Springfield, Massachusetts is the largest city in
Western Massachusetts (assuming you count
Worcester, MA as Central Mass). It lies on the east bank of the
Connecticut River, the reason for its founding. With a population of about 115,000, it's the largest city in
Hampden County. It lies about 100 miles west of
Boston, MA, 30 miles north of
Hartford, CT, and about 90 miles from
Albany, NY. The mayor for the last decade has been Michael Albano, who is invariably re-elected despite suspected
mob ties.
Update: In 2003, the city elected Charlie Ryan mayor, despite the fact that he was a pretty lousy mayor during the race riots in the 1960s.
Major attractions in Springfield include the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, recently renovated (grand opening: September 28th, 2002), the Dr. Seuss Memorial, and Bright Nights, a display of Christmas lights that adorns Forest Park, which people pay by the car- and bus-load to drive through. It's not bad. Most of the local residents went once or twice and forgot about it, but it's still a major source of revenue and traffic.
Neighboring West Springfield, MA hosts the Big E, a massive East Coast fair, which takes place from August to September and atracts huge numbers of guests.
Springfield is referred to as "The City Of Firsts", for three reasons, two of which are evident from the previous paragraph. Basketball was invented here. The gasoline engine was invented here (by German immigrants). Dr. Seuss was born here. That's right. Dr. Seuss was born here before he was born anywhere else! Take that, bunch of other cities!
And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street! is set on Mulberry Street, just east of Downtown Springfield.
City Districts:
- Downtown and the Waterfront
- Forest Park
- Indian Orchard
- Sixteen Acres
- Chicopee Falls
- Mason Square
- Liberty Heights
- Brightwood
- The North End and South End
- Six Corners
- Pine Point
- The "X" (a six-way intersection that dominates the local scenery)
- East Springfield
- Bondi's Island - Waste disposal facility in the Connecticut River
- West Springfield (actually a separate town).
A part of NAMP, linking to:
Highway Service: