Springfield East

Tornado update

2011-06-05T15:37:00.006-04:00

I realize this post is a few days late in coming, but the tornado and other severe weather that hit Springfield and much of Western Massachusetts on June 1 was disconcerting. I had gotten out of work at 1:30, went for an hour-long run in the 90-degree heat, and when I got back, heard of the tornado warnings. As we get them somewhat frequently this time of year in this region, I brushed it off. I luckily was safe in my apartment when the weather hit.

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."

2011-03-04T21:10:00.002-05:00

Seriously. I'm going to finish this project.

In the meantime, an update on organized walking in Springfield:
"The 6th year of Second Saturday Walking Tours will begin again in April. We're finalizing a few of the details, but the list as it stands is below.

"In the meantime, you might want to take a virtual walking tour with architect (and regular tour-giver) Stephen Jablonski, who was recently featured on WGBY talking about some of the architectural details you might never have noticed on Springfield buildings: Video here (about 4 minutes long).

"Here is our 2011 line-up so far:
• April -- Luann Hood: African American Heritage Trail and PAHMUSA
• May -- Keith Korbut: Automotive History of Springfield
• June -- Burt Freedman: Trees of the City
• July -- Ben Murphy: 'City Beautiful' Movement
• August -- TBD
• September -- Fran Gagnon: Eliot Street, Past & Present, History of St. Michael's Parish
• October -- Bill Devlin: Topic TBA
• November -- TBD"

Update

2010-04-19T21:43:00.003-04:00

So hey. I no longer live in Springfield due to some housing issues (mostly, a new landlord wanting to jack our rent). I now live in Wilbraham. I still aim to finish my Liberty Heights mission though. I'm going to drive over soon (with the small dog) and trot along those last 13 streets. I need to, dammit!

I'll bring the camera. I will finish my mission!

2009-09-14T12:57:00.000-04:00

The East Springfield I knew before moving to Massachusetts.

Back on the horse...or our feet, as the case may be

2009-06-28T14:48:00.008-04:00

Western Massachusetts has been a lot like London in the winter this month -- rainy and gray and depressing. Yesterday's relative sunshine got me very interested in walking today, so that's what the small dog and I did.

We cut through Van Horn Park and started working our way down. We traveled down Mooreland to Carew, then turned right onto Parkside. We took that to its end, turned around and then started down Lexington. Lexington is another one of those weird streets that splits for no reason whatsoever, so we turned onto Mayfair, then Chapin, then Lancashire, which put us back on Lexington. That led us all the way down to Chestnut.

We turned off Chestnut onto Montmorenci, where we came across the popular Mima & Andpas convenience store. I didn't take a picture of it because there were a billion people hanging out outside. I don't like taking pictures of people. They might get mad at me.

We went back down to Chestnut and turned up Chapin, coming across Childrens' House Day Care and Preschool, which specializes in infants through kindergarteners, and the Springfield Ronald McDonald House.

We turned off Chapin to go down Medical Center Drive. That took us right through the Baystate Medical Center.

The future husband and I have been to Baystate twice -- once for me and once for him. Both times the wait in the emergency room has been horrific (three or more hours) and they forgot about me after they gave me some morphine to knock me out, but other than that, decent care.

We turned off of Medical Center Drive onto Springfield Street, turning off that onto Caseland. We turned off that onto Shefford, checking that out to finish it up, and then taking Caseland up to Armory. Then it was back through the park on the way home.

211 down, 13 to go

Freedom from Liberty

2009-06-08T11:22:00.005-04:00

We have finally finished Liberty Street! Huzzah!

I had the morning off today, so I decided a small dog I know and I should take a walk to finally finish a certain long street. We headed down Carew to where it meets Liberty and turned right. We quickly came upon Sullivan Keating Moran Insurance.

Next to that was the Peking House. An anonymous reviewer on Insider Pages gave the place three stars, writing, "This place has the hugest live lobsters for sale. Food was alright. Prices were reasonable. The place itself needs a little cleaning. The crab ragoons are delicious."

Near the Liberty Street entrance to Van Horn Park is La Iglesia Hermanos Unidos en Cristo (the Church of Brothers United in Christ) and the National Federation of the Blind of Greater Springfield.

We wandered on down past quite a few houses before crossing over Newbury, coming upon Downey Side.

Downey Side's philosophy is rooted in the conviction that every child deserves the right to a permanent and loving family. It is our purpose to work in partnership with the government as a licensed adoption agency to place America's waiting children, who otherwise would remain homeless. We are dedicated to family life for all children and strongly believe that a healthy permanent relationship is the best prevention against homelessness, according to the Web site. Downey Side began in Springfield, Mass., in 1967 when Fr. Paul Engel placed a 17-year-old boy in the home of Margaret Downey. The Springfield Office is proud to be the first Downey Side office and where it all began.

I'm intrigued by the idea of adopting older children, and I've always wanted to adopt. I'm not sure of the hubby's feelings on older child adoption, but we have plenty of time to talk about that. I doubt they'd let a pair of 24-year-olds adopt anyone.

We loped on down Liberty for a while before we came across Academy Hill School. (In the photo, it shows that the school is on Carolyn Price Way, but I'm not counting that as a street, as the Web site states the school's address is on Liberty.) Academy Hill serves bright, gifted and curious students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Next up was ABC40's news studios.

Further up, across from the Liberty Street entrance to the Springfield Plaza, sits an AutoZone, Pizza Wings & Things Ristorante and a Rent-a-Center.

There's also a Westfield Bank next to the Rent-a-Center.

We cut through the plaza to get to St. James to head back home.

204 down, 20 to go

Atwater Park

2009-06-07T17:39:00.009-04:00

Today, the small dog and I journeyed into the land of big, beautiful houses and lush, green lawns -- we went into the Atwater Park sub-neighborhood of Liberty Heights.

We had taken Newbury down to Farnsworth and then started making our way down Springfield Street. We turned onto Atwater Road, checking out Weaver on our way down. We did a quick up and back on Bedford before doing Green Lane and Atwater Place. It was a little noisy down on that end -- Atwater Place is right next to I-91. We turned onto Atwater Terrace, scoping out Candice Circle, as we made our way back to Springfield Street. We took that down to where it meets Chestnut, then turned around to start making our way back up the hill.

On Springfield Street, across from Baystate Medical Center, is Naomi's Inn.

Both Yahoo reviewers gave the place five stars. It's touted as a place to get away and relax, even if you live in the same city. With a ranking like that, it could be a fun place to go next Valentine's Day.

We meandered around Derby Dingle (love it!) and then around half of Shefford before checking out Crestwood. We took Armory back up to Springfield Street, at the corners of which sits the Grace Church of Christ.

This is the stop sign next to the church:

I think it spreads a good message. Especially considering it's kitty-corner from St. Matthew's Cemetery.

On our way back, we swung through Van Horn and the small dog had his first encounter with a turtle. I thought it was hilarious.

203 down, 21 to go

Precious metals, precious streets?

2009-05-31T16:58:00.008-04:00

The small dog and I went on our first big walk in a while today, conquering a lot of terrain. We headed down Carew to Armory, and then turned right off of Armory on to Governor. We then turned left on to Penacook and then left again on to Wait, took that down to Armory and then turned right on to Miller. My co-worker Liz's mom grew up on Miller Street and wrote a lovely piece about her experiences there for the Write On, Springfield! collection. I'm going to (hopefully) meet with Jane soon to talk with her about her youth, growing up next to Van Horn Park.

