded in Springfield in 1953, WWLP, (which, today, is Springfield's Newscenter 22).

During this period, then-U.S. Vice President Thomas R. Marshall, who served under U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, famously opined, "Here is a center from which thought emanates. What is said in Springfield is heard around the world."

The birthplace of basketball

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield.

Today, the city of Springfield is known worldwide as the birthplace of the sport of basketball. In 1891, James Naismith, a theology graduate, invented the sport of basketball at the YMCA International Training School – now known as Springfield College – to fill-in the gap between the football and baseball seasons. The first game of basketball ever played took place in the Mason Square district of Springfield. (The game's score was 1 – 0). As of 2011, the exact spot where the first game took place is memorialized by an illuminated monument. The first building to serve as an indoor basketball court resides at Wilbraham & Monson Academy in suburban Wilbraham, and has since been converted into a dormitory (Smith Hall). In 1912, the first ever specifically crafted basketball was produced in Springfield by the Victor Sporting Goods Company. As of 2011, Springfield-based Spalding is the world's largest producer of basketballs, and produces the official basketball of the National Basketball Association.

Basketball became an Olympic sport in 1936, and since its burst of popularity during the 1980s and 1990s, has gone on to become the world's second most popular sport (after soccer).

On February 17, 1968, The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame was opened on the Springfield College campus. In 1985, it was replaced by a larger facility on the bank of the Connecticut River. In 2002, a new, architecturally significant Hall of Fame was constructed next to the existing site, (which was subsequently converted into restaurants and an LA Fitness club). Shaped like a giant basketball and illuminated at night, the Basketball Hall of Fame is currently one of the most architecturally recognizable buildings recently constructed in Springfield.

Today, both amateur and professional basketball are an integral part of Springfield's culture. Springfield's professional basketball team, the NBA Development League Springfield Armor – the official affiliate of the New Jersey Nets – play in the MassMutual Center, several blocks from the Basketball Hall of Fame and the site of the first-ever basketball game. Basketball-related events take place in Springfield year-round, including the Basketball Hall of Fame's annual enshrinement ceremony, the NCAA's college basketball Tip-Off Tournament, the NCAA MAAC division tournament, and the high school Hoop Hall Classic, among numerous other basketball-related events. Many non-basketball-related events in Springfield also draw inspiration from the sport; for example, the annual Hoop City Jazz Festival brings jazz greats and tens of thousands of people to the "Hoop City."

"Art & Soles", a 2010 public art installation in Springfield, featured 6-foot (1.8 m) painted basketball shoes commemorating the city's history as birthplace of basketball and home of the Hall of Fame. Each of the nineteen shoes was painted by a local artist and displayed in a prominent location in the downtown area, with the overall goal of providing an artistic answer to the question “What Makes Springfield Great?” The shoes were sold at auction in March 2011 with the proceeds going to support public art in Springfield.

The great floods of 1936 and 1938 and their effects

In 1936, at the height of America's Great Depression, the City of Springfield suffered one of its most devastating natural disasters prior to the tornadoes of 2011. The Connecticut River flooded, reaching record heights, inundating the South End and the North End neighborhoods, where some of Springfield's finest mansions stood. Damages were estimated at $200,000,000 in 1936 dollars.

Much of the water damage was repaired after WPA money was made available to Springfield. However, two years later, high flood waters hit Springfield again. The standing flood waters were exacerbated by the New England Hurricane of 1938, which came up the east coast of the United States on September 21, 1938.

Due to Springfield's two Great Floods, large portions of the North End and South End neighborhoods no longer exist.

During the 1960s, I-91 was constructed over the areas affected by the great floods. Several of Springfield's grandest houses, including the mansion of skating blade magnate Everett Hosmer Barney, were demolished to construct the highway. Originally, plans called for the highway to be routed along the west bank of the Connecticut River, through West Springfield; however, Springfield civic officials campaigned for it to cross the river through the North End, Metro Center, and South End neighborhoods. This decision effectively cut off the City of Springfield from the Connecticut River, its greatest natural resource. In 2010, plans were announced to finally reunite Springfield with the Connecticut River.

Forty year decline and immigration trends

A portion of Springfield's skyline during the 1990s. Crime peaked in Springfield in 1997; however, the last 4 years of the 2000s decade saw Springfield's lowest crime rates since 1985.

In 1968, the theretofore stalwart Springfield Armory was shockingly and controversially closed-down amid the Vietnam War. From this point onward, precision manufacturing companies, which had long provided Springfield's economic base and were also the driving factor behind its famous creativity, left the city for places with lower taxes. (As of 2011, there are 36,300 manufacturing jobs in Metro Springfield). During this time of decline, unlike its Northeast American peer cities like Providence, Rhode Island, New Haven, and Hartford, Connecticut, which hemorrhaged large portions of their populations, Springfield lost comparatively few residents. As of 2011, Springfield had only 20,000 fewer people than it did in its most populous Census year, 1960. (See population chart below). The exodus of its wealthy and middle-class - mostly Caucasians - to surrounding suburbs was compensated for by an influx of Hispanic immigrants, which changed the demographics of Springfield to a great extent by the 2010 Census. Springfield, which had once been a primarily-Caucasian city, (featuring large populations of English, Irish, Italian, French Canadian, and Polish residents) with a steady 15% Black minority is now evenly split between Caucasians and Hispanics, primarily of Puerto Rican decent. Initially poor on arrival in Springfield, the Hispanic community's integration and subsequent increase in buying power set the stage for Springfield's resurgence in the first decade of the 21st century.

In addition to the influx of Latinos, as of the 2010 Census, Springfield is one of the top five most populous East Coast cities for Vietnamese immigrants – and one of the Top 3 East Coast cities for Vietnamese immigrants per capita, behind Boston and Washington, D.C. Also, the 2010 Census indicated a substantial increase in Springfield's LGBT population, likely catalyzed by Massachusetts' 2004 decision to legalize gay marriage. The 2010 Census indicates that Springfield now ranks tenth among all U.S. cities with 5.69 same-sex couples per thousand. (San Francisco, California ranked first). Since approximately 2005, Springfield's Club Quarter in Metro Center has seen a large increase in LGBT bars and clubs.

Interstate 91 is constructed, amputating Springfield from the river

During the late 1950s, the elevated, 8-lane Interstate 91 was constructed on Springfield's riverfront - effectively blocking Springfielders' access to "The Great River." For generations, the land that became Interstate 91 was the city's most valuable land for both economic and recreational purposes. The I-91 construction also covered the mouth of the Mill River. Academics note that both rivers would present major economic opportunities if I-91 was altered. In 2010, the Urban Land Institute proposed a plan for Springfield to reclaim its rivers.

The original plan for Interstate 91 - detailed in the 1953 Master Highway Plan for the Springfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Area - called for I-91 to occupy West Springfield's Riverdale Road, (also known as U.S. Route 5), and which had been, historically, the highway used to reach Springfield from both the north and south. Indeed, between 1953 and 1958, to make way for Interstate 91, West Springfield's Riverdale Road was widened and added on to, and businesses were moved. The 1953 plan called for I-91 to connect with Springfield via several state-of-the-art bridges. In 1958, however, Springfield's city planners - believing that the river had become too polluted, and thus no longer useful - campaigned intensely for Interstate 91 to occupy Springfield's riverfront. They boasted that the construction of I-91 on Springfield's riverfront would catalyze economic growth comparable to that experienced during the great railroad expansion of the mid-19th century. However, the highway that blocks Springfield's (now clean) rivers became the city's most famous and disastrous attempt at urban renewal.

Although West Springfield had a right and legal claim to Interstate 91, State highway officials relented to Springfield's City Planners' pressures when confronted with a technicality - a short, existing section of US 5 through West Springfield that was built during the early 1950s failed to meet Interstate design standards. Thus, the plans for I-91 were shelved in West Springfield, and hastily moved to the eastern bank of the river.

From its construction until the present, Interstate 91's design flaws have contributed to logistical problems in Springfield. Due to I-91's close proximity to both Springfield's densely built downtown and the city's rail lines and riverfront, no more than a few businesses could be built to capitalize on highway traffic. Thus, Springfield never received the promised economic benefit from I-91 - indeed, the highway's construction coincided with the start of Springfield's four decades of economic decline. Also, throughout Springfield, I-91 was constructed as an elevated highway, which blocked all riverfront views in downtown. Beneath the elevated highway, the City of Springfield's largest parking garage was constructed at 1756 spaces, as were a series of stone walls and grassy knolls, which have made the riverfront difficult to access by foot.

The highway construction sliced through three of Springfield's most (theretofore) most desirable neighborhoods and many historical landmarks - among them, Court Square, Forest Park, and the Everett Hosmer Barney Mansion. In addition, the loss of Springfield's riverfront and the ugliness of the elevated Interstate 91 contributed to white flight from the city to its suburbs. Indeed, the word "stupid" has been used to describe Springfield's first, and most unfortunate attempt at urban renewal.

In 2010, the Urban Land Institute released a plan that proposed several different options for re-configuring Interstate 91. Currently, many Springfielders are enthused at the prospect of finally being reunited with the Mill River, and especially the Connecticut River.

History of Springfield's skyline

A portion of Springfield's skyline, as seen from the west side of the Connecticut River.

See: List of tallest buildings in Springfield, Massachusetts

As of 2011, Springfield's skyline features relatively fewer skyscrapers than most of its peer cities. The reason for this has to do with the 1908 construction of Springfield's neo-classical 1200 Main Street building, also known as 101 State Street. The building stands at 125 feet (38 m), which, at the time of its construction, caused great controversy in both Springfield and Boston because of its "extreme height." That year, the Massachusetts State Legislature set a maximum height for buildings in Springfield – at 125 feet (38 m) – the height of 1200 Main Street, and also the height of Court Square's Old First Church's steeple. The only exception to this law was made for the construction of Springfield's landmark, 300-foot (91 m), Italianate, Campanile – part of the Springfield Municipal Group, dedicated in 1913 by President William Howard Taft.

Springfield's building height law remained in effect until 1970, when the city's economy began to falter, and residents started to complain that Springfield looked "old-fashioned." In response to this, the city's 62-year-old building height law was abolished, and renowned architect Pietro Belluschi designed Tower Square in the brutalist, International style, popular at the time. Tower Square stands at just over 370 feet (110 m). In 1987, the Monarch Life Insurance Company constructed Springfield's 400-foot (120 m) tall), post-modern Monarch Place. During the building's construction, the Monarch Life Insurance Company filed for bankruptcy; however, the graceful, mirrored tower still bears the former company's name despite being owned by Peter Pan Bus.

As of 2011, the 400-foot (120 m) Monarch Place remains Springfield's tallest skyscraper; however, the city's lack of numerous skyscrapers is now looked on as a positive trait by city advisors such as the Urban Land Institute, who write that Springfield's "Metro Center now stands out from its peers, most of which long ago demolished the human-scale architecture that made their downtowns livable." During Springfield's resurgence in the new millennium, prominent architects – like Moshe Safdie, who built the $57 million, 2008 U.S. Federal Court Building; Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, who built the $47 million, 2004 Basketball Hall of Fame; and TRO Jung Brannen, who are building the $110 million, 2012 adaptive re-use of Springfield's original Technical High School – adapted to Springfield's human-scale to a create monumental buildings rather than attempting to "achieve monumentalism through over-scaling," as has happened in other cities. With energy prices rising, Springfield's 1908 building height limit now seems like an idea that was far ahead of its time.

Finance board: 2004–2009

Springfield began experiencing fiscal trouble during the 1980s; however, the city's finances nearly collapsed in the first decade of the 21st century with budget shortfalls of approximately $40 million. City and state officials disagreed over the crisis' causes. The State blamed overspending relative to income by the City. City officials blamed inequities in the ways additional assistance appropriations were allocated to Springfield relative to other Massachusetts cities. Both sides were correct. Springfield was overspending relative to its income, as the Commonwealth claimed. However, Springfield officials were also correct – for every $287.66 per capita in additional assistance appropriations allocated to Boston, $176.37 per capita were allocated to Cambridge, $67.50 per capita were allocated to Worcester, and a mere $12.04 per capita were allocated to Springfield. Aside from overspending and gross inequities in State funding, other observers of Springfield's fiscal crisis noted a weak economy, years of incompetent management, and corruption in city government.

