Thank you. Springfield has the Springfield Symphony Orchestra and the Springfield Science Museum, Fine Arts, Dr. Seuss Museum and more (the beautiful Springfield City Library) These are all much more noteworthy than the Basketball Hall of Fame. Visit the library - you will be enthralled by the beauty of the place.
Hi Chris. Seeing as you’ve walked quite a lot in the three days you were here, I’m curious as to your opinion if you’d consider these three cities walkable?
I’m born and raised in Chicopee, but I frequent Springfield and Holyoke a lot. Walkscore.com gives all three cities a pretty poor walk score, but I feel like living here is a much different experience.
I do drive my car to work (in Springfield) but when I am home I like to do errands by walking or taking the bus (we also have bike share here.) I know quite a bit of people in all three cities who do not have a car and manage to get around just fine. I went to Chicopee high school and I walked to and from school most of the time. A lot of students do.
Wow this is amazing! Thank you so much for acknowledging our existence and taking the time to explore our area! Chicopee is my home town but all three; Holyoke, Chicopee, and Springfield are all part of the same struggle. We’re all one in this. I really appreciate your essay!
Having spent a little time in the area and growing up in Janesville, WI I enjoyed this perspective. I spent my time in the area finding the local breakfast spots instead of the bars. Also found the MIT Green computing lab in Holyoke (https://www.mghpcc.org/about/about-the-mghpcc/), Not many local jobs I am sure but innovative use of the local resources.
I look forward to reading more of your walking trip adventures.
That data ctr is here because of the hydropower and canals that powered the mills. Also building a new carbon free cement plant (2025) on a canal and a Culinary Arts School from HCC and the MGM Casino in Sogfld.
Great piece, I grew up in the area went to High School at Tech (long gone). It was sad to see the roads being built, really screwed the area and many others nationwide. Haven't been back to the area in years so it was great to read and see a bit of a sad decline.
Thank you.... I loved Dignity and recommended it to all of my friends and I am so appreciative of all of your work and your perspective.... Keep walking--- you inspire me!
I’m arriving a little late here, at a tip from The Pillar, a newsletter on Substack focused on Catholic news and original reporting. (Also, my apologies that this post became a novel.)
I grew up across the river from Springfield in Agawam; my dad grew up in West Springfield and my mom in the 16 Acres neighborhood of Springfield, where my grandparents lived for over 50 years. My parents met in college at AIC, my mom worked as a teacher in the Springfield Public Schools for 35 years, and my dad was a staffer at Bay Path. I went to high school off of Sumner Ave. in Springfield, one of the primary arteries of the city (RIP Cathedral High).
I left in 1996 for college in Vermont and haven’t lived in WMass since, but my parents are still in Agawam and I’m in the general area maybe three times a year. So I don’t have an on-the-ground connection there anymore, but Chris’s observations and thoughts seem legit compared with my youth and what I know about the area now.
Maybe two-thirds of my high school class went to college, but I was only one of maybe two dozen kids who went anywhere out of state. Those who went in-state mostly went to UMass in Amherst, the one non-fancy school in that area, commonly referred to as “ZooMass” in the 1990s because it was the feeder state school for the entire eastern half of the state. Then most of them went back to, if not their specific hometown, one of the other small semi-suburban/semi-urban towns in the area which had jobs at the time – like Holyoke and Chicopee.
But my understanding now is that stable jobs in those cities, where you could spend a career with one employer who has good benefits and steady work, are rare, and the semi-rural towns in the ring outside such places, like Southwick, Ludlow, and Wilbraham are mostly stagnant places largely emptied out of anyone in age between 20-40 or so. Decline isn’t consistent: West Springfield has the annual “Big E” (think of it as a Midwest-style state fair for New England) and the fairgrounds attract lots of shows and exhibitions the rest of the year. Agawam has, near the border with CT, what used to be the Riverside Amusement Park along the shoreline (I heard and smelled the rally car races every Saturday night from our backyard as a kid), was bought by a national company called Premier Parks in the mid-90s, and turned into Six Flags New England, which does monster business ¾ of the year and is a huge area employer.