We strolled through the park before continuing on our journey, heading up Armory toward Beauchamp. We took that up to Hamburg, then turned onto Bevier. We took that down to Armory and then turned right onto Sterling. We checked out Nevada before heading down Gold, back onto Armory, and then up Silver.

We turned left onto Hamburg and found a couple small businesses in that weird little rotary area.

On Hamburg:

A learning center, a salon (surprise!) and a place to get some lovely eyewear.

On the rotary is Russ's Breakfast and Lunch, Foggy Dew Ink Tattoo and the City Line Cafe.

It was hard to find any information on any of these places, but a reviewer for Insider Pages said this of the City Line Cafe: "The City Line is a tradition Irish pub that has been around for 30+ years. The place is dark inside and like the show Cheers "every knows your name" -- or don't bother coming in. They don't serve food but the Guinness is cold!" Yahoo review Liz said, "Fun: Great Irish Pub to hang out in. Favorite spot for local Hungry Hill residents. Great prices!! Check it out."

We took Rimmon up to Newbury and then followed Carew back home (in the rain...it was lovely).

193 down, 30 to go

The Outer Limits: Hockey time!

2009-05-28T12:50:00.002-04:00

Falcons set to host ball hockey game this Saturday

SPRINGFIELD -- The Springfield Falcons, proud members of the American Hockey League, announced today they will host their first ever Ball Hockey Challenge this Saturday, May 30, from 11 a.m. to noon, when they take on the Media All-Star Team at the outdoor rink at Amelia Park in Westfield. The Falcons team will consist of members of the front office staff, as well as assistant coach Gerry Fleming. The Media All-Star squad will be comprised of members of the local media including personalities from ABC 40 (Neille Giffune), WWLP TV 22 (Ryan Walsh), CBS 3 (Amy Lynn Stanley), Mix 93.1 (Bob Martin & Kevin Johnson), KIX 97.9 (Shaggy), Reminder Publications (Katelyn Gendron and Courtney Llewellyn), Turley Publications (David Forbes), and The Springfield Republican (Fran Sypek).

"We are really excited about this event because it's something unique that we have put together to have some fun this off-season," said Falcons president and general manager Bruce Landon. "We have built up so many strong relationships with our local media throughout the Pioneer Valley and this gives us a chance to say thank you to individuals who support us on a regular basis."

The Ball Hockey Challenge will be open free to the public with the team passing the hat during the game to help raise money for Falcons Charities. The Falcons will also be hosting their merchandise/equipment sale at the MassMutual Center on Friday, May 29 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and also on Saturday, May 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, please call the Falcons Office at 413-739-3344.

Come on out and cheer me on!

Update on streets, May 16

2009-05-16T14:55:00.006-04:00

The small dog and I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel:

~~Armory Street~~
~~Atwater Place~~
~~Atwater Road~~
~~Atwater Terrace~~
Bartlett Street
~~Beauchamp Street~~
~~Bedford Road~~
~~Bevier Street~~
~~Candice Circle~~
Carew Street
~~Caseland Street~~
Chestnut Street
Copley Terrace
~~Crestwood Street~~
Croyden Street
Cunningham Street
~~Derby Dingle Street~~
~~Gold Street~~
~~Governor Street~~
~~Green Lane~~
~~Hamburg Street~~
Harlan Street
~~Lexington Street~~
~~Liberty Street~~
Massasoit Place
Massasoit Street
~~Medical Center Drive~~
~~Miller Street~~
~~Montmorenci Street~~
~~Mooreland Street~~
Narragansett Street
~~Nevada Street~~
~~Parkside Street~~
Prospect Street
Prospect Terrace
~~Rimmon Avenue~~
~~Shefford Street~~
~~Silver Street~~
~~Springfield Street~~
~~Sterling Street~~
Thames Street
~~Wait Street~~
~~Weaver Road~~

42 to go!

The official Van Horn Park post

2009-05-16T13:35:00.015-04:00

I set out with the small goal of finishing all the streets off of Newbury today, and the small dog and I did a bit more than that. It was very warm and started out sunny, and then it got darkly overcast and I felt maybe a dozen sprinkles hit me, but the rain held off until we got home.

We traveled down Carew to Newbury once more, turning left onto Huron. We took that all the way down to St. Lawrence, finishing that up, and then turned right off of Huron onto Connecticut. We had been checking out Connecticut all the way from Farnsworth. We turned right onto David, took that to its end, turned around and then turned right onto Wentworth. We took that to its end, turned around, got back onto David, and then turned right onto Tacoma. We followed Tacoma up to Liberty and took Liberty down to the back entrance of Van Horn Park.

This is the small back pond, which turns totally green with algae by the end of the summer.

Where the trail splits is one of my favorite features of the park, a natural staircase formed by the roots of trees.

As we wandered along the trail, I noticed an awful lot of these bastard caterpillars, which can kill whole trees. If I had my way, I'd squish them all but it's the natural order for them to do their thing.

This photo was taken up by Armory Street, by the park entrance closest to Springfield Street. This is my favorite spot in the entire park.

This is the view of the big pond from the bridge on Armory Street.

We followed the sidewalk up Armory to the main entrance to the park and walked in on Catafalque Drive, which is basically the driveway to the park's parking lot. Van Horn offers a splash pad, a playground, several baseball diamonds, tennis courts, a basketball court, a picnic area and even a doggie water fountain. When we were done at the park, we took Armory up to where it meets Carew.

Across Carew from Our Lady of Hope is the House of Huang, Kenny Travel and Tours Income Tax and Kwick Kleaners and Laundromat.

The House of Huang received a glowing five-star review from a person on Yahoo! Local.

Across Armory from those shops were the Racing Mart, the Image Makers II and Jasmin.

The Racing Mart is your typical convenience store; Image Makers -- I'm telling you, you need your hair cut, you come to Liberty Heights; and Jasmin's Creations offers women's clothing and serves as a bridal boutique.

Next to them was El Pilon Restaurant, which Yahoo! Local user rubia gave five stars, stating, "You have to go to this restaurant, I give them an A+. It's one of my favorites. Very good with customers. Fresh food everyday. If you're looking for some spanish food, this is the place to go. Oh, and don't forget to ask for a Natural juice. I tried the tamarindo one and it tasted so good I asked for another one."

Next to that on Carew is Gerardo's Transportation and New Millennium Barber Shop.

After passing the barber shop, we turned left onto Raymond Place to begin our series of short, dead-end streets. After Raymond it was Morrell Street, Van Horn Place, Mystic Court and Dineen Street. Once we'd finished those, we got up to the corner of Carew and Liberty, where Access Family Chiropractic and Facchini & Facchini PC sit across from a Cumberland Farms gas station.

Amanda S. wrote on InsiderPages.com "If you are looking for a chiropractor that really cares about your well being take a look here. Our family is feeling great because of this business. It is amazing how much better life is without aches and pains. The staff is cheerful and helpful. The office is clean and nicely decorated especially for the holidays." The office specializes in whiplash, sleeplessness, no noise or twisting treatment, migraines, fibromyalgia, fat loss and chronic fatigue. They also offer free consultations and free financing. (The "kinky" sign on the side of the building is the best feature of the office in my opinion.)

Facchini & Facchini PC specialize in work place injury, wills and estate planning, serious injuries, real estate - residential/commercial, personal injury, medical malpractice, defective products, criminal defense and car accidents, and they do hablan espanol.

We continued following Carew back up to where it meets Newbury. Just before the corner building is A&H Printing Company.

On the corner sits Angelo's Barbershop, Junction Skatepark and H&K Hair Design.

