The easterly side of Carew Street is done! And I found a street I didn't realize I was missing from my list, so I'm back up to 219 streets.

The small dog and I made our way down Carew toward Liberty this morning with a big goal in (my) mind: We were going to go all the way down to Chestnut and back up. We passed by Newbury Street; I mentioned Liranzo on the corner of Newbury and Carew in a previous entry, but on the corner opposite that is the Quick Stop and the Blarney Stone Tavern.





This Quick Stop does not have Jay and Silent Bob hanging out in front, and, at 11:15 in the morning, there was already somebody waiting to get into the Blarney Stone. My friends that live in the area tell me the tavern is for more...mature audiences only.

We turned left on Liberty, passing by the shops I mentioned before and some new ones on the other side of the street.



This is the Domino's we refuse to order from now, because they refused to take our free pizza and two-liter soda coupon.



Hungry Hill is one of the sub-sections of Liberty Heights, and this is the Hungry Hill Community Development Corporation. According to the Web site, "The primary objective of the Hungry Hill Community Development Corporation has been the revitalization of our neighborhood in the areas of housing and business development. The CDC also represents area residents in planning and making improvements to the neighborhood."

One of our future groomsmen lives upstairs from the CDC.



Honeyland Farms is like a smaller version of a grocery store.



ABC Glass Works should be pretty self-explanatory... and my future husband and I have noticed there are a lot of barber shops in the Liberty Heights/East Springfield area. Apparently, there are a lot of men that need their hair cut quite often. This is Lugo's.

Next to those two businesses is Sampson's Funeral Home. They also have another locations in the 16 Acres section of Springfield.



Down the street from there is the Valero gas station/Dunkin Donuts/Stephen's Discount Wine and Beer. Gas up, grab a doughnut and get ready to party! (There's a McDonald's next to the gas station, too.)



Across Liberty from that is a plaza chock full of wonderful things. Behold!



A 24-hour Save-a-Lot, a Family Dollar, CAP Discount Auto Parts, a laundromat, a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut, the New Generation Christian Church (the sign is cut off by the lamp post, sorry) and, in the upper right corner, you see one of the city of Springfield's greatest municipal postings: a blue light that flashes to let you know when the parking ban is in effect so your car won't get towed. I usually don't drive past this one, but there is another near my house on Tapley Street near the Department of Public Works.

Turning right, near the odd, semi-rotary intersection of Stafford, Liberty and Armory streets is another small plaza.



This one is home to Blockbuster Video, Bank of America, Pocket Wireless and (apparently a brand new) Subway. Pocket Wireless locations have been popping up all over the place. Their big draw is that you can get unlimited texts and calls for $30 a month. An intriguing offer, but I like my Verizon.

Across from this plaza is 1 Stafford St., home to Peak Performance Chiropractic and Ehrenburg & Escobar, Certified Public Accountants.



At the corner of Armory and Stafford is Edward P. Boland Elementary School. Boland Elementary is one of the more than four dozen public schools in the Springfield school system. Behind the school and stretching back over to Carew Street is the George M. Hendee Playground.



Across the street from the school is the Body Shop, another automotive repair place.



The little boy and I made our way down Stafford Street, making side trips up Leslie, Wolcott, Goodrich and Stetson streets. I did not notice Stetson before when I was putting my street list together. I also just noticed there are two separate Wolcott Streets, so rather than list the name twice, I'll dub this one Wolcott A and the other, off of Ledyard Street, Wolcott B. I'm sticking with my number of 219, though. This will just be one-half of Wolcott. (This is also true of Nursery and Cass streets.)

Moving on down the road, we came across Nursery Street. On one side of Stafford there sits an auto repair shop without a name (interesting...); on the other side, low income housing. Further down along Stafford, there were some larger industrial buildings.







McCormick-Allum Heating & Air Conditioning seems pretty self-explanatory, as does Office Renovations Incorporated. The Crocker Building Company provides "pre-engineered and conventional steel building, stick construction and commercial renovation" services.