The city's financial problems had already resulted in wage freezes for city workers, cuts in city services, layoffs, and various city fee increases; however, on June 30, 2004, the Massachusetts General Court granted control of the city (including financial, personnel, and real estate matters) to the Springfield Finance Control Board. The Board was composed of three appointees by the State Secretary of Administration and Finance, Springfield's Mayor, and the President of the City Council.

The Financial Control Board (FCB) operated under the overall direction of the State Secretary of Finance and Administration. 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.

The original FCB bill filed by then-Governor Mitt Romney included a suspension of Massachusetts General Law 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 unions eliminated that section.

During the first several years of the Financial Control Board, officials concentrated on "controlling personnel costs," However, in 2006 the FCB hired the Urban Land Institute to study Springfield and then conceive a viable plan for the city's revitalization. The ULI's study and subsequent 'Plan for Springfield' resulted in significant improvements throughout Springfield's Metro Center, a dramatic citywide drop-off in crime, and a viable course for the city's continued resurgence.

On June 30, 2009, the State of Massachusetts disbanded the Finance Control Board and returned financial control to the City of Springfield

Resurgence: 2007–present

From approximately 2007 until 2011, the City of Springfield has benefitted from large-scale investments and construction projects, which have begun to renew the city's traditionally robust civic pride. For example, as of 2011, there are over $1.3 billion in infrastructure, healthcare, and other private construction projects in Metro Center, and over $300 million in medical construction in the North End. Metro Center has seen the construction of numerous, new buildings, (e.g., architect Moshe Safdie's $57 million new Federal Courthouse;) the adaptive re-use of several historic buildings, (e.g., the $110 million adaptive re-use of Springfield's original Technical High School into Massachusetts' new, high-tech Data Center;) and renovations to numerous structures, (e.g., the $75 million renovation of Springfield's 1926 Union Station into an intermodal transportation center for buses and trains). The North End continues to benefit from the construction of Baystate Health's "Hospital of the Future" – a $300 million, private construction project that will add over 550 new doctors to the facility – expected to be complete in 2012.

Numerous festivals have concurrently taken root in Springfield, which have increased civic pride. These include the annual Hoop City Jazz Festival – sponsored by Springfield-headquartered Hampden Bank – which has featured blues legend, Springfielder Taj Mahal; Springfield's new, annual Gay Pride Week, which features political discussions, films, and celebrations; and the Vintage Sports Car Club of America's new, officially sponsored race, the Springfield Vintage Grand Prix, which will be held on the streets of Metro Center in 2012.

Sharp decrease in crime

Since 1997, U.S. and local crime statistics indicate that Springfield has experienced a sharp decrease in both violent crime and property crime, with both falling over 50%. From its heights in the late 1990s, by 2007 Springfield's violent crime rate had fallen by 14%, and its property crime rate had fallen by 9%. The years 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 were Springfield's four safest years since 1985, at the dawn of the crack cocaine outbreak in the 1980s. Independent sources also note Springfield's dramatic decrease in criminal activity, including Morgan Quinto's annual "United States City Crime Rankings," which also show a 50% drop-off in overall crime. In 2010, Springfield ranked 51st in those rankings, in which it had once – in just 2003 – ranked 18th.

Private economic revitalization

Since 2007, Springfield has prospered economically relative to most cities - despite what the Wall Street Journal has called "the worst American economic crisis since the Great Depression" - because it features a diversified, "mature" economy, and also because it continues to see increasing private investments. Since the Urban Land Institute's 2006 "Plan for Springfield," private investments have included Baystate Health's $300 million "Hospital of the Future," currently the most expensive construction project in New England, (as of 2011). It has been reported that, on its completion in 2012, Baystate will hire 550 new doctors, approximately doubling the hospital's current capacity. Also in 2010, Springfield College constructed a $45 million multi-purpose university center, while Western New England University constructed a $40 million new pharmacy school. In 2008, the Performance Food Group constructed a $30 million facility in the Smith & Wesson Park; and in 2011, Smith & Wesson announced that it will increase its employee base in Springfield by 225, bringing its total over 1100. Also, in 2011, MassDevelopment and various private entities contributed approximately $11 million to renovate the former Federal Courthouse at 1550 Main Street into offices for Baystate Health, the Springfield School Board, and others. Across from the recently renovated MassMutual Center, in 2011, Holiday Inn will, it has been reported, invest over $5 million in renovating a 100-year-old, architecturally significant Greek Revival tower on State Street. Meanwhile in the Club Quarter in north Metro Center, The Julia Sanderson Theater – most recently known as The Hippodrome, and originally named The Paramount – will once again be named The Paramount Theater after it receives a $1.725 million renovation to become a concert venue, coffee shop, and upscale Spanish restaurant.

In 2011, This Old House magazine named Springfield's Forest Park and Forest Park Heights the Northeast's best "old house neighborhoods," citing their attractive, Victorian homes and relatively inexpensive prices. In 2010, the University of Massachusetts Amherst moved its Urban Design graduate program to Court Square in Metro Center. In 2011, UMass-Amherst announced that it would move its popular radio station WFCR to Springfield's Main Street.

In 2010, the Urban Land Institute released its plan to develop Springfield's most economically and recreationally valuable real estate, the Connecticut Riverfront. The ULI's Plan includes recreational space, a fountain, an ice-skating rink, and mixed-use residential/commercial development aimed to compliment the Basketball Hall of Fame, which is located on the riverfront. The main obstacle to Springfield's riverfront development remains – as it has since the early 1970s – the inhibiting location, height, and additional developments surrounding Interstate 91 - a jumble of elevated highways that cut off Springfield from the Connecticut River and the Basketball Hall of Fame, and economically inhibits development opportunities for both. Reconstructing I-91 in the upcoming years will, in the opinions of numerous academics and urban planners, catalyze development along Springfield's riverfront, as well as reunite the city with its "great river;" however, as of 2011, viable plans have yet to materialize.

Transportation infrastructure boom

The largest monetary investments in Springfield have occurred in transportation infrastructure, including a $1 billion investment shared with the State of Connecticut in the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield commuter rail line. According to NHHSRail, the project's oversight body, Springfield-New Haven high speed commuter rail will be fully functional by 2015, featuring a northern terminus at Springfield's Union Station and a southern terminus at New Haven's Union Station. It is reported that trains will reach speeds of 110 mph (180 km/h), making the Springfield-New Haven intercity line the first truly "high speed train" in the United States. In 2012, Springfield's Union Station will receive a $75 million renovation to become an "intermodal transportation center", i.e., Peter Pan Bus, Greyhound Bus, and the PVTA will move to a new building constructed across the street from the current facility, directly adjacent to Union Station. Also, in 2011, a $70 million construction will begin on the Knowledge Corridor intercity commuter line, with a southern terminus at Springfield's Union Station and a northern terminus in Brattleboro, Vermont. The Knowledge Corridor intercity commuter line will enable train commuting to and from northern Pioneer Valley cities like Northampton, Massachusetts and Greenfield, Massachusetts – ending the area's dependence on auto transportation. From Vermont, travelers will be able to access Montreal, Canada. To aid in car and pedestrian transportation, $21 million renovations were made both to the State Street and Main Street Corridors – both Metro Center streets received new, ornate street lamps and artistic walkways.

The City of Springfield, as a whole, is considered to have "above average" walkability; however, according to Walkscore.com, Springfield's Metro Center neighborhood ranks among the most walkable in the United States. The Urban Land Institute, among other organizations, have noted that downtown Springfield's high walkability could catalyze even more urban gentrification.

Springfield tornado of June 1, 2011

The U.S. National Guard and Massachusetts State Police secure Main Street following June 1, 2011's tornado.

Main article: 2011 New England tornado outbreak

On June 1, 2011, at approximately 4:45pm, the City of Springfield was directly hit by a tornado with wind speeds estimated at 160 mph (260 km/h), (a high-end EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale), which, according to the National Weather Service, was the 2nd largest ever to have hit New England – the 1953 tornado in Worcester, Massachusetts was slightly larger. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration called the Springfield Tornado "very significant... Noted not only for its intensity but also for the length of its continuous damage path – approximately 39 miles. The tornado was also very wide at some points, reaching a maximum width of one-half mile." According to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Springfielders were given only 10 minutes, warning that a tornado was approaching the densely populated city. CNN delayed warning of the impending tornado due to a live interview with New York Congressman Anthony Weiner, who was discussing explicit photographs of himself that he had posted online.

The Springfield Tornado disaster left four people dead, hundreds of people suffering in hospitals with injuries ranging from lightening strikes to trauma, and over 500 people homeless in the City of Springfield alone, most of whom stayed at the MassMutual Center arena and convention center. Over two weeks after the disaster, more than 250 people were still living at the MassMutual Center, homeless.

The Springfield Tornado crossed over the Connecticut River from West Springfield, Massachusetts into the City of Springfield near the Springfield Memorial Bridge. First, the tornado caused extensive damage to Springfield's Connecticut River Walk Park, deforesting much of the park's formerly lush tree canopy and removing large sections of its attractive wrought-iron fencing. Next it damaged Court Square – Springfield's historic center – ripping off parts of the Old First Church (established in 1637), and uprooting approximately half of Court Square's 200-year-old "heritage trees." Then the tornado proceeded southward down Main Street, devastating Springfield's historically Italian South End. In less two minutes, much of the South End's commercial district – built more than a century ago and consisting of mostly brick, commercial buildings – lay in complete ruins, while the South End's recent improvements, e.g. new ornate, street lamps, were either bent or flung far from their places of origin.

After devastating the South End, the tornado moved east and headed up historic Maple Street, on and around which it caused significant damage. It seriously damaged the campus of MacDuffie School. Less than a mile eastward, large setions of Springfield College and the Old Hill neighborhood were completely destroyed, as were hundreds of homes in East Forest Park, an upper-middle class neighborhood. East Forest Park's Cathedral High School was completely ravaged by the tornado. Due to the experience with these tornadoes, Springfield College's twelfth (and incumbent) president Dr. Richard B. Flynn of Omaha, Nebraska turned a ten month to a year restoration of campus into a ten week project. Debris from Cathedral was found roughly 43 mi (69 km) away in Millbury, Massachusetts. Springfield's most suburban neighborhood – the upper-middle class Sixteen Acres – also incurred significant damage. However, Sixteen Acres' newer homes did not weather the tornado any better than did Springfield's famous Victorians. The East Forest Park and Sixteen Acres neighborhoods remained without power for days. In Springfield, the tornado completely destroyed over 100 homes, made countless others structurally unsound or uninhabitable, and caused other structures deemed hazardous to be quickly demolished.

Immediately following the Springfield tornado, Governor Deval Patrick declared a "State of Emergency" for the entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts. That day, United States Senator from Massachusetts John F. Kerry cited city damages as "astronomical... well beyond tens of millions of dollars." As of June 18, 2011, there have been over $140 million in tornado-related insurance claims.

Geography

The Knowledge Corridor surrounding Springfield from space.

Springfield is located at 42°6′45″N 72°32′51″W (42.112411, −72.547455).Template:Geographic reference According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 33.2 square miles (86 km²) of which 32.1 square miles (83 km²) is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) (3.31%) is water. Over 4 sq. mi of Springfield's land area is parkland, (over 12% of its total land area.)

Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River, near confluence of two major tributary rivers: the western Westfield River, which flows into the Connecticut across from Springfield's South End Bridge; and the eastern Chicopee River, which flows into the Connecticut les than 0.5miles north of Springfield, in the bordering city of Chicopee. Springfield lies just 4 miles (6.4 km) north of the Connecticut state-line. It is located in the fertile Connecticut River Valley, surrounded by mountains, bluffs, and rolling hills in all directions. Springfield's Metro Center and Main Street, which follow the north-south trajectory of the Connecticut River, are fairly low and flat; however, they become hilly and feature prominent bluffs as one moves south and eastward.