Junction Skatepark is "a skatepark for skateboarders by skateboarders" -- no bikes, scooters or roller blades allowed. This place is always busy and the kids that hang out there are pretty awesome. They always compliment the small dog and I.

181 down, 42 to go

Adventures off Newbury

2009-05-13T18:44:00.008-04:00

The small dog and I headed back down Newbury today to finish more of the streets that jut off it, starting with Upton. We took that to its end, turned onto Milford, and then turned up Park Road, taking that straight across Newbury onto Doyle. We finished Milford today, as we started it on Friday.

When we finished Doyle, we headed over to Morison Terrace, which is the home to Glenwood School.

We crossed Newbury to check out Whitmore, then headed down to Parkin, and then back across to Thornfell. We took Thornfell to its end, wandered down Hartley, then back up Thornfell to Lynwood. Then it was back across Newbury to Francis, which we took all the way down to St. Lawrence. We took that over to Ontario and followed that up to Newbury.

On Ontario is Donna's Family Day Care.

Once we finished Ontario, we were approaching our two-hour benchmark on our walk, so I decided to take us home. There are only a few streets left off of Newbury.

169 down, 54 to go

Second Saturday Walking Tour

2009-05-12T15:48:00.009-04:00

On Saturday, I took a walk (without the small dog!) around the downtown area with a group of about 15 others as part of the Second Saturday Walking Tour, which is sponsored by the Springfield Museums, the Armoury-Quadrangle Civic Association and hosted by the Springfield Preservation Trust. The tour brought our group to two of the remaining buildings in Springfield that were designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson, what is currently the Juvenile Court House on State Street and Iglesia Bautista Hispana on Salem Street.

We started out at the G.W.V. Smith Museum to view a stained glass window from Unity Church, which once stood on State Street. It is now a parking lot.

From there, we trekked down toward State Street, stopping briefly in front of the statue of Deacon Samuel Chapin, one of the founders of Springfield. A descendent of his was linked to the family of John Ruskin through marriage, and through a descendent of Ruskin's, H.H. Richardson got some of his first jobs in Springfield.

We wandered on down State Street to what is now the Juvenile Court Building, which Richardson designed in his unique Richardsonian Romanesque style. What is currently used as the front door of the building is actually its back door.

What should be the front of the building sits on Elm Street.

After that, we walked a bit up Main Street to a point where we could see the railroad bridge. H.H. Richardson designed a train station for Springfield that only stood for about two dozen years. The train station had to be moved when the railroad tracks were lifted over Main Street.

We meandered up Mattoon Street to where it meets Salem Street to view La Iglesia Bautista Hispana, a church that the architect designed. He is most well-known for designing Trinity Church in Boston. The pathway between Mattoon and Salem was strewn with apple blossoms.

The church itself is built from local East Longmeadow brownstone, which Richardson favored in many of his Western Massachusetts projects.

Inside the church, we got the chance to view the original stained glass windows, created by Tiffany's.

After the tour ended, we headed back to the Springfield Museums and I decided to check out the Dr. Seuss Sculpture Garden, which was pretty neat.

The Lorax (below) greets you as you walk in:

Theodore "Dr. Seuss" Geisel and the Cat in the Hat face one of the author's most beloved stories, "Oh, the Places You'll Go!"

When I left the garden, I figured that as long as I was downtown I'd get some pictures I'd been meaning to take. This building on Worthington Street is definitely my favorite:

And I just like the way the bricks show the history of this building on Taylor Street:

It was a good day of walking.

2009-05-10T23:15:00.003-04:00

Before I forget: twice, I've seen a young man near the Cumberland Farms on the corner of Liberty and Carew riding around on his unicycle. He usually has a bag of something he's just purchased with him, so I can only assume he's using the unicycle as a fun form of transportation instead of just something to amuse him.

I've also seen what looks like a miniature pick-up truck with a New York Yankees symbol on its back window. This is a vehicle I desperately want for myself.

I wonder what other unique forms of transportation there are moving along the streets of Springfield...

"When all you've got to keep is strong, move along, move along..."

2009-05-08T18:47:00.016-04:00

One of the main streets in Liberty Heights is officially covered. The small dog and I traveled down Carew to Newbury and followed Newbury all the way up to Rimmon Avenue (which is technically in Chicopee, but it makes for a very neat line between the two cities for our purposes). Right at the corner of Newbury and Carew is another Pocket Wireless store and New Era Cuts, yet another barbershop in "the barbershop district."

We went all the way to down to our "end" of Newbury without checking out any side streets until we were on our way back. At the corner of Newbury and Gilbert (which is kinda sorta Chicopee) is a Honeyland Farms/Citgo.

The small dog and I walked up Farnsworth to Hamburg and back down to Newbury, and then did the same with Athol all the way up to Milford, taking Los Angeles up to Hamburg before heading back up Athol. I noticed this sign on a vehicle on Athol, but I can't tell if the business is based there or someone in that house is getting married soon.

We scoped out Haven Ave. a bit before following Dana up to where it became Van Ness, taking that up to Hamburg before turning back to Newbury. We crossed Newbury to check out Nordica, which looked like this:

It both amazes and amuses me that there are still dirt roads in an area as settled as this.

The hour was getting late, so the small dog and I decided to call it a day and head back up Newbury to go home.

157 down, 66 to go

The WICKED outtah limits

2009-05-08T14:52:00.003-04:00

Springfield School Volunteers (with whom I serve as a mentor) sponsored a trip last night for 12 pairs of mentors-mentees to go to Mentor Night at Fenway Park in Boston, where the Red Sox took on the Cleveland Indians. We all received some awesome T-shirts and had some pretty decent seats in the bleachers.

The Red Sox absolutely crushed the Indians during a 12-run sixth inning. I taught my mentee about the lore of Fenway and some of the cooler aspects of baseball physics and we had a lovely bonding experience.

My favorite point in the evening was, of course, the eighth inning sing-a-long.

Plaza Day!

2009-05-03T20:46:00.021-04:00

All right, the east side of Liberty Street is done. The small dog and I headed up Merrimac to Carew, which put us in front of Van Sickle Middle School and the Renaissance School.

According to the Springfield Public Schools Web site, "The Renaissance School is the product of a partnership forged between Springfield Public Schools and Expeditionary Learning Schools (“ELS”) to launch one of the first of the small ELS secondary schools to emerge from a national initiative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. At the heart of ELS’s approach is a set of “Core Practice Benchmarks” that include:
• Learning Expeditions
• Active Pedagogy
• Culture and Character
• Leadership and School Improvement
• School Structures

Expeditionary Learning: EL is a model for comprehensive school reform that emphasizes high achievement through active learning, character growth and teamwork. Students spend much of their time working on learning expeditions, which are “big idea,” broad topics or themes, such as bridges, water quality, the Civil Rights Movement, or the Industrial Revolution. Teachers collaborate to design these expeditions to align with district initiatives and Massachusetts State Frameworks, and to assess and improve their own work and, as a result, their students’ work.

School Structures Support Learning: Structures like “Crew” advisory teams allow teachers and students to develop relationships that go beyond classroom learning. "Crews” of one teacher and 12 students gather each day to discuss issues ranging from academic to global to social issues of interest. Other structures such as block scheduling and common planning time make it possible for teachers to collaborate, and for students to do field work outside school."

The girl I mentee attends the Renaissance School. I get the feeling she's not impressed by the crew model, but I know it works for some kids.

Right next to the school (and directly across the street from my future in-laws' home) is the Raymond J. Sullivan Public Safety Complex. This is one of the fire houses of the Springfield Fire Department.