Springfield indeed feels like the life has been slowly sucked out of many parts of it over the decades. I can remember frequenting a pool hall with friends in high school which was located on the 4th floor of an office building downtown. They were welcoming to a handful of dumb teenagers like us because they simply got so little business, being in an area of the city which was practically vacant on the weekends. That said, Springfield has made real efforts to change its image in recent years, with mixed results. For example, they’ve expanded the “Five Museums” complex in really nice ways, with a well-maintained section of the city that looks like a college quad, and its fine arts and science museums punch above their weight for the resources the city has. There’s also a Dr. Seuss museum for kids I got to see with friends and their young daughters four years ago, and it’s lovely. But of course the big story in recent years is the MGM casino built right off the highway in downtown, which has brought both a ton of jobs and a real increase in crime to the area.
And so the pattern I see (from a perch mostly outside of everything) is that the general Springfield area is seeing itself as perhaps able to keep its towns afloat as destination spots for entertainment-based tourists, as well as for colleges which are locally based but trying to diversify beyond standard “undergrads from 18-22” populations. When my dad was at Bay Path their most successful program was a weekend-classes based associate’s or bachelor’s degree in several practical areas (criminal justice, accounting, physician’s assistants, special ed administration) targeting middle-aged women who either never went to college or wanted to re-train in a different degree. Bay Path and other local colleges have continued to expand these sorts of offerings into master’s programs now usually focused on MBAs, occupational therapy, digital marketing, etc. Solid professional degrees for a healthy mix of blue- and white-collar workers. It will be interesting to see, however, if the area retains these graduates or they move to other parts of the state (towards Worcester and the 495 “outside Boston” highway loop) which have seen more job growth over the past decade+.
Chris, I never in my life wanted to go to the US (once I almost flew to Chicago to visit distant relatives but then life happened) and yet I feel a sad, strange longing to these places. I want to see Back Row America. Please walk and write more.
It was a while back now, but this son of Holyoke made it over to Amherst College--where I later bumped into a former Morgan Street neighbor who had just transferred from Holyoke CC. Hope it still happens...
Your "combination Dunklin Donuts Post Office" reference is the finest pop culture reference I've read on a blog, or in a newsletter, in some time. Bravo.
Springfield has several colleges also: Spgfld, Western New England, Baypath, AIC. 3 community colleges in area, Holyoke, Spgfld and Greenfield in north. Also several small schools that serve the underserved, prepping for GED’s and college. And in Holyoke a store that sells kilelbasa, etc. in the Polish section near the river that was decimated by urban renewal
They did build some apartments and condos and the area near the river looks better. Now the Polish church, Mater Dolorosa, has been demolished also. That was a huge blow to the proud Polish community, but several churches have been lost.
Thank you. Springfield has the Springfield Symphony Orchestra and the Springfield Science Museum, Fine Arts, Dr. Seuss Museum and more (the beautiful Springfield City Library) These are all much more noteworthy than the Basketball Hall of Fame. Visit the library - you will be enthralled by the beauty of the place.
Hi Chris. Seeing as you’ve walked quite a lot in the three days you were here, I’m curious as to your opinion if you’d consider these three cities walkable?
I’m born and raised in Chicopee, but I frequent Springfield and Holyoke a lot. Walkscore.com gives all three cities a pretty poor walk score, but I feel like living here is a much different experience.
I do drive my car to work (in Springfield) but when I am home I like to do errands by walking or taking the bus (we also have bike share here.) I know quite a bit of people in all three cities who do not have a car and manage to get around just fine. I went to Chicopee high school and I walked to and from school most of the time. A lot of students do.
What do you think?
Wow this is amazing! Thank you so much for acknowledging our existence and taking the time to explore our area! Chicopee is my home town but all three; Holyoke, Chicopee, and Springfield are all part of the same struggle. We’re all one in this. I really appreciate your essay!
I like your generalizations. I just started a substack about my home town Orlando and the bologna around here. I say bologna because it's not serious.
Post hawk airgo propter hock!