Springfield's 2nd most prominent topographical feature is the city's 735 acres (2.97 km²) Forest Park, designed by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Forest Park lies in the southwestern corner of the city, surrounded by Springfield's attractive garden districts Forest Park and Forest Park Heights, which feature over 600 Victorian Painted Lady mansions. Forest Park also borders Western Massachusetts' most affluent town, Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Springfield shares borders with other well-heeled suburbs such as East Longmeadow, Wilbraham, Ludlow and the de-industrializing city of Chicopee. The small cities of Agawam and West Springfield, Massachusetts lie less than one miles (1.6 km) across the Connecticut River from Springfield's Metro Center.

Springfield owns Cobble Mountain Reservoir and its water supply - one of the United States' purest - located in the towns of Blandford, Granville and Russell, respectively, at the western edge of Hampden County. It also owns Franconia Golf Course, located partly in Springfield, but mostly in East Longmeadow.

Climate

Springfield, like other cities in southern New England, has a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfa) with four distinct seasons and precipitation evenly distributed throughout the year. Weather conditions vary by season. Winters are cold with an average January high temperature of 36 °F (2 °C) and an average low of 18 °F (−8 °C). During Winter, nor'easter storms can drop significant snowfalls on Springfield and the Connecticut River Valley. Temperatures below 0 °F (−18 °C) can occur each year; however, Springfield's geographic position in the Connecticut River Valley, next to several bodies of water, protected by mountains and bluffs, in general moderates the city's weather so that, on average, Springfield's temperature is 1 °F warmer than the cities of Hartford, Connecticut and New Haven, Connecticut, both of which are south Springfield. In addition, Springfield does not experience the high snowfall amounts and blustery wind averages of nearby cities like Worcester, Massachusetts and Albany, New York.

Springfield's summers are warm and sometimes humid. During summer, several times per month, on hot days afternoon thunderstorms will develop when unstable warm air collides with approaching cold fronts. Springfield's average July high temperature is 85 °F (29 °C) and its average low is 63 °F (17 °C). Usually several days during the summer exceed 90 °F (32 °C), constituting a "heat wave." Spring and fall temperatures are usually pleasant, with mild days and crisp, cool nights. Precipitation averages 42.3 inches (1,070 mm) annually and snowfall averages 49.7 inches (126 cm), most of which falls from mid-December to early-March. Although not unheard of, extreme weather events like hurricanes and tornadoes occur infrequently in Springfield compared with other areas in the United States and New England. On the occasions that hurricanes have hit New England, Springfield's inland, upriver location has caused its damages to be considerably less than shoreline cities like New Haven, Connecticut and Providence, Rhode Island. On June 1, 2011, Springfield was directly hit by the second largest tornado ever to hit Massachusetts. With wind speeds exceeding 160 mph (260 km/h), the 2011 Springfield tornado left 4 dead, hundreds injured, and over 500 homeless in the City of Springfield alone. The tornado caused hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage to Springfield and destroyed nearly everything in a 39-mile (63 km) path from Westfield, Massachusetts to Charlton, Massachusetts. It was the first deadly tornado to strike Massachusetts since May 29, 1995.

Climate data for Springfield, Massachusetts
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	65 (18)	71 (22)	86 (30)	94 (34)	101 (38)	102 (39)	101 (38)	100 (38)	101 (38)	89 (32)	81 (27)	70 (21)	102 (39)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	36 (2)	39 (4)	48 (9)	61 (16)	72 (22)	81 (27)	85 (29)	84 (29)	76 (24)	65 (18)	53 (12)	39 (4)	66 (19)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	18 (−8)	20 (−7)	29 (−2)	38 (3)	48 (9)	57 (14)	63 (17)	61 (16)	53 (12)	43 (6)	35 (2)	21 (−6)	40 (4)
Record low °F (°C)	−22 (−30)	−20 (−29)	−13 (−25)	8 (−13)	25 (−4)	32 (0)	42 (6)	30 (−1)	25 (−4)	16 (−9)	8 (−13)	−16 (−27)	−22 (−30)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	3.2 (81)	3.0 (76)	3.4 (86)	3.7 (94)	3.8 (97)	3.7 (94)	3.8 (97)	3.6 (91)	3.4 (86)	3.1 (79)	3.9 (99)	3.5 (89)	42.3 (1,070)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	13.6 (35)	11.8 (30)	8.7 (22)	1.6 (4.1)	0.1 (0.25)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0.1 (0.25)	2.5 (6.4)	11 (28)	49.7 (126)
Average precipitation days	11	9	11	11	12	11	10	9	9	8	11	11	123
Average snowy days	7	6	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	25
Source: http://www.weather.com/weather/today/USMA0405:1:US

Neighborhoods

For a more complete topographical description, see the article on: Springfield, Massachusetts neighborhoods.

The City of Springfield is divided into 17 distinct neighborhoods; in alphabetical order, they are:

• Bay – features Blunt Park. In terms of demographics, Bay is primarily African American.
• Boston Road – features the Eastfield Mall. Primarily commercial in character, it features shopping plazas designed for automobile travel.
• Brightwood – features numerous Baystate Health specialty buildings. Amputated from the rest of Springfield by the Interstate 91 elevated highway, currently, academic suggestions are being made to reunite the neighborhood with the city.
• East Forest Park – features Cathedral High School. Primarily upper-middle class residential in character. Borders Longmeadow, Massachusetts.
• East Springfield – features Smith & Wesson and the Performance Food Group. Residential and working-class in character.
• Forest Park – features Frederick Law Olmsted's renowned 735 acres (2.97 km²) Forest Park and the Forest Park Heights Historic District, (established 1975). Residential in character, featuring a commercial district at "The X" and an upper-class garden district surrounding Olmsted's park.
• Indian Orchard – features a well-defined Main Street and historic mill buildings that have become artists' spaces. Formerly a suburb of Springfield, Indian Orchard developed separately as a milltown on the Chicopee River before joining Springfield. Primarily residential in character, Indian Orchard features Lake Lorraine State Park, Hubbard Park, and weekly farmers markets.
• Liberty Heights – features Springfield's three nationally ranked hospitals: Baystate Health, Mercy Medical, and Shriner's Children's Hospital. Primarily residential and medical in character, it features a demographically diverse population. Liberty Heights includes eclectic districts like Hungry Hill and Atwater Park, and Springfield's 2nd largest park, Van Horn Park.
• The McKnight Historic District – features the Knowledge Corridor's largest array of historic, Victorian architecture, including over 900 Painted Ladies. Primarily residential in character, McKnight was the United States' first planned residential neighborhood. McKnight's commercial district is called Mason Square. Features American International College. In terms of demographics, McKnight features significant populations of African American and LGBT residents.
• Memorial Square – features the North End's commercial district.
• Metro Center – features nearly all major cultural venues in the region. Commercial, cultural, civic, and increasingly residential in character. Features the Downtown Business District, The Club Quarter – with over 60 clubs, restaurants, and bars – numerous festivals, cultural institutions, educational institutions, and significant historic sites.
• North End – not technically a Springfield neighborhood, but rather a term used to describe three northern Springfield neighborhoods. Includes Brightwood, which is residential and medical in character, but cut off from the rest of the city by Interstate 91; Memorial Square, which is commercial in character; and Liberty Heights, which is medical and residential in character. In terms of demographics, the North End is predominately Puerto Rican.
• Old Hill – features Springfield College. Residential in character. Bordering Lake Massasoit. Old Hill is primarily Latino.
• Pine Point – features the headquarters of MassMutual, a Fortune 100 company. Primarily middle-class and residential in character.
• Six Corners – features Mulberry Street in the Ridgewood Historic District (established 1977;) the Lower Maple Historic District (established 1977;) and the Maple Hill Historic District, (established 1977). Urban and residential in character.
• Sixteen Acres – features Western New England University and SABIS International School. Suburban in character. Includes much of Springfield's post-World War II suburban architecture.
• South End – features numerous Italian-American restaurants, festivals, and landmarks. Urban and commercial in character, this neighborhood was hard hit by the June 1, 2011 tornado. Includes the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame; however, it is separated from it by Interstate 91.
• Upper Hill – features Wesson Park. Bordering Lake Massasoit. Residential in character. Located between Springfield College and American International College.

Economy

Smith & Wesson is headquartered in Springfield.

Springfield's Top Five Industries (in order, by number of workers) are: Trade and Transportation; Education and Health Services; Manufacturing; Tourism and Hospitality; and Government. Springfield is considered to have a "mature economy," which protects the city to a degree during recessions and inhibits it somewhat during bubbles. Currently, Springfield is considered to have one of America's top emerging multi-cultural markets – the city features a 33% Latino population with buying power that has increased over 295% from 1990–2006. More than 60% of Hispanic Springfielders have arrived during the past 20 years.

With 25 universities and colleges within 15 miles (24 km) of Springfield, (both north and south), including several of America's most prestigious universities and liberal arts colleges, and more than six institutions within the city itself, the Hartford-Springfield metropolitan area has been dubbed the Knowledge Corridor by regional educators, civic authorities, and businessmen – touting its 32 universities and liberal arts colleges, numerous highly regarded hospitals, and nearly 120,000 students. The Knowledge Corridor universities and colleges provide the region with an educated workforce, which yields a yearly GDP of over $100 billion – more than at least 16 U.S. States. Recently, Hartford-Springfield has become home to a number of biotech firms and high-speed computing centers. As of 2009 Springfield ranks as the 24th most important high-tech center in the United States with approximately 14,000 high-tech jobs.

Business headquarters

The City of Springfield is the economic center of Western Massachusetts. It features the Pioneer Valley's largest concentration of retail, manufacturing, high-tech, entertainment, banking, legal, and medical/scientific research groups. Springfield is home to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' largest Fortune 100 company, MassMutual Financial Group. It is also home to the world's largest producer of handguns, Smith & Wesson, founded in 1852. It is home to Merriam Webster, the first and most widely read American-English dictionary, founded in 1806. Springfield also serves as the headquarters of the professional American Hockey League, the NHL's minor league, Peter Pan Bus, and Big Y Supermarkets, among other businesses.

Springfield is also home to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' third largest employer, Baystate Health, with over 10,000 employees. Baystate is the western campus of Tufts University School of Medicine. Baystate Health is currently in the midst of a $300 million addition – nicknamed "The Hospital of the Future," it is currently the largest construction project in New England. In addition to Baystate, Springfield features two other nationally ranked hospitals; Mercy Medical, run by The Sisters of Providence, and Shriners Hospital for Children.

Springfield headquartered companies

• The American Hockey League, the primary development league for the NHL.
• Baystate Health – Largest employer and healthcare provider in Western Massachusetts; 3rd largest employer in Massachusetts, currently constructing the $300 million "Hospital of the Future."
• Big Y – a regional supermarket chain that was originally founded in nearby Chicopee, but is now headquartered in Springfield. Big Y currently operates more than 50 supermarkets throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut.
• Breck Shampoo – Founded in Springfield in 1936.
• Fenton's Athletic Supplies – Sporting goods provider founded in 1924.
• Hampden Bank – Founded in Springfield in 1852. Headquartered in Springfield.
• Health New England
• Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company – Founded in 1851. MassMutual is the second largest Fortune 100 company based in Massachusetts (2010 list). The corporate headquarters are on State Street.
• Merriam-Webster – Publisher of the original Webster Dictionary
• NuVo Bank – Founded in 2008. Headquartered in Springfield.
• Peter Pan Bus Lines – Headquartered in Metro Center, Peter Pan will move its headquarters to Union Station upon its renovation in 2013.
• Smith & Wesson – Founded in 1852, Smith & Wesson is America's largest producer of handguns. The company currently maintains its corporate headquarters on Roosevelt Avenue in East Springfield.