At the corner of Carew and St. James is a small shopping plaza, which starts on one end with a Bank of America branch and Dave's Soda and Pet Food City. We buy all of the little boy's food at Dave's. Across from Dave's is a TD Banknorth branch.

Across from them on the island where Carew splits are Quick Pic Convenience and Main Kitchen Chinese Restaurant.

We've ordered food a few times from Main Kitchen. It's nothing special, but they do deliver, which is awesome.

The next two shops in the main plaza are a Benjamin Moore paint store and Kool Smiles.

A reviewer on YellowPages.com gave Kool Smiles five stars, saying it was "great fast and easy." I guess those are things you'd look for in a children's dentist.

Also in the plaza is a Family Dollar and a Big Y Supermarket.

Paul and Gerry D'Amour began their legacy on December 12, 1936 at the Y Cash Market in the Willimansett section of Chicopee at the intersection where two roads converge to form a Y. Hence the name of the store. They have locations throughout Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut.

Next to the plaza is one of the busiest liquor stores I've ever seen, the Spirit Shoppe.

The small dog and I checked out Felicia Street and then Montclair Street. At the corner of Montclair and St. James is Annetta's Day Care.

Next, we checked out the Courtside Subdivision, starting with Naismith Street, which is a private way. Naismith Court, on the other hand...

...is only a privat way.

Construction is ongoing in the subdivision, as you can see. We checked out Hickox Place, Wells Place, Wells Street, Silvia Street and Hickox Street and Williams Drive, which are basically 100 foot paved driveways at this point. Also, I was wicked excited to see an osprey in the subdivision!

We passed by the entrance of the Springfield Plaza to check out the the last streets beyond it that we needed to see, which included Kirby, Edmund and Wolfe. At the corner of St. James and Edmund is the Laser Auto Wash.

When we finished those two streets, we turned around and started to head back to the plaza. We said hello to Chicopee and the edge of Liberty Heights.

At the St. James entrance of the plaza is a Wendy's. Why is this important? Because the owner of 13 Western Massachusetts Wendy's defaulted on his loans about two years ago and they were all closed for like a year. That made me very sad. I like getting a Frosty every once in a while. Most of the Wendy's have reopened.

Inside the plaza is another Bank of America branch and Entertainment Cinemas, which I love because they offer Dippin' Dots as movie snacks.

After that, we got into the plaza proper:

Stores include Rocky's Ace Hardware, Airway Lanes, A.J. Wright, 99 Restaurant, Dollar Tree, RadioShack, Rent A Center, Hip Hop World, Rainbow, Kmart, Expressions, Payless Shoesource, Madrag, Ocean State Job Lot, Mannuelle Jewelry, Sally Beauty Supply, H&R Block, Tung Hai Restaurant (with reviews), Joey'z Shopping Spree, Source of New York, Koffee Kup Bake Shop (with reviews), Laundromax, Mykonos European Foods, Savers, Aaron's, Plaza Package Store, Stop & Shop, Hollywood Video, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, Liberty Pizza, Princess Nails and Atlantic Night Club.

I've been to the bowling alley, the 99, RadioShack, Kmart, Ocean State Job Lot, the liquor store, KFC and Burger King. I do most of my grocery shopping at the Stop & Shop and Liberty Pizza is definitely my favorite pizza place in the area.

Once we'd circled Springfield Plaza, we headed home.

149 down, 74 to go

A small dent

2009-05-02T17:11:00.015-04:00

I had a rather busy morning (and afternoon), so the little boy and I only had about an hour for our walk around noontime. I figured we could hit some streets nearby.

We headed down Carew to Judson Street. On Carew, between Judson and Alvin, is Liberty Elementary School (photo courtesy of Springfield Public Schools).

Liberty Elementary is part of the Springfield Public School system's Magnet School program, and this school focuses on mathematical discovery and communications.
"• Hands-on math activities are at the heart of teaching and learning;
• Students learn the “language” of math and make important connections to other content areas through inter-disciplinary lessons and units;
• Laptop computers help students learn about the field of communications;
• State-of-the art, student-run TV studio engages them in the many aspects of broadcast journalism."

Liberty Elementary also has Friday specials: "At Liberty, Friday afternoons are turned into a veritable festival of music, art, dance, drama, strategic games, and students busily compiling the school newsletter or videos in the videoediting lab. All staff members host an activity for students who choose from a variety of creative endeavors such as chorus, song-writing and production, video editing, Irish dance, arts and crafts, drumming, among many others. Friday SPECIALS Celebrations occur at the end of each session when students are able to share the results and products of their efforts or perform for the school community." Sounds like fun.

The small dog and I walked down Judson to Roy, then up Alvin to Carew. We then headed down Norman, and near the Roy end of that street I saw this:

A barn! In Springfield! In really good shape! Upon seeing this, I immediately became homesick.

We turned from Norman onto Roy and went down Newbury to Woodmont. We made a detour off Woodmont to the end of Denton Circle and back, checking out Drew Court along the way. Fun fact: Denton Circle is nowhere near circular in shape. It's actually mostly straight. We continued on down Woodmont to where it meets Liberty.

At the corner of Woodmont and Liberty is the Tougias Baking Company. An anonymous poster on InsiderPages.com said "Tougias Baking Company makes fantastic tasting breads, rolls. It is nice to be able to do business with a local business that specializes in making bread." I wish I could've smelled some baking bread. That smell makes me happy.

We crossed Liberty to finish Woodmont, turning onto Penacook and then Langdon to start the trek back home. We followed Liberty back down to where Tougias Baking Company is and followed Woodmont up to Newbury. We took a quick left onto Newbury and then a right onto Long Terrace. At the corner of Newbury and Long I noticed something that made me smile.

Someone had chopped down a big, old tree and these homeowners decided to plant a sapling inside the leftover stump. I thought that was neat.

We followed Long all the way up to Strong, took Strong to Carew, and headed home.

Looking at the map, I think my next little goal will be to finish everything on this side of Liberty, and then I'll head down to Chestnut and start working on the streets farthest way, working our way back up toward our house.

135 down, 88 to go

One down, one to go

2009-04-25T16:07:00.017-04:00

It is hot out today. Like 90 degrees hot. If the small dog didn't start dying of heat and laying down in every tree shadow there was, we could've walked forever today, but I didn't feel like killing the little boy.

My goal today was simply to finish all the streets on the easterly side of Carew, and we have met that goal. We headed down Carew to Armory, across I-291 and down Liberty to Genesee. We turned left from Genesee onto Franklin, because we needed to finish that from the other day. We turned right onto Leonard, and followed that around to Belle. Belle has some cool looking apartment buildings:

We followed Belle to the end and back again, turning right onto Cass. At the corner of Cass and Franklin is the Bilingual Veterans Outreach Center.

At the corner of Cass and Liberty is the Pentecostal Bethel Church.

We followed Liberty down to where it met Franklin, finding along the way Sitterly Moving and Storage, the Hampden Brass and Aluminum Company, the Tri-State CDL Training Center, A Better Storage and N. Winer & Son.

Sitterly Movers has been operating in Springfield for over 75 years. Impressive...but not as impressive as Hampden Brass and Aluminum, which was incorporated in 1903 and provides aluminum die-castings, extrusions and molds.

Across Liberty from these fine establishments is Tri-State CDL Training, for those who want to learn to drive the big trucks. Down the street from that is N. Winer & Son, who, as the photo suggests, wholesale in dairy products. Back on the side of Liberty we were on, a new storage business just opened, A Better Storage.

We turned right onto Franklin, which at this end hosts mainly city-supported housing. The main offices of the Springfield Housing Authority are located on Saab Court, which we checked out briefly before heading back to Liberty.

At the end of Liberty where it meets Chestnut, sit the Springfield YMCA and the place I like least in my city, the Registry of Motor Vehicles.

The Springfield YMCA is used by thousands of people every year. So is the evil RMV, I suppose, but I think the Y would be more fun.

We turned right onto Chestnut and followed that over I-291. We came across the Spanish Christian Church Educational Center and the Spanish Christian Church.

When we got down to Chapin Terrace, we followed that up to the park and hung out there for a while, watching a rugby game, before heading home to cool off.

128 down, 95 to go

2009-04-24T20:17:00.006-04:00

Just a few streets covered today. It was so nice, I wanted to get straight to the park. The small dog and I checked out Edgar, Sedgelea, Tourigny and Pauline before enjoying today's gorgeous weather at Van Horn.

123 down, 100 to go

Springtime in Springfield

2009-04-22T10:25:00.006-04:00

Things are finally starting to turn green! I could not be happier. I loathe winter.

And, since things are turning green, I thought I'd showcase two very green things in Liberty Heights.

My neighborhood is home to the sub-neighborhood of Hungry Hill, a bastion of Irish heritage. This lovely home is on Carew Street, directly across from Mayfair. I think it's pretty.

A lot of the homes in my neighborhood also have shamrocks painted at the end of their driveways to show some Irish pride. Ninety-nine percent are plain kelly green shamrocks, but I found one home on Phoenix Terrace that has something a little extra:

Gotta love Massachusetts.

[Edit, May 8, 6:40 p.m.] Those folks on Phoenix Terrace got nothing on these guys on Dana Street:

Indian Orchard Mills open house

2009-04-21T16:20:00.004-04:00

The Artists at Indian Orchard Mills are pleased to announce their Spring Art Show, Sale and Open Studios event. This year’s event will take place on May 1 from 6 to 10 p.m. and May 2 from noon to 4 p.m. The event includes a gallery reception displaying all new works from this talented group of over 50 artists in the Dane Gallery.

After viewing the new gallery show and enjoying some refreshments, guests are invited to wander through the Indian Orchard Mills complex and meet the artists as they open their studios to the public. The suggested donation is $2 per adult, with children welcome free of charge.

Things are really starting to heat up at Indian Orchard Mills. “There are no signs of a slow down here,” owner Charles Brush said. Everywhere you look the artists are busy preparing new work, cleaning their studios and freshening the place up in anticipation of the Spring Open Studios event. In recent years this annual show has attracted thousands of guests who are interested in visual arts. People come to the mill to socialize with old friends and meet new ones; to find that perfect piece of original art or maybe commission an artist to create a piece around their own ideas.

“There is so much to see, and such a variety of mediums,” Judy Webber, one of the mangers of the event, said. “Be sure to wear comfortable shoes because, to truly see the show, you’ll want to be here for at least a couple hours.”

This spring, Karoun Charkoudian and Rachel Saloio have joined the artist community.

Charkoudian left her career as a petroleum geologist in Houston to follow her passions in photography and yoga. Pursuing her art from within, Charkoudian combines her philosophy of art with that of yoga: while yoga awakens the sense of beauty within each of us, her photographs reveal a beauty that we are surrounded by in our day to day living.

A young artist from Ludlow, Saloio attended the Art Institute of Boston and volunteers at a local Art Gallery. She is using her studio at the mill to explore new techniques and different mediums in the fine arts field.

Join the artists at Indian Orchard Mills and see what the commotion is all about. Light appetizers will be served. The Dane Gallery and the Indian Orchard Mills are located at 34 Front St., Indian Orchard. For more information call 543-3321 or log on to Indian Orchard Mills.

Update on streets

2009-04-21T10:32:00.018-04:00

Since we are now officially more than halfway done, I thought I'd post a new list of streets left to complete:

~~Alvin Street~~
~~Armory Street~~
~~Athol Street~~
~~Atwater Place~~
~~Atwater Road~~
~~Atwater Terrace~~
Bartlett Street
~~Beauchamp Street~~
~~Bedford Road~~
~~Belle Street~~
~~Bevier Street~~
~~Candice Circle~~
Carew Street
~~Caseland Street~~
~~Cass Street (B)~~
~~Catafalque Drive~~
Chestnut Street
~~Connecticut Avenue~~
Copley Terrace
~~Crestwood Street~~
Croyden Street
Cunningham Street
~~Dana Street~~
~~David Street~~
~~Denton Circle~~
~~Derby Dingle Street~~
~~Dineen Street~~
~~Doyle Avenue~~
~~Drew Court~~
~~Edgar Street~~
~~Edmund Street~~
~~Farnsworth Street~~
~~Felicia Street~~
~~Francis Street~~
~~Franklin Street~~
~~Gold Street~~
~~Governor Street~~
~~Green Lane~~
~~Hamburg Street~~
Harlan Street
~~Hartley Street~~
~~Haven Avenue~~
~~Hickox Place~~
~~Hickox Street~~
~~Huron Street~~
~~Judson Street~~
~~Kirby Street~~
~~Leonard Street~~
~~Lexington Street~~
~~Liberty Street~~
~~Long Terrace~~
~~Los Angeles Street~~
~~Lynwood Terrace~~
Massasoit Place
Massasoit Street
~~Medical Center Drive~~
~~Milford Street~~
~~Miller Street~~
~~Montclair Street~~
~~Montmorenci Street~~
~~Mooreland Street~~
~~Morison Terrace~~
~~Morrell Street~~
~~Mystic Street~~
~~Naismith Place~~
~~Naismith Street~~
Narragansett Street
~~Nevada Street~~
~~Newbury Street~~
~~Nordica Street~~
~~Norman Street~~
~~Ontario Street~~
~~Park Road~~
~~Parkin Street~~
~~Parkside Street~~
~~Pauline Street~~
Prospect Street
Prospect Terrace
~~Raymond Place~~
~~Rimmon Avenue~~
~~Saab Court~~
~~Sedgelea Street~~
~~Shefford Street~~
~~Silver Street~~
~~Silvia Street~~
~~Springfield Street~~
~~St. James Avenue~~
~~St. Lawrence Avenue~~
~~Sterling Street~~
~~Tacoma Street~~
Thames Street
~~Thornfell Street~~
~~Tourigny Street~~
~~Upton Street~~
~~Van Horn Place~~
~~Van Ness Street~~
~~Wait Street~~
~~Weaver Road~~
~~Wells Place~~
~~Wells Street~~
~~Wentworth Street~~
~~Whitmore Drive~~
~~Williams Drive~~
~~Wolfe Street~~
~~Woodmont Street~~

104 left to go! Then onto East Springfield? We'll see. This is a much bigger project than I thought it would be.

Gray skies do not deter us!

2009-04-20T17:35:00.023-04:00

Despite the darkly overcast skies, the small dog and I managed to get quite a bit done today. We headed down our street to Merrimac to Nottingham, turning onto Carew before turning left onto Liberty. We headed past the plaza toward the bridge over I-291. There's a large cemetery right next to the highway, St. Benedict's.

Once we crossed the highway, we headed down Armory (because it and Liberty do that weird criss-cross thing) to Napier Street.

Here is a link to L.E. Belcher's Web site. Also, if you look in the background to the left, you'll see a sign for American Safety and Supply, which offers everything from flashlights to jumpsuits.

Acme Metals & Recycling has been offering "innovative recycling solutions since 1938," which is great. I'm a big fan of recycling.