The small dog and I passed a whole bunch of empty space and abandoned buildings before coming up on the back side of Mercy Medical Center. This is one of two hospitals in Liberty Heights, and this one caused quite a stir a couple months ago when the image of the Virgin Mary apparently showed up in one of its windows. In more realistic news, one of my doctors works inside Mercy Medical and I have to say, I like the institution.



This is also the view of Mercy from I-291.

Right next to Mercy is Linden Towers, providing senior living.



We followed Stafford Street all the way down to Chestnut, which is the border of the Liberty Heights neighborhood. At the corner of Liberty and Chestnut is Sacred Heart Church, which looks rather grand lit up at night.



The small dog and I turned right onto Everett Street, which is home to the Sacred Heart Convent and some homes. At the corner of Chestnut and Everett is the New England Surgical Group.



I think it makes sense to have the surgical group next the hospital.

We turned right onto Carew Street and started heading up the hill. At the corner of Carew and Cass is the AZ Mart, which offers a lower price on gas if you pay cash. I think it has a large clientele of people visiting the hospital who don't want hospital food.



On the way up Carew, we checked out Desrosiers and Algonquin. Algonquin led us into the parking lot of the Springfield Boys & Girls Club.



As we headed back home, we checked out Mayo and Nye, and passed a Walgreens at the corner of Armory and Carew and Liberty Liquors on the corner of Carew and Libcar.



If you notice on the sign, it says that this is a "package store," despite the fact that the word "liquors" is clearly in the business name. In New York, places that sell booze are liquor stores. I don't understand why they are called package stores in Massachusetts. They don't sell boxes.

73 down, 150 to go

Cheating!

I know I said I was going to stick to one side of Carew before I moved to the other, but my future husband, the small dog and I completely traversed Home Street today on our way back from Van Horn Park, so I'm going to cross it off the list. Much as its name implies, this street is home to nothing but homes.

60 down, 163 to go

It was a very busy day for the small dog and I -- full of busyness and business. We finished up the big chunk of streets between St. James and Liberty today and we came across a whole bunch of shops (and other things).

From our house, we went down Merrimac to Carew, and down Carew to its intersection with Nottingham. One of corner of this intersection, as previously noted, there is a real estate firm; on the other corner is Plus One Convenience and Fortune Cookie Chinese Restaurant.



I haven't been a patron at either of these establishments, but when I'm walking the doggie in this area around dinnertime, that Chinese smells really good.

Next to the Fortune Cookie is Three Sisters Beauty Salon.



It looks like a pretty average salon to me. What makes it really stand out is the wall that faces the Fortune Cookie, which is large and a bright aqua blue/green.

Next to Three Sisters is Trendsetters, an urban clothing shop.



And, next to that on the corner of Carew and Newbury, is Liranzo, a "Latin American cafe." This place also smells fantastic around dinnertime and that $5 lunch deal they've got advertised in the window is pretty tempting.



We turned left onto Newbury, and then right onto Phoenix Terrace, following that down onto Phoenix Street to its end back on Liberty. Phoenix Terrace is home of one of Springfield's many Adopt A Terrace sites.



Various organizations (or in this case, a group of neighbors) can adopt the small islands of land surrounded by roads in the city and beautify them in memory of someone. The Phoenix Terrace group is doing a great job.

Off Phoenix Street juts Cherrelyn and Clantoy, and off Clantoy are two tiny side streets, Arion and Dupont. Dupont has a lovely view of I-291.

At the end of Phoenix Street, there sits International Auto Sales & Repair.



And, next to that on Liberty, is A-1 Auto Repair, in case you couldn't get your car fixed at International.



Just down Liberty from A-1 is a store that sells all kinds of cell phone accessories but doesn't have a name, as far as I can tell.



Next to that, Cut Rite Flooring.



And, next to that, Jacqueline's Beauty Salon.



Up the street from those shops are Salerno Pizza and Finnegan's Tavern.