Springfield companies: suburban and past

• Forbes & Wallace – Regional department store, closed in 1974
• Friendly Ice Cream Corporation – Founded in Springfield, currently headquartered in the Springfield suburb of Wilbraham, Massachusetts.
• Good Housekeeping Magazine – Founded in Springfield in 1885.
• Goodyear Tires – Founded in Springfield in 1844
• Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company – America's first motorcycle brand, was founded by George M. Hendee and C. Oscar Hedström in Springfield in 1901
• Milton Bradley Company – American game company established in 1860. Headquartered in Springfield until its relocation to suburban East Longmeadow, Massachusetts.
• M-1 Rifle – productions started in 1919
• Monarch Insurance – went bankrupt while constructing Springfield's tallest skyscraper, Monarch Place.
• Sheraton Hotels and Resorts – founded in Springfield in 1937 with the purchase of The Stonehaven Hotel, and later the famous Hotel Kimball.
• Springfield Armory – Founded by George Washington in 1777; closed by the Pentagon in 1968.

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1790	1,574	—
1800	2,312	+46.9%
1810	2,767	+19.7%
1820	3,914	+41.5%
1830	6,784	+73.3%
1840	10,985	+61.9%
1850	11,766	+7.1%
1860	15,199	+29.2%
1870	26,703	+75.7%
1880	33,340	+24.9%
1890	44,179	+32.5%
1900	62,059	+40.5%
1910	88,926	+43.3%
1920	129,614	+45.8%
1930	149,900	+15.7%
1940	149,554	−0.2%
1950	162,399	+8.6%
1960	174,463	+7.4%
1970	163,905	−6.1%
1980	152,319	−7.1%
1990	156,983	+3.1%
2000	152,082	−3.1%
2001*	151,222	−0.6%
2002*	151,314	+0.1%
2003*	151,436	+0.1%
2004*	151,507	+0.0%
2005*	151,568	+0.0%
2006*	151,833	+0.2%
2007*	151,342	−0.3%
2008*	155,521	+2.8%
2009*	155,580	+0.0%
2010	153,060	−1.6%
* = population estimate. Source: United States census records and Population Estimates Program data.

As of the 2010 Census, there were 153,060 people residing in the City of Springfield. This figure does not include many of the 17,000-plus undergraduate and graduate university students who reside in Springfield during the academic year.

According to the 2010 Census, there were 61,706 housing units in Springfield, of which 56,752 were occupied. This was the highest average of home occupancy among the four, distinct Western New England metropolises, (the other three being Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport, Connecticut.) Also, as of 2010, Springfield features the highest average home owner occupancy ratio among the four Western New England metropolises at 50% - 73,232 Springfielders live in owner-occupied units, versus 74,111 in rental units. By comparison, as of the 2010 Census, New Haven features an owner occupancy rate of 31%; Hartford of 26%; and Bridgeport of 43%.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Springfield had a population of 153,060, of which 72,573 (47.4%) were male and 80,487 (52.6%) were female. In terms of age, 73.0% were over 18 years old and 10.9% were over 65 years old; the median age is 32.2 years. The median age for males is 30.2 years and 34.1 years for females.

In terms of race and ethnicity, Springfield is 51.8% White, 22.3% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4% Asian (1.2% Vietnamese), 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 18.0% from Some Other Race, and 4.7% from Two or More Races (1.5% White and Black or African American; 1.0% White and Some Other Race). Hispanics and Latinos of any race made up 38.8% of the population (33.2% Puerto Rican).

Growing LGBT population: 2005–present

In January 2010, the national LGBT magazine The Advocate rated Springfield #13 among its new "15 Gayest Secondary Cities in America," ahead of San Diego, California and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Springfield was the only Massachusetts city to make The Advocate's list. Springfield's growing LGBT scene led The Rainbow Times, the city's local gay newspaper, to declare Springfield "suddenly and unexpectedly gay." The Advocate and The Rainbow Times cite a more accepting attitude from the younger generation, a bohemian arts scene and affordable Victorian architecture as reasons for the influx. Recently, The Rainbow Times noted that Springfield currently has as many LGBT exclusive nightlife establishments as the cities of Hartford and New Haven combined, (6). While a large portion of Springfield's population remains politically and socially conservative, as of June 2011, the Springfield City Council seated its first openly LGBT city councilors in 2011 and the city hosted its first "Gay Pride Week" from June 8–16, 2011. In addition to praise from gay publications like The Advocate and The Rainbow Times, in 2011, Springfield was rated one of the Top 10 secondary gay cities in America by 2010 Census statistics, which indicate that in the number of same-sex households per thousand. Springfield ranked #10, with 5.69 same-sex couples per thousand; Boston ranked #4 with 6.9 same-sex couples per thousand; and San Francisco ranked #1, with 12.4 same-sex couples per thousand – nearly double all other U.S. cities.

Government

Courts and decline in crime: 2005–present

Like every other municipality in Massachusetts, Springfield has no judicial branch itself. Rather, it uses the Springfield-based state courts, which include Springfield district court and Hampden County Superior Court, both of which are based in Springfield. The Federal District Court also regularly hears cases in Springfield – now in an architecturally award-winning building on State Street, constructed in 2009.

During the late 1990s and first decade of the 21st century, Springfield experienced a wave of violent crime that negatively impacted the city's reputation, both regionally and nationally. At one point in the first decade of the 21st century, Springfield ranked as high as 18th in the United States' annual "City Crime Rankings." Since approximately 2006, the City of Springfield has experienced a dramatic, (nearly 50%) drop-off in citywide crime. In 2010, Springfield ranked 35th in the United States' City Crime Rankings – its 2nd lowest ranking in recent years, (in 2009, it ranked 51st). Springfield's current crime rating of 142 is down approximately 50% from its heights in the late 1990s and first decade of the 21st century.

The cities of Hartford, Connecticut and New Haven, Connecticut, both of which in 2007 were cited as "resurgent" cities that Springfield should seek to emulate by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, are now by nearly all statistical measures, significantly more dangerous than Springfield. (New Haven currently ranks 18th in the annual U.S. City Crime Rankings, and Hartford ranks 19th). The Urban Land Institute states that currently "the perception of crime [in Springfield] appears to be worse than the reality."

Politics

See also: List of mayors of Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield became a city on May 25, 1852, by decree of the Massachusetts Legislature, after a decade-long internal dispute that resulted in the partition of Chicopee from Springfield, resulting in Springfield losing 2/5 of its population and - for a few short years - remaining a "town" as opposed to a "city." Regardless of this internal debate, Springfield, like all municipalities in Massachusetts, enjoys limited home rule. 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.

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 15, 2008
Party		Number of Voters	Percentage	Democratic	44,148	52.21%	Republican	7,734	9.15%	Unaffiliated	32,035	37.88%	Minor Parties	648	0.77%
Total		84,565	100%

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 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 Councilors 2010–2012
Thomas Ashe – At-Large James J. Ferrera III(i) – At-Large Timothy J. Rooke(i) – At-Large Jose Tosado(i) – At-Large -President Kateri Walsh(i) – At-Large -Vice President Zaida Luna – Ward 1 Michael Fenton – Ward 2 Melvin Edwards – Ward 3 E. Henry Twiggs – Ward 4 Clodo Concepcion – Ward 5 Amaad Rivera – Ward 6 Tim Allen – Ward 7 John Lysak – Ward 8

Education

Universities and colleges

The Knowledge Corridor boasts the second-largest concentration of higher learning institutions in the United States, with 32 universities and liberal arts colleges and over 160,000 university students surrounding Hartford-Springfield. Within 16 miles (26 km) of Springfield's Metro Center, there are 18 universities and liberal arts colleges, which feature approximately 100,000 students.

Within the City of Springfield itself are five, highly regarded private universities, one nationally prominent public university, and one regionally respected community college. As of 2011, Springfield attracts over 19,000 university students per year. Its universities are Western New England University, famous for its law and pharmacy programs; Springfield College, famous as the birthplace of the sport of basketball (1891) and the nation's first physical education class, (1912), which specializes in sports and sports medicine; American International College, founded to educate America's immigrant population, is notable as the inventor of the Model Congress program; Tufts University School of Medicine ranks among the Top 20 universities in the United States; in 2010, UMass Amherst relocated its urban design center graduate program to Court Square in Metro Center, and has indicated that a larger commitment (probably in the soon-to-be renovated former hotel building on Court Square) is possible within the next year. Also, Cambridge College, an institution that caters to working adults, is located in Springfield, as is the American Career Institute.

Several of Greater Springfield's institutions rank among the most prestigious and well-financed in the world. For example, Amherst College, 15 miles (24 km) north of Springfield, consistently ranks as America's #1 liberal arts college. Smith College, 13 miles (21 km) north of Springfield, consistently ranks among America's top 10 liberal arts colleges. Mount Holyoke College – the United States' first women's college – consistently ranks among America's Top 15 colleges, and it is located only 9 miles (14 km) north of Springfield. Hampshire College, the creative and free-thinking university that has produced luminaries such as the documentarian Ken Burns and critically renowned author and mountain climber Jon Krakauer, is located only 14 miles (23 km) north of Springfield. The 30,000 student University of Massachusetts is located 16 miles (26 km) north of Springfield. Approximately 10 miles (16 km) west of Springfield, across the Memorial Bridge in Westfield, is Westfield State University, founded by noted education reformer Horace Mann. Westfield was the first university in America to admit students without regard to sex, race, or economic status. Its current enrollment is approximately 6,000 students.

Just outside of Springfield's northern city limits is Elms College, a fine Catholic university that for many years educated only women. Now Elms College is co-educational. Likewise, just 2 miles (3.2 km) below Springfield's southern city limit in Longmeadow is the park-like campus of Bay Path College, which once also admitted only women. Within the past decade, Bay Path has eased its restriction and started to admit men to certain programs.

Community colleges

In 1968, following the Pentagon's controversial closing of the Springfield Armory, Springfielders founded Springfield Technical Community College on 35 acres (140,000 m²) behind the Springfield Armory National Park. Springfield Technical Community College is the only "technical" community college in Massachusetts, and was founded to continue Springfield's traditional of technical innovation.

Holyoke Community College, 8 miles (13 km) north of Springfield, is Greater Springfield's more traditional community college.

Public schools (K-12)

Springfield has the second largest school district in Massachusetts and in New England. 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 Springfield High School of Science and Technology, better known as Sci-Tech. There are also two charter secondary schools in the City of Springfield: SABIS International, which ranks among the top 5% of high schools nationally in academic quality, and the Hampden Charter School of Science 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.

Private elementary

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield operated five Catholic elementary schools in the city, all of which were consolidated into a single entity, St. Michael's Academy, in the autumn of 2009. The non-denominational Pioneer Valley Christian School is located in the suburban Sixteen Acres neighborhood, educating K-12. Non-sectarian elementary schools within the City of Springfield include the Pioneer Valley Montessori School in Springfield's Sixteen Acres neighborhood and Orchard Children's Corner in suburban Indian Orchard, a Pre-Kindergarten, among others.

Private secondary

The Diocese runs Cathedral High School, which is the largest Catholic high school in Western Massachusetts. A non-denominational Christian school, the Pioneer Valley Christian School, is located in the suburban Sixteen Acres neighborhood of the city. Two nonsectarian private schools are also located in Springfield: The MacDuffie School, which was founded in 1890, teaches grades six through twelve, and the Academy Hill School, which teaches kindergarten through grade eight.

Within 15 miles (24 km) of Springfield are many private prep schools, which can serve as day schools for Springfield students; they include: the Williston Northampton School in Easthampton, Massachusetts; Wilbraham & Monson Academy in Wilbraham, Massachusetts; and Suffield Academy in Suffield, Connecticut.

Library

Efforts to establish the Springfield Public Library began in the 1850s. In fiscal year 2008, the city of Springfield spent 1.13% ($5,321,151) of its budget on its public library – some $35 per person. In fiscal year 2009, Springfield spent about 1% ($ 5,077,158) of its budget on the library – some $32 per person. Springfield has Massachusetts' 2nd largest library circulation, behind Boston.