Also, down on Chandler is the Springfield Towing Alliance. This business had some issues last year.

East Coast Custom offers "auto body repair, welding, mechanical repair and tire repair" but oddly enough, doesn't have a Web site and isn't listed in the phone book. Hmm.

Napier, as you can see, offers oil, recycling and automotive customization. We turned off Napier to check out Chandler before heading back up Armory. On the way down toward the railroad tracks -- the easterly limit of Liberty Heights -- I came across I.B.S. Electronics and Security and Puerto Rico Bakery and Restaurant.

I.B.S. specializes in "Industrial Services, Commercial Services, Sales, Residential Services, Fire Systems, HUD Fire Alarm Certification, Installation, Fire Alarms Installed/Serviced, Data Cabling." In November 2007, Cindy S. gave them a glowing review.

This particular Puerto Rico location is actually Puerto Rico II, the original being located on Main Street.

Across the street from Puerto Rico, Warwick Street heads off, so we decided to check that out. The first big building we came across was the Sunshine Art Studios.

I can't tell if this building is still in use or not, but I think it's a wicked cool building. Here's the story of Sunshine Art Studios.

Up from that was Comcolor. Comcolor offers full service digital media.

At the end of Warwick, we turned onto Heywood. We came across this building, which looks abandoned and most likely is:

On the corner of Heywood and Liberty is the Youth Assessment Center for the Springfield Police Department. We turned left at the end of Heywood onto Liberty, following it down just past Vinton, where I snapped this picture of the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center:

The center is run by Captains Douglas and Bethannie Dolder.

We went back up Vinton to Franklin. At the corner of Franklin and Underwood is Our Lady of the Rosary Parish Hall.

We turned right onto Franklin before turning left onto Underwood. We took that to its end before turning back onto Franklin and then turning right onto Webster. A lot of these streets were one way, and small dog and I were walking the wrong direction.

We took Webster down to Liberty, turning left onto it before turning left again onto Murray Hill Avenue. We took a left kitty-corner to head onto Crane Street, following that up around to Halsey and taking that to Nursery Street part 2. At the corner of Nursery and Franklin is the greatest store ever, the Franklin Street Super Market.

Free delivery? That's awesome.

We crossed Franklin to finish Nursery, heading back toward Liberty. We turned left onto Liberty, then left onto Columbia Terrace. We turned back around and continued heading back up Liberty. We turned left onto Tracy and then right onto Franklin, which turned into Genesee. At the corner of Liberty and Genesee is Gurdon Bill Park. It is not as fabulous as Van Horn, but I do love me some green space.

We turned left onto Armory and then turned left again onto Ledyard, and checked out Wolcott Street part 2 before heading back across the highway.

I didn't mention this before, but in the island created by the criss-crossing of Armory and Liberty, there's a state trooper barracks. Good to know those guys are right down the road.

Only four streets left to officially finish this side of Carew!

119 down, 104 to go

Strolling and supporting

2009-04-19T14:56:00.008-04:00

The little boy and I headed out around 11:30 this morning, with the intention of finishing some new streets and going to the Shriners rally. We left the house and went up our street toward St. James, crossing Carew to head over to Shaine Circle. There's a Walgreens on the weird island created where Carew splits.

After finishing Shaine, we headed down Carew to Piedmont, down to Roy and across Liam to Mildred Avenue. We followed Mildred up to Mayher and took that down to Maura. We turned from Maura onto Greaney. We turned off Greaney to take Whittaker up to Liberty and back. We finished Greaney and turned back onto Mildred, checking out Calvin Street before heading up Liberty to Van Horn Park.

The small dog and I did our usual route around the park before heading down Chapin to finish Melha Avenue. The Melha Shriners support the Shriners Hospital on Carew Street, and Melha Avenue abuts the hospital. Makes sense.

After we spent some time at the rally, we headed back up Carew to go home.

105 down, 118 to go

Zigging and zagging

2009-04-18T20:11:00.011-04:00

I've thrown strategy to the wind for now. And I'm okay with that, because the small dog and I are getting a lot accomplished.

We went down to Van Horn Park again this afternoon, and I was hoping to get a full two hours of walking in with Kael. By the time we got home, we'd been out for three hours and 15 minutes...which means we did about nine miles.

We entered Van Horn through its Liberty Street entrance and ended up near the Armory Street entrance. We crossed Armory and started working out way down Chapin Terrace. We turned right onto Colfax and followed its curve around to one end of Melha. When Melha and Chapin met, we turned right and then right again onto one end of Knollwood. At the end of Knollwood, we turned left onto Cornwall, and then left onto Mayfair. When Mayfair and Chapin met, we turned right and then right again onto Croyden Terrace. At Croyden's end, we turned left onto Cornwall again and then left onto Lancashire Road. A lot of these streets were marked as private ways.

From there, we turned right onto Chapin again, then down one end of Jardine and back up to Chapin. We passed by an entrance to Baystate Medical Center (more on that place later). We stayed to the right when Chapin Terrace split, turned right onto Marvin and then turned left onto Pratt. At the end of Pratt, we turned left onto Chestnut before turning left to head back up the opposite side of Chapin and finish some of the streets we started.

At the corner of Chapin and Chestnut is the St. Pierre Phaneuf Funeral Chapel. It's a nice looking funeral home.

We followed Jardine up to Prospect and then back to Chapin; we did the same with Lancashire. We followed Mayfair and Knollwood up to Carew and back but didn't finish Melha, because it started to sprinkle. The dark, ominous clouds had been looming all afternoon. The small dog and I took Chapin back up to the park, cut through it and exited out the Penacook side, hitting up Langdon and Leroy before heading back home.

I forget what street this was on, but I saw this van and laughed:

I think it may be an under the radar moving business, but the spray-painted thug near the tail of the van makes it look a little shady.

97 down, 126 to go

2009-04-17T23:27:00.006-04:00

The small dog and I visited Van Horn Park again today, as the weather is finally starting to feel like spring. It was sunny and about 70 degrees. It was beautiful!

We finished Penacook today on our way out of the park, and on the way back up toward home, we traveled down Suzanne Street, which I skipped the other day when it was raining. I found a wheatback penny on Suzanne. That was cool.

85 down, 138 to go

April Showers

2009-04-11T15:16:00.005-04:00

Today's weather has been overcast and drizzly pretty much since dawn, so I decided to break my own rule and cross over Carew to do some streets close to the small dog and me. We didn't see too much, just lots and lots of homes.

We crossed directly from Merrimac over to Glencoe and walked to its end and back up. We turned right onto Carew and then right onto Piedmont. At its end, we turned left onto Roy and followed that all the way up to Newbury (with the exception of a quick tour of Liam), at which point we turned back around and eventually turned right onto Strong. We followed Strong back up to Carew, and from there turned left onto Biella. We did a quick tour of Mellon, then headed back up Piedmont to head home.

The poor little boy and I were soaked by the time we got back, but at least we got a full hour of walking in.

83 down, 140 to go

For those in the region

2009-04-06T16:15:00.003-04:00

Rally to support Shriners Hospital slated for April 19

SPRINGFIELD -- Recent news that the Shriners Hospitals for Children on Carew Street in Springfield is facing the grim possibility of closing because of financial issues due to the volatility of the economy has not slowed down the energy and support from within the facility. A rally to demonstrate support for the important work the hospital does for children with muscular-skeletal issues is planned for April 19 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Springfield at 481 Carew St. in Springfield. The rally location is just across the street from the Shriners Hospitals for Children at 516 Carew St.

The rally is being coordinated by Friends of the Shriners Hospital. It is not a fund raising rally, but rather a rally to demonstrate the level of support the hospital has in the community.

