Where I live now was untouched by the storm. My lovely downtown Springfield, however, was not. The following pictures were taken on Friday, two days after the storm.
Court Square:
A demolished building on Main Street:
Downtown, near the Dakin Animal Rescue:
A building on Main Street that had to be demolished:
As far as I can tell, most of Liberty Heights was missed by the storm's fury. There were some tree limbs blown down by strong winds, and debris spread about down by Chestnut, but the old neighborhood missed the worst of it. Other parts of the city weren't nearly as fortunate.
So, if anyone still reads this, please -- consider giving to the Red Cross or finding another way to help Springfield and our surrounding communities. As Justin Marsh wrote on the Huffington Post website,
"Springfield, Massachusetts is a GREAT CITY. My condolences to those who have lost loved ones in this tragedy.
In the past two days, I've learned a lot about Springfield... The city has been on an upswing for the better part of a decade -- and it's diverse, with a sizable, increasingly mobile Latino and community, and a growing LGBT community.
The American gasoline-powered car was invented there, as was the motorcycle and modern fire engine; the first-ever commercial radio station and the first UHF television station were invented and broadcast from Springfield -- and, of course, basketball was invented there!!!
Shay's Rebellion took place there, which led directly to the US Constitution. The Springfield Armory, founded by George Washington in 1777 - and its brilliant engineers - helped the U.S. win war after war until it was stupidly shut-down for "costs" during the Vietnam War.
What I'm getting at is: SPRINGFIELD is an IMPORTANT CITY, renowned for beautiful architecture, ("The City of Homes."). Right now, a lot of those "homes" are in ruins.
Let's rebuild this one right. It deserves it, in my opinion."