Culture

Six Flags New England sits on the Connecticut River across from Springfield's South End

Amusement parks and fairs

Within two miles (3 km) of Springfield are New England's largest and most popular amusement park, Six Flags New England, and its largest and most popular fair, The Big E. Six Flags New England, located across Springfield's South End Bridge in Agawam currently features 10 roller-coasters, including the #1 roller-coaster in the world since 2004, "Bizarro." Six Flags New England also features a large water park, kid's rides, and an outdoor concert stadium, among numerous other attractions. It opens in mid-April and closes at the end of October.

The Eastern States Exposition ("The Big E") is located across Springfield's Memorial Bridge in West Springfield. The Big E serves as the New England states' collective state fair. The Big E is currently the sixth largest agricultural fair in America and brings in thousands of tourists each September–October. The Big E features rides, carnival food, music, and replicas of each of the six New England state houses, each of which is owned by its respective New England state. During the Big E, these state houses serve as consulates for the six New England states, and also serve food for which the states are known.

Architecture

In addition to its nickname The City of Firsts, Springfield is known as The City of Homes for its attractive architecture, which differentiates it from most medium-size, Northeastern American cities. Most of Springfield's housing stock consists of Victorian "Painted Ladies" (similar to those found in San Francisco, California;) however, Springfield also features Gilded Age mansions, urban condominiums buildings, brick apartment blocks, and more suburban post-World War II architecture (in the Sixteen Acres and Pine Point neighborhoods). While Springfield's architecture is attractive, much of its built-environment stems from from the 19th and early 20th centuries when the city experienced a period of "intense and concentrated prosperity" – today, its Victorian architecture can be found in various states of rehabilitation and disrepair. As of 2011, Springfield's housing prices are considerably lower than nearby New England cities that do not feature renowned residential architecture.

Unity Church (built 1866-1869), the first commission of noted architect H.H. Richardson, was demolished in 1961.

In Metro Center, some of Springfield's former hotels, factories, and other institutions have been converted into apartment buildings and luxury condominiums. For example, Springfield's ornate Classical High School (235 State Street), with its immense Victorian atrium - where Dr. Seuss, Timothy Leary, and Taj Mahal all went to high school - is now a luxury condominium building. The Hotel Kimball, (140 Chestnut Street), which hosted several U.S. Presidents as guests and once featured the United States' first commercial radio station (WBZ), has been converted into The Kimball Towers Condominiums. The former McIntosh Shoe Company (158 Chestnut Street), one of Springfield's finest examples of the Chicago School of Architecture, has been converted into industrial-style condominiums; and the red-brick, former Milton Bradley toy factory is now Stockbridge Court Apartments (45 Willow Street). In the Ridgewood Historic District, the 1950s-futurist Mulberry House (101 Mulberry Street), is now a condominium building that features some of the finest views of Springfield.

Forest Park (and Forest Park Heights), surrounding Frederick Law Olmsted's beautiful 735 acres (2.97 km²) Forest Park, is a New England Garden District that features over 600 Victorian Painted Ladies. The McKnight National Historic District, America's first planned residential neighborhood, (1881), features over 900 Victorian Painted Ladies, many of which have been rehabilitated by Springfield's growing LGBT community. The Old Hill, Upper Hill, and Bay neighborhoods also feature this type of architecture.

Maple High, which is architecturally (and geographically) distinct from, but often included with Springfield's economically depressed Six Corners neighborhood, was Springfield's first "Gold Coast." Many mansions from the early 19th century and later gilded age stand atop a bluff on Maple Street, overlooking the Connecticut River. The Ridgewood Historic district on Ridgewood and Mulberry Streets also feature historic mansions from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Springfield – like many mid-size Northeastern cities, e.g. Hartford, Albany, and New Haven – from the 1950s–1970s, razed a significant number of historic commercial buildings in the name of urban renewal. In 1961, this included Unity Church, the first building designed by the young Henry Hobson Richardson. Springfield's Metro Center remains more aesthetically cohesive than many its peer cities; however, as elsewhere, the city currently features a patchwork of parking-lots and grand old buildings. Current efforts are underway to improve the cohesion of Springfield's Metro Center, including the completed Main Street and State Street Corridor improvement projects, the upcoming $70 million renovation to Springfield's 1926 Union Station and the renovation of the Epiphany Tower on State Street into a new hotel. New constructions include the architecturally award-winning, $57 million Moshe Safdie-designed Federal Building on State Street.

Festivals

• Springfield Vintage Grand Prix: The Vintage Sports Car Club of America moved its official race from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Springfield, Massachusetts, beginning in 2012. The Springfield Vintage Grand Prix will feature a 1.6-mile (2.6 km) course through Metro Center's streets.

• Hoop City Jazz Festival: an annual event sponsored by the Springfield-headquartered Hampden Bank, which in the past has featured Springfield native and jazz legend Taj Mahal, the Average White Band, and others. 2011's Hoop City Jazz Festival will take place from July 8 – July 10 on Court Square, and will feature a jazz tribute to the City of New Orleans.

• Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend: a week of events that culminates in the Basketball Hall of Fame's enshrinement ceremony. It features numerous VIP galas, awards dinners, and press conferences. Enshrinement takes place in Springfield's Neo-Classical Symphony Hall on Court Square. In 2011, Enshrinement Weekend will take place August 11–13.

• Armory Big Band Concerts: annually each summer the Springfield Armory National Park and National Historic SIte features 1940s big band concerts. The band dresses in period costumes, and free dance lessons are provided. In 2011, an Armory Big Band Concert will be held on July 9.

• Springfield Gay Pride Week: Springfield will celebrate its first gay pride event from June 8–16, 2011. Events range from political roundtables, to film showings, to celebrations at local gay clubs. According to 2010 Census statistics, Springfield has experienced a dramatic rise in its LGBT population during the last decade, and this celebration is aimed at increasing the visibility and voice of the LGBT community and its allies. .

• Our Lady of Mount Carmel Society Festival: in Springfield's Italian South End, it is long-running tradition to celebrate Italian Feast Days, in particular during the summer. The largest of these festivals is the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Society festival, which features a parade, and numerous food stands offering all sorts of Italian foods, e.g. fried dough, pasta with meatballs or sausages, sausage and peppers, meatball and steak grinders, and sugar cones, cotton candy, candy apples and gelato. The festival takes place each year in mid-July.

• Stearns Square Concert Series and Bike Nights: annually from June through September on Thursday evenings from 7-10pm, Springfield sponsors free live music at Stearns Square, in the heart of Metro Center's Club Quarter. Hundreds and sometimes thousands of motorcyclists attend Bike Nights, which coincide with the Stearns Square Concerts.

• Mattoon Street Arts Festival: one of the largest annual art festivals in Springfield. In 2011, it will feature a record number of exhibitors when it takes place from September 10–11, 2011 in the Mattoon Street Historic District. The art festival takes place at the corner of Mattoon and Chestnut Streets, near the Apremont Triangle and Kimball Towers Luxury Condominiums.

• Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival: each spring the Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival presents two weeks of films, renowned guest speakers, and events related to Jewish culture. In 2011, the festival took place from March 23 – April 11.

• St. Patrick's Day Parade: 7 miles (11 km) north of Springfield's Metro Center, the small city of Holyoke, Massachusetts stages the United States' 2nd-largest, annual St. Patrick's Day Parade (larger than Boston's and Chicago's, but slightly smaller than New York City's). In 2011, Holyoke's St. Patrick's Day Parade attracted over 400,000 revelers.

• World's Largest Pancake Breakfast: annually, near the city's founding date (May 14) Springfield attempts to break the Guinness Book of World Records' mark for largest number of pancakes served. 2011's event drew over 30,000 people to Main Street, where approximately 60,000 pancakes were served.

• Star Spangled Springfield: annually on July 4, Springfield stages an evening of patriotism, pageantry and pyrotechnics. The evening begins in Court Square with a patriotic concert by the Springfield Symphony Orchestra and concludes with an elaborate fireworks display from the Memorial Bridge. Numerous hills and bluffs in Springfield afford views of the fireworks.

• Caribbean Festival: in general held in late August each year, Springfield's Caribbean Festival celebrates the culture of the West Indies, which has increased greatly in Springfield during recent years. Highlights of the festival include a parade, dancers, floats, Caribbean music, and even a fashion show celebrating traditional Caribbean-dress.

• The Parade of Big Balloons: since 1991, the Parade of Big Balloons has helped to usher in the holiday season in Springfield. A 75-foot (23 m) inflatable "Cat in the Hat" and a dozen or more big balloons, bands, and colorful marching contingents parade through Springfield's Metro Center at 11AM on the day after Thanksgiving. The Parade of Big Balloons starts in the city's North End and make its way down Main Street to the South End, entertaining crowds estimated at 75,000. In general, this parade is broadcast by local TV and radio affiliates.

• Bright Nights: during the holiday season, over 600,000 lights illuminate a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) driving tour of Frederick Law Olmsted's Forest Park. Since its inception in the 1990s, the event has become a national attraction. From the new “Poinsettia Fantasy” entry to the giant Poinsettia Candles marking the exit, passengers in cars, vans, buses and campers drive by and through lighting displays including "Seuss Land," a display approved by the estate of Dr. Seuss, "Spirit of the Season," "Noah's Ark," "Victorian Village," "Barney Mansion," "Winter Woods," "North Pole Village," "Toy Land," and "Season's Greetings."

"Firsts" in Springfield

In 1855, Springfield newspaper publisher Samuel Bowles encouraged the formation of, and then named the United States Republican Party.

In 1901, America's first successful motorcycle was the "Indian" of Springfield. This is a 1920 Indian Scout.

The first modern fire engine was manufactured in Springfield in 1905, by Knox Automobile. Springfield had the world's first modern fire department.

File:Croix de Guerre 104.jpg

During World War I, Springfield's 104th Infantry Regiment became the first and only U.S. military unit ever to receive France's croix de guerre.

WBZ, the first commercial radio station in the United States, was located in Springfield's luxurious Hotel Kimball.

The City of Springfield is known as the City of Firsts because, throughout the centuries, its citizens have boldly created avante-garde products, organizations, and ideas. Today, the most famous among Springfield's "firsts" is the sport of basketball, invented in 1891 and now the world's 2nd most popular sport. Below is a partial list of the City of Springfield's "firsts:"

• First Springfield in the New World

1636 – William Pynchon

• First Accustation of Witchcraft in the New World

1640 – Mary and Hugh Parsons

• First Meat Packer (exporting salt pork)

1641 – William Pynchon

• First banned book in the New World

1651 – William Pynchon

• First Federal Arsenal

1777 – Springfield Armory, founded by George Washington and Henry Knox

• First Armory in the United States

1794 – Springfield Armory

• First American-Made Musket

1795 – Springfield Armory

• First American-English Dictionary

1806 – Merriam-Webster, Inc.

• First Lathe (leading to interchangeable parts and assembly line mass production)

1820 – Thomas Blanchard

• First Modern Burning Steam Carriage

1826 –Thomas Blanchard

• First Major American History Book

1830 – George Bancroft

• First Kitchen Friction Match

1834 – Chapin & Phillips Company

• First Vulcanization of Rubber

1844 – Charles Goodyear

• First Clamp-On Ice Skate

1849 – Everett Hosmer Barney (Barney & Berry, Inc).

• First National Horse Show in United States

1853

• First Adjustable Monkey Wrench

1854 – Bemis & Call Company

• First Show of School Colors

1855 – Harvard vs. Yale Rowing Race on the Connecticut River

• Naming of the United States Republican Party

1855 – Samuel Bowles

• First American Railroad Sleeping Car (also known as Pullman Car)

1857 – Wason Company

• First American Popular Parlor Game

1860 – The Game of Life by the Milton Bradley Company

• Pocket-Size Travel Games

1861 – Game for Soldiers by the Milton Bradley Company

• First United States Registered Bank

1863 – National Bank of Springfield

• First Producer of Supplementary Education Material for Kindergarten Education

1869 – Milton Bradley Company

• First Postcard in United States

1873 – Morgan Envelope Factory

• First Dog Show in United States

1875 – Springfield Rod & Gun Club

• First Social Service Agency in United States

1877 – Union Relief Association

• First Planned Residential Neighborhood – The McKnight Historic District

1881 – John and William McKnight

• First Music Appreciation Course

1882 – Springfield Public Schools

• First Revolver Club

1886

• First Game of Basketball

1891 – Dr. James Naismith of Springfield College

• First Gasoline-powered Automobile

1893 – Charles E and J. Frank Duryea

• First Public Swimming Pool in United States

1899 – Forest Park

• First Successful Motorcycle

1901 – Indian Motorcycle

• First Window Envelope

1902 – U. S. Envelope Company

• First Modern, Motorized Fire Engine

1905 – Knox Automobile

• First Modern, Motorized Fire Department

1907 – Springfield Fire Department

• First Camp Fire Girls

1910 – Charlotte Guilick

• First Factory Air Conditioning

1911 – Bosch Magneto Company

• First Agricultural Course

1912 – Hampden County Improvement League

• First Physical Education Course

1912 – International Y. M. C. A. College (Springfield College)

• First Basketball

1912 – Victor Sporting Goods Company of Springfield

• First American Military Regiment Decorated by a Foreign Power (France, with Croix de Guerre)

1918 – 104th Infantry Regiment

• First Community Chest

1918

• First Junior Achievement

1919 – Horace A. Moses

• First Rolls Royce American Automobile Plant

1920 – Frederick Royce

• First Commercial Radio Station in United States

1921 – WBZA, located at The Hotel Kimball

• First Test Market for Frozen Foods

1930 – Clarence Birdseye

• First American Built Planetarium

1937 – Springfield Science Museum

• First Fluorescent Lighting System

1939 – Springfield Armory

• First American Discount Store

1949 – King’s

• First UHF TV Station in United States

1953 – WWLP-22News

Museums

Springfield is home to 5 distinct museums at The Quadrangle, along with the ornate Springfield Public Library – an architecturally significant example of the City Beautiful movement championed by Daniel Burnham. The Quadrangle's 5 distinct collections include the United States' first planetarium and the Dr Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden, an homage to one of Springfield's favorite native sons.

The Quadrangle's museums include the Museum of Fine Arts, which features a large Impressionist collection; The George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, a bizarre collection of Asian curiosities; the Springfield Science Museum, which features a life-size Tyrannosaurus Rex, and as noted, the United States' first planetarium; the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum, which, as visitors find out, is inextricably linked with American History; and the Museum of Springfield History, a museum about the multi-faceted city.

Springfield's Indian Orchard neighborhood is home to the RMS Titanic Historical Society's Titanic Museum. Unlike Springfield's urban Quadrangle museums, the setting for Indian Orchard's Titanic Museum looks like 1950s suburbia. Inside 208 Main Street, there is a small museum with an interesting collection about the ill-fated ocean liner. Rare artifacts tell stories about the Titanic's passengers and crew.

Music

Classical music aficionados hold the progressive Springfield Symphony Orchestra in high esteem. The Springfield Symphony Orchestra performs in Springfield Symphony Hall, a venue known for its ornate, Greek Revival architecture and "perfect acoustics." The SSO's current conductor is Kevin Rhodes.

Famous musicians from Springfield include blues legend Taj Mahal; the band Staind and its frontman Aaron Lewis; Linda Perry, former leader singer of 4 Non Blondes and now famous songwriter and producer; Taj Mahal's sister, Carole Fredericks, a soul singer very popular in France; numerous jazz musicians, including Joe Morello, drummer for the Dave Brubeck Quartet; Phil Woods, saxophonist for Quincy Jones; Tony MacAlpine, keyboardist and guitarist with Steve Vai; and Paul Weston, composer for Frank Sinatra, among many others.

As of 2011, Springfield's music scene is eclectic. It features a notable heavy rock scene, from which the bands Staind and All That Remains rose to national prominence. Jazz and blues rival rock in popularity. Indeed, each summer, the Springfield-headquartered Hampden Bank sponsors the annual Hoops City Jazz & Art Festival, a three-day event that draws approximately 30,000 people to Metro Center to hear varieties of different jazz music - from smooth jazz, to hard bop, to New Orleans-style jazz. In previous years, headliners have included Springfield great Taj Mahal, the Average White Band, and Poncho Sanchez.

Only 15 miles north in the college towns of Northampton and Amherst, there is an active independent and alternative rock scene. Many of these bands perform regularly in Springfield's Club Quarter, at venues such as Fat Cats Bar & Grille, Theodore's, and soon - as in the past - the restored Paramount Theater. In the Club Quarter, there are venues for nearly every type of music. Centered around Stearns Square, nightly offerings include blues, college rock, jazz, indie, hip-hop, jam band, Latin, hard rock, pop, metal, karaoke, piano bars and DJs.

Each Thursday during the summer, a free concert is held at Stearns Square to coincide with Bike Night, a happening that in general attracts thousands of motorcyclists to the Quarter and thousands more spectators to hear live music.

Larger rock and hip-hop acts play at the 7,000-seat MassMutual Center. In the past, the arena has played host to artists such as Marilyn Manson, Alice Cooper, Nirvana, David Bowie, David Lee Roth, Poison, Pearl Jam, and Bob Dylan.

Newspapers

Springfield's largest local newspaper is The Republican. It can be visited online at: http://www.masslive.com. The Republican was formerly the Springfield Union-News & Sunday Republican. Smaller papers such as The Reminder and the Valley Advocate also serve Greater Springfield.

Other newspapers serve specific communities of interest, such as Predvestnik, a Russian-language newspaper, El Pueblo Latino, serving the Hispanic community, Unity First serving the African-American community, and The Rainbow Times, which serves Springfield's LGBT community.

Nightlife

For a more complete description, see the article on: Springfield's Club Quarter

The City of Springfield' Club Quarter is the nightlife capital of the Pioneer Valley and the Knowledge Corridor, featuring approximately 60 dance clubs, bars, music venues, LGBT venues, and after-hours establishments. In general, most clubs, bars, music venues, and other nightspots are located on or near upper Worthington Street, on and around Stearns Square, or on Chestnut Street.

Springfield's Club Quarter features a large (and growing) LGBT nightlife scene at establishments like Oz (397 Dwight Street), Pure (324 Chestnut Street),, The Pub Lounge (382 Dwight Street), and Club Xtatic (240 Chesnut Street, featuring dancers). In 2011, LGBT magazine The Advocate ranked Springfield #13 among its "New Gay American Cities," ahead of San Diego, California and Albuquerque, New Mexico. There has been a notable increase in Springfield's LGBT nightlife since Massachusetts legalized gay marriage in 2004.

Sites

The Big E is New England's collective state fair. On the Avenue of the States, each of the six New England States owns its own plot of land and replica State House

• Basketball Hall of Fame – housed in an iconic $47 million structure designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, it is a shrine to the world's second most popular sport, basketball. Located in the city where basketball was invented, the facility – built beside the Connecticut River – spans 80,000 square feet (7,400 m²) and features numerous restaurants. However, it is separated from Springfield's Metro Center by the 8-lane highway, Interstate 91.
• The Big E – also known as The Eastern States Exposition, it is New England's collective, annual state fair. Held on a permanent fairgrounds approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Springfield's Metro Center, across the ornate Memorial Bridge in West Springfield, it attracts more than 1 million visitors per year during its 14–17 day run beginning in mid-September.
• Bright Nights – during the holiday season, Forest Park hosts a nationally renowned, 2+ mile, state-of-the-art lighting extravaganza. Year over year, the numerous lighting displays become creative and elaborate.
• City Stage – Springfield's best-known playhouse features off-Broadway productions, comedians, and children's programming.
• Club Quarter – a grouping of 60 clubs, bars, and restaurants around Stearns Square, Worthington and Main Streets. Springfield's variety of nightclubs and entertainment is part of what makes it, according to Yahoo, one of America's ten best cities for dating. LGBT and dance clubs are integrated with hip-hop, rock, jazz, and blues clubs. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday are particularly busy evenings.
• Connecticut River Walk Park – a landscaped park that snakes along the Connecticut River, affording views of the Mount Tom Range, Mount Holyoke Range, and Springfield's skyline. However, this park is separated from Springfield by the badly designed, 8-lane Interstate 91 highway, which cuts through three Springfield riverfront neighborhoods, and thus presents a major obstacle to accessing this riverfront park. In 2010, the Urban Land Institute released a plan for Springfield's riverfront, which has given Springfielders cause for hope that Interstate 91 will either be moved or made more easily passable via new design features that would allow people to access the River Walk and the Basketball Hall of Fame.
• Court Square – a park, referred to as "Springfield's front door," it remains the city's only topographical constant since its founding in 1636. Located on Main Street and surrounded by ornate architecture, including the iconic Springfield Municipal Group, Court Square is the civic heart of Springfield. Until the 1960s, Court Square extended to the Connecticut River; however, as with Olmsted's Forest Park, its connection to the river was severed by the building of the Interstate 91 elevated highway.
• Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden – amidst The Quadrangle, there are large, bronze statues of characters from Springfield native Dr. Seuss's books.
• First Game of Basketball Sculpture – located directly on the site of the first-ever game of basketball, this illuminated sculpture in Springfield's Mason Square commercial district has become a site of pilgrimage for basketball fans from around the world.
• Forest Park – designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the renowned landscape designer of New York City's Central Park, Springfield's Forest Park is nearly the same size as Central Park at 735 acres (2.97 km²). It features the Zoo at Forest Park; the 31 acres (0.13 km²) Porter Lake; numerous playgrounds; a formal rose garden; 38 tennis courts; a skating arena; numerous basketball and bocce courts; lawn bowling fields; Victorian promenades and water gardens; tree groves; baseball diamonds; numerous statues; an aquatic park; and the Barney Carriage House, where many weddings take place.
• King Phillip's Stockade – an historic, city park where in 1675, the Pocumtuc Indians – organized by Chief Metacomet, also known as King Phillip – initiated the Attack on Springfield during King Phillip's War. During the attack, approximately 75% of the city was burned.
• MassMutual Center – formerly known as the Springfield Civic Center, this 7,000-seat arena and convention center received a $71 million renovation in 2005–2006. Located across from historic Court Square in Metro Center, the arena houses two professional sports franchises, the NBADL Springfield Armor and The AHL Springfield Falcons. The venue also attracts big-name concert tours. In the past, it has hosted concerts by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Van Halen, Marilyn Manson, The Eagles, and Bob Dylan, among many others.
• Mulberry Street – the street featuring the house that inspired Dr. Seuss's first children's book, the classic And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.
• The Puritan – a famous statue designed by Augustus St. Gaudens depicting Deacon Samuel Chapin, an early settler of Springfield. "The Puritan" is perhaps St. Gaudens' most celebrated, outdoor sculpture. Originally located in Stearns Square, it has been located in Merrick Park beside The Quadrangle for over 100 years and become a symbol of Springfield.
• The Quadrangle – a campus of five museums surrounding the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden, is an extraordinary cultural grouping – especially considering Springfield's medium-size population and small land area. It includes the world-class Museum of Fine Arts, known for its Impressionist and Dutch Renaissance collections, as well as its extensive collection of American masters, including works by Springfielder James McNeill Whistler. The world-class Springfield Science Museum features the United States' first planetarium (built 1931), and a large dinosaur exhibit. The world-class George Walter Vincent Smith Museum is known worldwide for housing the largest collection of Chinese cloisonne outside of China; it also features exotic curiosities like Asian suits of armor, and a collection of marble busts. The Quadrangle also features two regional history museums: the Connecticut Valley Historical Society, which tells the story of "The Great River" and its people; and the new Museum of Springfield History, which showcases the innovations that make Springfield "The City of Progress" during the abolitionist period, and Industrial Revolution - including the first American-English dictionary; the first gasoline-powered car; the first successful motorcycle; the first modern fire engine; and dozens of other firsts, (see below for a more complete list).
• St. John's Congregational Church - founded in 1844 as the Sanford Street "Free Church," St. John's Congregational Church is a predominately black church that played a pivotal role in the abolitionist movement. While living in Springfield, John Brown attended services here from 1846-1850, and as of 2011, the church still displays John Brown's Bible. It was at this church where John Brown met Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and other prominent abolitionists - and where he later founded the famous, militant League of Gileadites in response to the Fugitive Slave Act. As of 2011, St. John's remains one of the most prominent, predominately black congregations in the Northeastern United States.
• St. Michael's Cathedral – beside The Quadrangle, this elegant Catholic Church is the seat of the Diocese of Greater Springfield.
• Stacy Building - the location where, in 1892-93, the Duryea Brothers built the first, American, gasoline-powered car, which in 1895 won the first-ever automobile race in Chicago, Illinois. A model of the Duryea Brothers' first car sits in a tree-shaded park beside the historic location, amidst the restaurants and bars of the Club Quarter.
• Six Flags New England – located 1-mile (1.6 km) west of Springfield's South End in Agawam, this is the largest amusement park in the Northeast. It features an extensive water park and ten roller-coasters, including the #1 ranked roller-coaster in the world for the past decade, Bizarro. In 2011, it debuted another roller-coaster, the Gotham City Gauntlet: Escape from Arkham Asylum.
• The Springfield Armory National Park – founded by General George Washington and Henry Knox in 1777; the site of Shays' Rebellion in 1787, which led directly to the U.S. Constitutional Convention; the site of numerous technological innovations including the manufacturing advances known as interchangeable parts, the assembly line, and mass production; and the producer of the United States Military's firearms from 1794–1968, when the Armory was controversially shut-down by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara. Today, it is a National Park, National Historic Site, and features a museum that includes one of the world's largest collections of firearms.
• Symphony Hall – dedicated in 1913 by President William Howard Taft as part of the Springfield Municipal Group, Springfield Symphony Hall features "perfect acoustics." It is home to the progressive Springfield Symphony Orchestra conducted by showman Kevin Rhodes, and also hosts numerous Broadway touring productions.
• Stearns Square – designed by the renowned artistic team of Stanford White and Augustus St. Gaudens in 1897, this small park is the center of Springfield's Club Quarter. It features ornate architectural and sculptural details from the original team's design; however, most of those were meant to accompany The Puritan, and thus moved to storage. Stearns Square hosts a large motorcycle gathering each Thursday evening, and is the site of a summer concert series.