Springfield’s Shriners Hospitals for Children employs 200 personnel and relies on an equal amount of volunteers. A $20 million dollar budget injects money on an annual basis into the Springfield regional market but that money and the unique services the hospital supplies children could cease should the non-profit facility have to close.

The Springfield-based hospital, which began operations in 1925, is one of 22 hospitals in a one-of-a-kind international health care system dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing specialty pediatric care, innovative research and outstanding teaching programs. The Springfield location specializes in pediatric orthopaedics and the closest Shriners Hospitals for Children to offer that same specialty is in Philadelphia.

Children up to the age of 18 with orthopaedic conditions are eligible for admission and receive all care in a family-centered environment at no charge – regardless of financial need.

In this unpredictable economy, now, more than ever, the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Springfield is looking for support from the community at the April 19 rally. For more information, please contact Market Mentors at 787-1133.

[Edit, April 20, 11:10 a.m.] The small dog and I went to the rally yesterday; I signed a petition and he made some little kids very happy.

Here's some video of Mayor Sarno speaking at the rally (bad quality, I apologize):

His last line is finished "eighty-something years."

It was a really good rally -- more than 1,000 signatures were gathered. Hopefully, this shows the Shriners Board that the hospital needs to stay in Springfield.

2009-04-05T20:13:00.008-04:00

The little boy and I didn't have a lot of time for our walk today (the hubby and I had tickets to see the Hampden Theater Guild's presentation of "The Producers"), so we headed down to cover just a couple of the streets on this side of Carew that we missed on our last outing. On the way down, we passed Brunton Square (which is actually more of a triangle, but whatever).

The park was named in honor of Springfield Mayor Daniel B. Brunton, who served from 1946 to 1957. A sign in the park notes that Tralee, Ireland, is a sister city of Springfield. I've been to Tralee. It's pretty. Another sister city is Takikawa, on the island of Hokkaido, Japan.

From there, we headed down to Armory Street. On the corner of Armory and Carew is Our Lady of Hope Church. This was my future husband's church, and next door to the church is Our Lady of Hope School, my hubby's first school. It teaches children from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The school will be closing soon, sadly.

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
A night to remember for friends and alumni of Our Lady of Hope School will be on May 16 in the school auditorium. This event, to mark the school’s closing, will begin with 4 p.m. Mass in church. A ziti and meatball dinner will take place afterward in the school. Come and reminisce, tour the school and meet old friends. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids up to eighth grade and kids under three are free. There will be a cash bar. Tickets are available at the school, the rectory and the Hope Center. If you have any questions, call 734-4125.

When we passed the church and the school, we turned left up Grover Street, which had mostly two-story homes along it. At the end, we turned right onto Liberty and then made another right onto Cleveland Street. There, we soon came across the dentistry office of R. Manniello and George Hurley.

At the end of Cleveland, we turned left onto Armory and then left onto Sullivan Street. At the end of this street is a business complex called Sullivan Place.

The only business I saw advertised was the dentistry office of Dr. Gerard Thibault. He received a pretty good review from one patient on HealthGrades.com.

We headed back down Sullivan to Armory, up that street and back up Carew to head home.

So, heading forward -- I've finished all the streets on this side of Carew down to Chestnut on this side of I-291. My next move will be to cross over the highway and traverse the streets on that side (a little less than two dozen streets). After that, onto the north side of Carew!

76 down, 147 to go

2009-03-28T14:58:00.010-04:00

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!

2009-03-27T23:02:00.007-04:00

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

2009-03-21T16:41:00.017-04:00

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

2009-03-20T13:30:00.004-04:00

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

2009-03-17T19:33:00.014-04:00

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

2009-03-15T15:16:00.009-04:00

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

2009-03-13T17:36:00.010-04:00

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

2009-03-11T19:51:00.011-04:00

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

The first trek into Liberty Heights

2009-03-08T22:02:00.012-04:00

With the first full weekend in March came some lovely early spring weather -- 65 degrees on Saturday, 55 on Sunday. Finally! It seemed the perfect opportunity to take my very active dog for a walk, get some exercise and sunshine for myself and start officially exploring my neighborhood.

I started with a route my feet know well. I've done it before dozens of times with my small dog because it's through a relatively quiet neighborhood, with not a lot of traffic and that's nice when there's no sidewalks.

We started down our street and then turned southeast onto Merrimac. This is a strictly residential street that gets quite a bit of traffic, as it serves as a shortcut to get from St. James to Carew. At one end is a bridge spanning I-291, and at the other, Van Sickle Middle School. Kael and I did not cross the bridge, however, as we turned west onto Nottingham. And from there, Kael and I began our zigzagging.

Off Nottingham, I turned right onto Savoy. Savoy Avenue is home to two important things (at least, in regards to this blog): the first business I've come across and one of my favorite trees in the city. This is the business:

and this is the tree:

I can't really see inquiring into the business more than just passing it by because I think a daycare is pretty self-explanatory and I don't have any children. And the tree? It's a giant, proud oak that doesn't care it has a giant tree tumor at its base.

There are several small dead-end streets jutting off Savoy (Savoy Place, Cabot Street, Wales Court, Ward Court, Coyne Court) that I did not walk down because, honestly, I thought it might creep out anyone who lived on those streets who happened to look out the window and see me walk up their street and then just as quickly walk back down their street.

At the end of Savoy, we turned left onto Carew, and then left again to head down Drexel Street, which was entirely residential. I also took a peek at Fairfax Place -- just homes. At the end of Drexel, I turned right onto Nottingham and then right again onto Eddy. Halfway down Eddy is what I like to "Comedian Corner." Observe:

Get it? Eddie Griffin? I'm a dork.

Once I was done with Eddy, I turned left onto Carew and then left onto Laurence. Here's where it gets a little funky: I turned right off Laurence onto Griffin, left onto Middle Street, right onto Ellen Street, and then left back onto Nottingham and back toward Merrimac. I crossed Merrimac and followed Lehigh Street up to Cuff, and Cuff up to St. James; left onto St. James and then left, back onto good ol' Melville. It was quite the adventure, and I think it was a good start to my journey.

15 streets down, 208 to go

My strategy

2009-02-20T14:37:00.030-05:00

I've been thinking about how to attack this project of mine. I've decided I'm going to start with Liberty Heights (since that's usually the neighborhood I walk the doggie in). I'm going to post a list of all the streets in that neighborhood and as I walk each of them, I will cross them off. If a street is purely residential, I will note that; if it has businesses I can visit, there will be posts about them.