I have eaten food from Salerno before. My former housemates and my future husband all love their grinders (and mine was pretty good too), but I have not had their pizza. The chicken de rose grinder is what my hubby loves.

Finnegan's is always packed on game nights, and as you can tell by their decorating motif, they serve as both an Irish pub and a sports bar.

Down the street from these establishments is the Liberty Branch Library of the Springfield City Library. This branch is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. According to the library's Web site, "The Liberty Branch Library was built in 1930 to serve the new Liberty Heights suburb of Irish and French Canadian immigrants who were settling this part of the city as the Street Car lines were extended out Carew Street. Skilled workers and their families immediately made this library a popular and much appreciated part of the community. 1800 books were checked out the first day the Library was opened. Designed by architect Max Westoff in the Colonial Revival style with a Southern Flair in the use of the double chimneys on either end, this truly is an Architectural gem. W. W. Davis Construction built the Library for $35,000. They also constructed the Glenwood and Liberty schools." The Web site also states, "The Liberty Branch Advisory Committee meets the 3rd Tuesday of the month from 10:00-11:30. Bring your voice and your ideas on how to make Liberty work best for our neighborhood. All are welcome!"



From Liberty, I turned right onto Kendall and then left onto Phoenix Terrace and headed up its opposite side to get to Freeman Terrace. I turned left onto Hastings and then right onto Banbury, and followed that back to Liberty. On one corner of Banbury and Liberty is El Bohio Restaurant; on the other, Solid Rock Community Baptist Church.



A Yahoo! reviewer had this to say of El Bohio: "This is my favorite Latin restaurant in Springfield for sure! Their food is ALWAYS fresh and the taste of it's just right. If you're craving for Latin food take it from a Latin girl The Bohio is the place to go."

On the corner of Liberty and Carew streets is Solid Rock Community Baptist Church.



The church offers both Sunday and Tuesday services.

After checking those two out, the dog and I headed back up Banbury and turned onto Stockman and took that back to Newbury, which led us back to Carew and back home.

59 down, 164 to go

The Outer Limits

There are a few things in the city of Springfield that are outside my two neighborhoods that I will share from time to time. As someone who was raised to root on the Syracuse Orange, I thought I would share this intersection with you:



Springfield is (subconsciously) cheering for the 'Cuse!

This intersection is in the Forest Park neighborhood of the city.

Up and down

Today, I decided to finish up the curve around St. James and all the streets between it and mine. The dog and I headed up Melville toward St. James, then turned off that onto Kingsley. It was down Kingsley, then Upland and onto Carew, and from there, onto Glenham. We followed this pattern for the rest of our walk -- up one street, around the end cap (to steal a grocery store term), and then down another. From Glenham, we headed back around to Carew Terrace, onto Carew Street, up Sherbrooke, left over Coleridge, left down Corona, and then back out onto Carew.

On the corner of Corona and Carew, there is a hair and nail salon that just went out of business a few months ago and the shadiest pizzeria in the history of pizza parlors. Pizza Express seems to only be open half the year -- the other six months, the owners are "on vacation." Also, there appears to be a new variety store called All In One & Some Fun Variety going in next to Pizza Express. Variety stores are very popular in this area.



I've decided that when I am sans dog, I'm going to try every pizza place in the neighborhood. I've heard some not good things about both Jackie's and Express, but I'd prefer to try them myself and make my own opinion. People have such varied opinions on food, I find that you have to try everything yourself. What one hates, another loves.

Moving along...at the corner of St. James and Carew there sits a CVS. I didn't bother taking a picture of that; I figure people know what a CVS Pharmacy looks like and what it sells.

The small dog and I cut through the parking lot and headed back along the curve of St. James, where there apparently is no small Oklahoma Street spur, as the map says there is, unless you count the entrance to the CVS. Which I will be. From St. James, we turned right onto Merida, then left onto Corona, and then left onto San Miguel. That led us back onto St. James and back home.