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, now known as Springfield College.

The MassMutual Center before a Springfield Falcons game

Ice hockey has been played professionally in Springfield since the 1920s, and Springfield is home to the league headquarters of the American Hockey League. 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. 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 the most popular sport in Springfield's sporting landscape. Springfield is home to the Springfield Armor of the NBA Development League, which began play in 2009 at the MassMutual Center. As of the 2011–2012 season, the Armor is now the exclusive affiliate of the New Jersey Nets. For many years, the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic has been the semi-official start to the college basketball season, and the NCAA Division II championships are usually held in Springfield. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference will play its championships in Springfield from 2012–2014. 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 has had professional baseball in the past, and according to its current mayor, remains intent on pursuing it in the future. 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 Pynchon Park by the waterfront, and were forced to move when Pynchon 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. In general, 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).

Springfield's Parks

In 2010, Springfield was cited as the 4th "Greenest City" in the United States – the largest city cited in the Top 10. The recognition noted Springfield's numerous parks, the purity of its drinking water, its regional recycling center, and organizations like ReStore Home Improvement Center, which salvages building materials. Springfield features over 2,400 acres (9.7 km²) of parkland distributed among 35 urban parks, including the grand, 735 acres (2.97 km²) Forest Park. Well-known parks include the following, among others:

• Apremont Triangle Park is a triangular, pocket park in front of Springfield's historic Kimball Towers in Metro Center. Named for Springfield's 104th Infantry Regiment, which following the World War I Battle of Apremont, became the first-ever U.S. military unit awarded for heroism by a foreign power, receiving France's highest military honor: the croix de guerre for bravery in combat. The same Springfield unit received the same honor again in World War II. Apremont Triangle Park, steps from both the bohemian Kimball Towers and upper-class Quadrangle-Mattoon Street Historic District offers a place to sit amidst the restaurants on the northern fringe of the Club Quarter.
• Armoury Commons is a rectangular park just south of the Springfield Armory, located at the corner of Pearl and Spring Streets in Metro Center. Renovated in 2009, Armoury Commons features several sculptures, including Pynchon Park's original sculpture. The park is often used as a place to play chess and other games.
• Connecticut River Walk Park is a narrow, landscaped park that snakes along the scenic Connecticut River for several miles. Beginning near the Basketball Hall of Fame, it features jogging trails, benches, boat docks, and plazas – all of which afford scenic vistas of the Connecticut River and Connecticut River Valley. However, Interstate 91's position, height, and ancillary structures – including a 1756-car, below-grade parking lot, (the largest in the city,) and 20-foot (6.1 m) stone walls block all views of the Connecticut River, and all but three passages to the park from Metro Center. Despite Springfield's rating as one of the most walkable cities in the U.S., due to the poor planning of I-91, this park can be difficult to reach on foot.
• Court Square has been Springfield's one topographical constant since colonial days – it is located in Metro Center. Featuring monuments to Springfield's hero during King Phillip's War of 1675, Miles Morgan; President William McKinley; and a Civil War memorial Court Square is surrounded by extraordinarily fine architecture, including H.H. Richardson's Richardsonian Romanesque Courthouse; the Springfield Municipal Group featuring the Greek Revival City Hall, Symphony Hall, and the 300-foot (91 m) Italianate Campanile; and also the 1819 reconstruction of the 1638 Old First Church. Other buildings included are the One Financial Plaza skyscraper, UMass Amherst's Urban Design Studio in the Byers Block (b. 1835;) and, across Main Street, the MassMutual Center arena and convention center.
• Five Mile Pond is a Naturalist park and pond approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) from Springfield's Metro Center in the Pine Point neighborhood of Springfield. There are several, glacial lakes in the Five Mile Pond area, including Lake Lorraine, Loon Pond, and Long Pond. Five Mile Pond is popular with boaters.
• Forest Park is one of the United States' largest urban parks (at 735 acres (2.97 km²)) and also one of its most historically important urban parks. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted – the famed designer of New York City's Central Park – Forest Park is nearly as large, and similarly diverse. Amenities include the Zoo at Forest Park, which features many exotic animals; the United States' first public swimming pool (1899;) numerous playgrounds; an ice-skating rink; a formal rose garden; the 31 acres (0.13 km²) Porter Lake, which features fishing and paddle-boating; 38 tennis courts; numerous basketball and bocce courts; lawn bowling fields; Victorian promenades and water gardens; dozens of hiking and walking trails; an aquatic park; numerous sculptures; and the Carriage House of Springfielder Everett Hosmer Barney, the man who invented the ice skate and popularized the roller skate during the 19th century. During the holiday season, Forest Park hosts the nationally renowned lighting display, "Bright Nights."
• King Phillip's Stockade is an historic park, famous as the site where Native Americans organized the 1675 Sack of Springfield; The Stockade features numerous picnic pavilions, excellent views of the Connecticut River Valley, and a sculpture of The Windsor Indian, who tried in vain to warn the residents of Springfield of coming danger.
• Leonardo da Vinci Park is a small greenspace (0.4 acres), located in the historically Italian South End of Springfield. It features ornamental perimeter fencing surrounding a playground. Leonardo Da Vinci Park was renovated in 2009 and now features new picnic tables and playground equipment.
• Pynchon Park is an architecturally interesting brutalist-style city park, which was dedicated in 1977. It links Springfield's Metro Center with The Quadrangle cultural grouping, (the museums and sculptures sit atop a steep bluff). Mostly made of poured concrete, but featuring a waterfall, lush greenery, and fountains, Pynchon Park received numerous accolades from the American Institute of Architecture for “enhancing the quality of the urban environment in the core of the city.” It features two levels and a distinctive elevator.
• Stearns Square is a rectangular park between Worthington Street and Bridge Street in Springfield's Club Quarter, located in Metro Center. Designed by the creative 'dream-team' of Stanford White and August St. Gaudens. It was there that St. Gaudens' most famous work, The Puritan, originally stood. The Puritan has since been moved to The Quadrangle, at the corner of State and Chestnut Streets; however, White's and St. Gaudens' original fountain, bench, and turtle sculptures, all meant to compliment The Puritan, remain in Stearns Square.
• Van Horn Park is a large park in the Hungry Hill section of Liberty Heights in Springfield. It features two ponds and a reservoir. The Reservoir and lower dam are not generally accessible to the public. The Main Entrance is on Armory Street near Chapin Terrace.

Media and communication

Television

Springfield has a long history of broadcast television, including two of the oldest UHF television stations on the air today.

Channel	Call Sign	Network	Owner
3	WSHM-LP	CBS	Meredith Corporation
22	WWLP	NBC	LIN TV
28	WFXQ-CA	NBC++	LIN TV
34	WTXX-LP	Independent	Independent owner*
40	WGGB	ABC, FOX, MyNetworkTV	Gormally Broadcasting
43	WHTX-LP	Univision	Entravision Communications
57	WGBY	PBS	WGBH Educational Foundation

++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 (UHF 32), a UHF station licensed to Greenfield, whose transmitter was in Winchester, New Hampshire as well as W69AQ (UHF 69), 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 TV 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 21/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 in the United States, and the oldest radio station of any kind in New England: WBZ, which broadcast live from Springfield's luxurious Hotel Kimball at 140 Chestnut Street, (now the Kimball Towers Condominiums) before moving to Boston in 1931.

Callsign	Frequency	City/town	Network affiliation / owner	Format
WFCR	88.5 FM	Springfield	University of Massachusetts Amherst	Public Radio
WSKB	89.5 FM	Westfield	Westfield State College	College Radio
WSCB	89.9 FM	Springfield	Springfield College	College Radio
WTCC	90.7 FM	Springfield	Springfield Technical Community College	Public Radio
WAIC	91.9 FM	Springfield	American International College	College Radio
WHYN-FM	93.1 FM	Springfield	Clear Channel Communications	Hot Adult Contemporary (Top 40 on HD2)
WMAS-FM	94.7 FM	Springfield	Citadel Broadcasting Corporation	Adult contemporary (Country on HD2)
WPKX	97.9 FM	Springfield	Clear Channel Communications	Country (Americana on HD2)
WLZX	99.3 FM	Northampton/Springfield	Saga Communications of New England	"Everything That Rocks"
WLCQ-LP	99.7 FM	Feeding Hills	Lighthouse Christian Center	Christian Rock/Pop Music, "The Q"
WRNX	100.9 FM	Amherst/Springfield	Clear Channel Communications	AAA
WAQY	102.1 FM	Springfield	Saga Communications of New England	Classic rock
WCCH	103.5 FM	Holyoke	Holyoke Community College	College Radio
WNEK-FM	105.1 FM	Springfield	Western New England College	College Radio
WWEI	105.5 FM	Easthampton/Springfield	Entercom Communications	Sports Talk (simulcast of WEEI-AM in Boston)
WEIB	106.3 FM	Northampton/Springfield	Cutting Edge Broadcasting	Smooth Jazz
WHYN	560 AM	Springfield	Clear Channel Communications	News/Talk
WNNZ	640 AM	Westfield	Clear Channel Communications	Public Radio (programmed by WFCR)
WACE	730 AM	Chicopee	Carter Broadcasting Corporation	Religious
WARE	1250 AM	Ware	Success Signal Broadcasting	Oldies
WPNI	1430 AM	Amherst	Pamal Broadcastring	Public Radio (temporary simulcast of WUMB-FM in Boston)
WHLL	1450 AM	Springfield	Citadel Broadcasting Corporation	Sports radio (ESPN Radio affiliate)

Transportation

The Memorial Bridge across the Connecticut to Springfield's Metro Center neighborhood

Bradley International Airport, 12 miles south of Springfield.

Ground

Springfield is called the Crossroads of New England because it is the major shipping nexus from New York City, Boston, Montreal and the Great Lakes (via Albany, New York). Much of the cargo heading from one of these places to another crosses through the City of Springfield. As a geographical trade center, Springfield has more advantages than just being equidistant to these other large trade centers – it sits beside the Connecticut River, on some of the most fertile farmland in the Northeast, served by numerous rails and 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 Springfield, and provides a secondary connection between I-90 and I-91. (There is an unnumbered connector in West Springfield).

Rail

Springfield has an Amtrak station served by trains destined for New York City, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, Vermont, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Montreal, Albany, New York, Buffalo, New York, Cleveland, Ohio, and Chicago. Currently, Amtrak operates out of a self-built platform following the 1973 close of Springfield's grand 1926 "Union Station." In 2011, Springfield's Union Station will receive a $70 million renovation, becoming an "intermodal transportation facility," allowing Peter Pan Bus, Greyhound Bus, and the PVTA to occupy a modernist space next door the re-built, 1926 Union Station. The renovated Union Station will serve as a nexus for Amtrak's re-tooled Vermonter, which in 2012, will begin to follow the tracks of the more direct, former Montrealer route. This will allow Springfield to become the hub of an intercity commuter line headed north, with two stops in Springfield, 2 stops in Chicopee, one (or perhaps two) stops in Holyoke, and one stop each in Northampton, South Deerfield, Greenfield, and Brattleboro, Vermont. Check schedules from 2011–2012 as there promise to be many changes.

In addition to Springfield's intercity commuter rail line headed north, Springfield also stands to benefit from a high-speed intercity commuter/freight rail from the south. The New Haven-Hartford-Springfield Commuter Rail Line has received complete funding from Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and of April 2010, is nearing complete funding from the Federal Government and the State of Connecticut. The trains on The Knowledge Corridor Route between New Haven and Springfield will, it has been reported, reach speeds of 110 mph (180 km/h). The project is scheduled to begin in 2012 and be completed by 2015.

Springfield-area freight yards stand to profit tremendously from the city's increased rail traffic. There are no major freight yards in Springfield proper, but CSOR and CSX serve the West Springfield Yard across the Connecticut River.

Bus

Local transit buses running into and out of the city use a facility owned and operated by Peter Pan Bus Lines, which is headquartered in Springfield at the corner of Main and Liberty Streets, next to the Gothic arch that denotes entrance into Metro Center Springfield. As of 2011, Peter Pan's Bus Terminal is need of a major aesthetic overhaul – the opportunity for Peter Pan, Greyhound, and the PVTA to move across the street to Springfield's Unions Station intermodal facility should render the point moot. Plans call for a bus station to be built on the plot adjacent to Union Station – the site of the former Hotel Charles – with a 23-bay bus terminal on lower levels and a 400-space public parking lot on upper levels.

Currently, the PVTA, headquartered at the dilapidated Peter Pan Terminal, provides services to the cities of Springfield, Chicopee, West Springfield, Westfield, and Holyoke. In September 2010, the City of Holyoke opened a new state-of-the-art bus station across the street from its centrally located Veterans Park. That bus station acts as the PVTA's main point of transfer between Hampden County in the south, and Hampshire county in the north.

Air

• Bradley International Airport, in Windsor Locks, Connecticut is 12 miles (19 km) south of Metro Center Springfield, and 12 miles (19 km) north of Hartford. It features over 100 daily departures to 30 destinations on nine airlines.

Other airports serving the Springfield include:

• Westover Metropolitan Airport is 5 miles (8.0 km) from downtown Springfield. It is 3 miles (4.8 km) from the Massachusetts Turnpike.
• Logan International Airport is served by most, prominent international airlines. Boston is approximately 80 miles (130 km) northeast of Springfield.

Sister city

• Takikawa, Hokkaidō, Japan

Notable residents

Abolitionist John Brown in Springfield in 1846

Dr. Seuss, Springfield author and illustrator

Springfield LSD activist Timothy Leary sitting admist Alan Ginsburg and Dr. Lilly.

James McNeil Whistler, famous American painter, grew up in Springfield.

• Creighton Abrams, U.S. Army general, Chief of Staff of the United States Army, and Commander of Operations during the Vietnam War
• Weston Adams, longtime President of the NHL's Boston Bruins
• Johnny Appleseed, American folk hero, spent his childhood and young adulthood in Springfield
• Joe Arpaio, "America's Toughest Sheriff," currently famous for his "tent city" prison in Maricopa County, Arizona
• Adele Addison, famed soprano, acclaimed in classical music during the 1950s–1960s
• Joel Asaph Allen, American zoologist
• George Ashmun, founder of the U.S. Republican Party and Springfield lawyer
• Travis Best, National Basketball Association player
• Alfred Ely Beach, the inventor of New York City's subway system
• R. P. Blackmur, poet and literary critic
• Nina Blackwood, original MTV VJ and Sirius Satellite Radio DJ
• Ran Blake, avante garde jazz pianist
• Thomas Blanchard, inventor of the lathe (1819), which led to the technological advances known as interchangeable parts and assembly line manufacturing. Also, inventor of the first modern car - powered by steam (1825).
• Herbert Blomstedt, famed orchestra conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and symphony orchestras in San Francisco, California and Stockholm, Sweden
• Chester Bowles, former Governor of Connecticut
• Samuel Bowles (journalist), renowned journalist, founder of the Springfield Republican, and one of the founders of the United States Republican Party
• Lloyd Wheaton Bowers, lawyer and former U.S. Solicitor General
• Ron Brace, National Football League player
• Milton Bradley, internationally renowned inventor of parlor games and game-manufacturer
• Dr. John Breck, Sr., founder of Breck Shampoo
• Chuck Bresnahan, NFL Football coach
• John Brown, internationally renowned abolitionist
• Harold R. Bull, completed the weather report that enabled the D-Day launch during World War II
• Nick Buoniconti, National Football League Hall of Famer
• Thornton Burgess, children's author, famous for "Peter Cottontail"
• Chris Capuano, pitcher for Major League Baseball's New York Mets
• John Cena, WWE wrestler
• Amzi Chapin, cabinetmaker, singing-school teacher and shapenote composer
• Chester W. Chapin, railroad magnate
• Deacon Samuel Chapin, early settler of Springfield, 1642
• Thornton Chase, the first American convert to the Bahá'í Faith
• Walter P. Coombs, paleontologist at Western New England University
• Shamus Culhane, lead animator at Walt Disney Studios, who produced such classics as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
• Billy Curtis, actor, best-known for his role as a Munchkin in "The Wizard of Oz", and "Terror of Tinytown"
• Bill Danoff, member of Starland Vocal Band and wrote #1 hit "Afternoon Delight"
• Donald Davidson, philosopher, famous for his studies regarding communication
• Jim Douglas, Governor of Vermont from 2003 - 2010
• Vinny Del Negro, National Basketball Association player and head coach
• David W. Evans, Professor of psychology and neuroscience, Bucknell University
• Theodore Foley, Roman Catholic priest, nominated for sainthood in 2008
• June Foray, voice actress for animated films
• Bertram Forer, psychologist, known for the Forer effect
• Carole Fredericks, a popular French musician; her brother was Springfield blues great, Taj Mahal
• John Garand, weapons inventor
• Theodor Seuss Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss), American writer and cartoonist best-known for his classic children's books
• Charles Goodyear, inventor of vulcanized rubber
• Mike Gravel, Senator from Alaska
• Chester Harding, America's most famous portrait painter during the 19th century
• Richard F. Heck, awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2010
• George M. Hendee and Carl Oscar Hedström, co-founders, Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company
• Elizur Holyoke, early explorer of Western Massachusetts, for whom Holyoke, Massachusetts and the Holyoke Range are named
• Joseph French Johnson, American economist, wrote the inspirational "The Price of Success"
• Alan Kay, computer scientist
• Derek Kellogg, University of Massachusetts men's basketball head coach
• Peter King, American sportswriter
• Stanley King, eleventh president of Amherst College
• Bob Kudelski, professional hockey player
• Paul Leder, Hollywood scene builder
• Timothy Leary, writer, psychologist and advocate of psychedelic drug research and use
• Norman Leyden, conductor and clarinetist
• Edward Tsang Lu, U.S. astronaut
• Arthur MacArthur, Jr., Army general, father of Douglas MacArthur
• William Manchester, historian, author of The Death of a President and other renowned literary works
• Rabbit Maranville, professional baseball player, inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1954
• Tim Mayotte, professional tennis player
• Miles Morgan, hero of King Phillip's War of 1675, a statue of Morgan stands in Springfield's Court Square
• Horace A. Moses, Philanthropist and paper pioneer
• James Naismith, inventor of basketball
• Tom Newberry, football player
• Lowell North, Olympic Gold Medalist in Sailing
• Larry O'Brien, Postmaster General, Democratic National Committee chairman and Commissioner of the National Basketball Association.
• Robert B. Parker, author
• Joe Philbin, Offensive Coordinator of the Green Bay Packers
• Eleanor Powell, actress, famous tap dancer
• William Pynchon, founder of the City of Springfield; earlier founded Roxbury, Massachusetts; in 1649, wrote America's first banned book
• Caleb Rice, first Mayor of Springfield, President of MassMutual
• George Washington Rice, founder of MassMutual Life Insurance
• William Marsh Rice, founder of Rice University, Houston, Texas
• Stephen Rivers (1955–2010), political activist and publicist.
• Peter Robinson, actor and freak show performer
• Kurt Russell, actor
• Julia Sanderson, famous actress, vaudevillian, and namesake of Springfield's Julia Sanderson Theater (now The Paramount Theater)
• Chloë Sevigny, American actress
• Mike Scully, writer and producer for The Simpsons.
• Daniel Shays, leader of 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
• David Socha international soccer referee
• Tommy Tallarico, video game music composer
• Antonio Thomas, professional wrestler
• George Tomasini, film editor known for work with Alfred Hitchcock
• Mike Trombley, former Major League Baseball Pitcher
• Paige Turco, actress
• Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Sacco and Vanzetti were falsely accused of murder in a famous American legal case that revealed animosity toward immigrants in 1920s Boston
• Lynn Vincent, author
• David Ames Wells, engineer and economist
• Daniel Baird Wesson, weapons inventor and founder of Smith & Wesson
• Maura West, actress
• James McNeill Whistler, American painter
• Terence H. Winkless, Film and Television Director
• Wilbur Fenelon Young, founder of W.F. Young, Inc.

Notable musical artists

Taj Mahal, native Springfield musician

• The Acacia Strain, deathcore band
• Agoraphobic Nosebleed, grindcore band
• All That Remains, metalcore band
• Destrophy, Erik Tsinger, guitarist, from Springfield.
• Carole Fredericks, singer
• Eddie Fontaine, singer
• Killswitch Engage, metalcore band
• Joel A. Muñoz Martínez of Jowell y Randy, reggaeton artist
• Mark Mulcahy, musician
• D. Woods, former member of R&B group, Danity Kane
• Ashley Gearing, country music artist
• Wanita "D. Woods" Woodgette, hip hop artist
• Taj Mahal, blues musician
• Tony MacAlpine, fusion musician
• Joe Morello, jazz drummer with the Dave Brubeck Quartet
• Linda Perry, songwriter, formerly of 4 Non Blondes
• Shadows Fall, metalcore band
• Staind, alternative rock band
• Paul Weston, composer for Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and others
• Phil Woods, jazz saxophonist with Quincy Jones, Steely Dan, Paul Simon, and many others

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Springfield, Massachusetts

Further reading

• Lepore, Jill. (1998). The Name of War: King Philip's War and the Origins of American Identity. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-375-70262-4.
• 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

• City of Springfield, Massachusetts Official city website.
• Springfield, Massachusetts Zip Code Maps
• The Valley Advocate (local weekly alternative newspaper)
• Knowledge Corridor Official website
• Junior League of Greater Springfield (Women's volunteer group dedicated to improving local community)