All right, Liberty Heights is:
~~Algonquin Place~~
~~Alpha Street~~
~~Alvin Street~~
~~Ansara Street~~
~~Arion Place~~
~~Armory Street~~
~~Athol Street~~
~~Atwater Place~~
~~Atwater Road~~
~~Atwater Terrace~~
~~Banbury Street~~
Bartlett Street
~~Beauchamp Street~~
~~Bedford Road~~
~~Belle Street~~
~~Bevier Street~~
~~Biella Street~~
~~Border Street~~
~~Cabot Street~~
~~Calvin Street~~
~~Candice Circle~~
Carew Street
~~Carew Terrace~~
~~Caseland Street~~
~~Cass Street (A)~~
~~Cass Street (B)~~
~~Catafalque Drive~~
~~Chandler Street~~
~~Chapin Terrace~~
~~Cherrelyn Street~~
Chestnut Street
~~Clantoy Street~~
~~Cleveland Street~~
~~Coleridge Street~~
~~Colfax Street~~
~~Columbia Terrace~~
~~Connecticut Avenue~~
Copley Terrace
~~Cornwall Street~~
~~Corona Street~~
~~Coyne Court~~
~~Crane Street~~
~~Crestwood Street~~
Croyden Street
~~Croyden Terrace~~
~~Cuff Street~~
Cunningham Street
~~Dana Street~~
~~David Street~~
~~Denton Circle~~
~~Derby Dingle Street~~
~~Desrosiers Street~~
~~Dineen Street~~
~~Doyle Avenue~~
~~Drew Court~~
~~Drexel Street~~
~~Dupont Place~~
~~Eddy Street~~
~~Edgar Street~~
~~Edmund Street~~
~~Ellen Street~~
~~Everett Street~~
~~Fairfax Place~~
~~Farnsworth Street~~
~~Felicia Street~~
~~Francis Street~~
~~Franklin Street~~
~~Freeman Street~~
~~Freeman Terrace~~
~~Genesee Street~~
~~Glencoe Street~~
~~Glenham Street~~
~~Gold Street~~
~~Goodrich Street~~
~~Governor Street~~
~~Greaney Street~~
~~Green Lane~~
~~Griffin Street~~
~~Grover Street~~
~~Halsey Street~~
~~Hamburg Street~~
~~Hamlet Street~~
Harlan Street
~~Hartley Street~~
~~Hastings Street~~
~~Haven Avenue~~
~~Heywood Street~~
~~Hickox Place~~
~~Hickox Street~~
~~Home Street~~
~~Huron Street~~
~~Jardine Street~~
~~Judson Street~~
~~Kendall Street~~
~~Kingsley Street~~
~~Kirby Street~~
~~Knollwood Street~~
~~Lancashire Road~~
~~Langdon Street~~
~~Laurence Street~~
~~Ledyard Street~~
~~Lehigh Street~~
~~Leonard Street~~
~~Leroy Place~~
~~Leslie Street~~
~~Lexington Street~~
~~Liam Street~~
~~Libcar Street~~
~~Liberty Street~~
~~Littleton Street~~
~~Long Terrace~~
~~Los Angeles Street~~
~~Lynwood Terrace~~
~~Marvin Street~~
Massasoit Place
Massasoit Street
~~Maura Street~~
~~Mayfair Avenue~~
~~Mayher Street~~
~~Mayo Street~~
~~McBride Street~~
~~Medical Center Drive~~
~~Melha Avenue~~
~~Mellon Street~~
~~Melville Street~~
~~Merida Street~~
~~Merrimac Avenue~~
~~Middle Street~~
~~Mildred Avenue~~
~~Milford Street~~
~~Miller Street~~
~~Montclair Street~~
~~Montmorenci Street~~
~~Mooreland Street~~
~~Morison Terrace~~
~~Morrell Street~~
~~Murray Hill Avenue~~
~~Mystic Court~~
~~Naismith Place~~
~~Naismith Street~~
~~Napier Street~~
Narragansett Street
~~Nevada Street~~
~~Newbury Street~~
~~Nordica Street~~
~~Norman Street~~
~~Nottingham Street~~
~~Nursery Street (A)~~
~~Nursery Street (B)~~
~~Nye Street~~
~~Oakhurst Street~~
~~Oklahoma Street~~
~~Ontario Street~~
~~Parallel Street~~
~~Park Road~~
~~Parkin Street~~
~~Parkside Street~~
~~Pauline Street~~
~~Pembroke Circle~~
~~Pembroke Street~~
~~Penacook Street~~
~~Phoenix Street~~
~~Phoenix Terrace~~
~~Piedmont Street~~
~~Porter Street~~
~~Pratt Street~~
Prospect Street
Prospect Terrace
~~Ramah Street~~
~~Raymond Place~~
~~Rimmon Avenue~~
~~Roy Street~~
~~Saab Court~~
~~San Miguel Street~~
~~Savoy Avenue~~
~~Savoy Place~~
~~Sedgelea Street~~
~~Shaine Circle~~
~~Shefford Street~~
~~Sherbrooke Street~~
~~Silver Street~~
~~Silvia Street~~
~~Springfield Street~~
~~St. James Avenue~~
~~St. Lawrence Avenue~~
~~Stafford Street~~
~~Sterling Street~~
~~Stetson Street~~
~~Stockman Street~~
~~Strong Street~~
~~Sullivan Street~~
~~Suzanne Street~~
~~Tacoma Street~~
Thames Street
~~Thornfell Street~~
~~Tourigny Street~~
~~Tracy Street~~
~~Underwood Street~~
~~Upland Street~~
~~Upton Street~~
~~Utica Street~~
~~Vadnais Street~~
~~Van Buren Avenue~~
~~Van Horn Place~~
~~Van Ness Street~~
~~Victoria Street~~
~~Vinton Street~~
~~Wait Street~~
~~Wales Court~~
~~Ward Court~~
~~Warwick Street~~
~~Weaver Road~~
~~Webster Street~~
~~Wells Place~~
~~Wells Street~~
~~Wentworth Street~~
~~Whittaker Street~~
~~Whitmore Drive~~
~~Wilber Street~~
~~Williams Drive~~
~~Wilson Street~~
~~Wolcott Street (A)~~
~~Wolcott Street (B)~~
~~Wolfe Street~~
~~Woodmont Street~~
~~Worthy Street~~

...A total of 223 streets, avenues, places, terraces, roads, courts and drives. I've already crossed off my street because there's nothing there but homes.

Hopefully it will warm up soon so I can start this project for real.

The introduction.

2009-02-15T19:09:00.003-05:00

I live on Melville Street, which is basically on the border between Liberty Heights and East Springfield.

According to the City of Springfield Web site, "[The] Liberty Heights neighborhood is located in the northwest quadrant of the city, beginning about one mile from the Central Business District. It contains 1,384 acres, plus rights of way, and is the fifth largest of Springfield's seventeen neighborhoods. Its principal boundaries are Chicopee to the north; the Boston & Albany Railroad to the south; St. James Avenue to the east; and portions of Chestnut Street, Cass Street, and Jardine Street to the west."

"East Springfield is located in the northern tier of the city, beginning about two and a half miles east of the Central Business District. It contains 1,504 Acres, plus rights-of-way and is the third largest of Springfield's seventeen neighborhoods. Its principal boundaries are Chicopee to the north; the Boston & Albany Railroad to the south; St. James Avenue to the west; and portions of Brookdale Drive, Page Boulevard and Worcester Street to the east."

When I'm out walking, I generally stay in the Liberty Heights area:

I generally walk from my house down to Merrimac, up around Nottingham, down Carew, and back up Merrimac and to our street with my crazy little dog. In the summer, we'll walk down to Liberty (or sometimes even Armory) to enjoy Van Horn Park. If we don't go there, we go right around the corner to Marshall Roy Park. My fiance and I usually stop at CVS or Subway before heading to Marshall Roy so we can enjoy a little picnic while the crazy dog runs around.

There are already a couple places I have in mind that I want to visit in this area.

And, while I usually walk in Liberty Heights, I conduct more business in East Springfield:

The crazy dog's veterinarian (the East Springfield Veterinary Clinic) is located here, as is my fiance's favorite pizza shop (Two Guys Pizzeria) and my gym Planet Fitness). Trust me, when I'm working out, it's all business.

As a former country girl, I enjoy walking everywhere, and the prospect of walking three or four miles to get to a destination is not a big deterrent for me. I figure there's a lot to see within that range of my home, and I plan on sharing all that wonderful stuff with anyone who cares to read.