49 down, 174 to go

I made a shocking discovery today on a walk with the doggie and my future husband -- Wilbur Street does not exist. If you look at the complete list of street names in this entry, you'll notice there is a WilbER Street and a WilbUR Street. Since I strolled down Wilber the other day, I thought I'd do Wilbur today. Turns out, it's all Wilber.

We traveled down Wilber to Kendall, so I could finish that street. Where Kendall meets Liberty, there is a little plaza that is home to a pizzeria, an industrial supplier, a clothing shop and a hair salon.



Jackie's Pizza offers "wings, seafood, salads, pasta, subs, soups, side orders, outstanding pizzas, fried dough, desserts, deli specials, deli sandwiches, childrens' dinners, calzones and appetizers." It is one of several pizzerias in the Liberty Street area. I have yet to try Jackie's, and I'm very picky about my pizza. I grew up in New York, after all.



George Radner Industrial Supply Company offers new and used machinery and industrial equipment and supplies.



Springfield is home to a lot of hip-hop and urban clothing stores, and that's what Cabos Flava Fashions sells. (Fun fact: The phone number that's on the sign for the shop belongs to a home a couple blocks away.)



Valle Vale International Hair specializes in Joico hair products. Despite the fact that I've been living here for almost two years, I have yet to find a Springfield-based salon to get my hair cut at -- I just wait until I go to visit my father and get my hair cut in Ilion, where I've always gone. Am I stubborn or am I too lazy to find someone new?

From the plaza, we headed up to the Liberty Street entrance to Van Horn Park and spent a little more than an hour there, letting the little dog romp. He enjoyed some aquatics.



40 down, 183 to go

Into the west

It was a bit chilly today, but the little boy and I wandered off into the west to get some more streets beneath our feets. We turned off Nottingham and onto Vadnais, around Pembroke Circle and then onto Pembroke Street. We turned onto Hamlet and then onto Freeman, and along the way, we checked out Utica and Oakhurst.



Utica Street made me homesick...Not for the house on Melville Street, but for the place I grew up in in Upstate New York. Utica was the city for us country folk... and Syracuse and Albany were the big cities.

From Freeman, we turned onto Wilber, then Van Buren and Worthy, which were both muddy private ways. We wandered to the end of Kendall, where the Age Institute of Massachusetts Inc. hosts two senior housing complexes, the Hampden House and the Chapin House.



We walked around the turnaround at the end of Kendall and then went from one end of Littleton to the other. We're not quite done with Kendall yet, though. That brought us back to Nottingham and that brought us back home.

39 down, 184 to go

An evening stroll

The small dog and I continued our mission of visiting every street in Liberty Heights tonight, working on the section between the curve of St. James and Nottingham. We traveled down (in somewhat chronological order) Ansara, Ramah, Alpha and Porter. This is the view from the end of Porter Street:



It looks out over a very busy intersection -- the on and off ramps to I-291, St. James and Page Boulevard.

From there, we moved on to Border, and then finished up Wilson and Middle. On Middle, there rests the Marconi Club.



As far as I can tell, this is a club a little like the Elks, where members meet occasionally and parties can rent out the space for get togethers. The fence around it makes it look a little like a top secret compound in my opinion. To learn about the club, click here.

The small dog and I also finish up Griffin, strolled up McBride, then Parallel, and down Nottingham to Carew. Nottingham is done!

At the corner of Nottingham and Carew is MBC Realtors. Best of City Guide for Springfield rated the office number 1 for work in duplexes and number 1 for office space.



As we wandered back up Carew toward home, I stopped to take a picture of some permanent dog graffiti in the sidewalk across from Liberty Elementary. I call this piece "Fido Was Here":



Since there was a little light left by the time we got back toward home, we wandered along Upland and then Victoria before calling it an evening.

I've been plotting...I think I'm going to stay on the east side of Carew Street for a while. Just stay on this side all the way down to Chestnut. It really is a big project; I need to keep it manageable.

28 down, 195 to go