Having spent a little time in the area and growing up in Janesville, WI I enjoyed this perspective. I spent my time in the area finding the local breakfast spots instead of the bars. Also found the MIT Green computing lab in Holyoke (https://www.mghpcc.org/about/about-the-mghpcc/), Not many local jobs I am sure but innovative use of the local resources.
I look forward to reading more of your walking trip adventures.
That data ctr is here because of the hydropower and canals that powered the mills. Also building a new carbon free cement plant (2025) on a canal and a Culinary Arts School from HCC and the MGM Casino in Sogfld.
Interestingly, I guess, you could have just as well been writing about small-town Wisconsin. Great piece, thanks.
This is just fantastic..tho it has made my saturday very sad
Great piece, I grew up in the area went to High School at Tech (long gone). It was sad to see the roads being built, really screwed the area and many others nationwide. Haven't been back to the area in years so it was great to read and see a bit of a sad decline.
Thank you.... I loved Dignity and recommended it to all of my friends and I am so appreciative of all of your work and your perspective.... Keep walking--- you inspire me!
I’m arriving a little late here, at a tip from The Pillar, a newsletter on Substack focused on Catholic news and original reporting. (Also, my apologies that this post became a novel.)
I grew up across the river from Springfield in Agawam; my dad grew up in West Springfield and my mom in the 16 Acres neighborhood of Springfield, where my grandparents lived for over 50 years. My parents met in college at AIC, my mom worked as a teacher in the Springfield Public Schools for 35 years, and my dad was a staffer at Bay Path. I went to high school off of Sumner Ave. in Springfield, one of the primary arteries of the city (RIP Cathedral High).
I left in 1996 for college in Vermont and haven’t lived in WMass since, but my parents are still in Agawam and I’m in the general area maybe three times a year. So I don’t have an on-the-ground connection there anymore, but Chris’s observations and thoughts seem legit compared with my youth and what I know about the area now.
Maybe two-thirds of my high school class went to college, but I was only one of maybe two dozen kids who went anywhere out of state. Those who went in-state mostly went to UMass in Amherst, the one non-fancy school in that area, commonly referred to as “ZooMass” in the 1990s because it was the feeder state school for the entire eastern half of the state. Then most of them went back to, if not their specific hometown, one of the other small semi-suburban/semi-urban towns in the area which had jobs at the time – like Holyoke and Chicopee.
But my understanding now is that stable jobs in those cities, where you could spend a career with one employer who has good benefits and steady work, are rare, and the semi-rural towns in the ring outside such places, like Southwick, Ludlow, and Wilbraham are mostly stagnant places largely emptied out of anyone in age between 20-40 or so. Decline isn’t consistent: West Springfield has the annual “Big E” (think of it as a Midwest-style state fair for New England) and the fairgrounds attract lots of shows and exhibitions the rest of the year. Agawam has, near the border with CT, what used to be the Riverside Amusement Park along the shoreline (I heard and smelled the rally car races every Saturday night from our backyard as a kid), was bought by a national company called Premier Parks in the mid-90s, and turned into Six Flags New England, which does monster business ¾ of the year and is a huge area employer.
Springfield indeed feels like the life has been slowly sucked out of many parts of it over the decades. I can remember frequenting a pool hall with friends in high school which was located on the 4th floor of an office building downtown. They were welcoming to a handful of dumb teenagers like us because they simply got so little business, being in an area of the city which was practically vacant on the weekends. That said, Springfield has made real efforts to change its image in recent years, with mixed results. For example, they’ve expanded the “Five Museums” complex in really nice ways, with a well-maintained section of the city that looks like a college quad, and its fine arts and science museums punch above their weight for the resources the city has. There’s also a Dr. Seuss museum for kids I got to see with friends and their young daughters four years ago, and it’s lovely. But of course the big story in recent years is the MGM casino built right off the highway in downtown, which has brought both a ton of jobs and a real increase in crime to the area.
And so the pattern I see (from a perch mostly outside of everything) is that the general Springfield area is seeing itself as perhaps able to keep its towns afloat as destination spots for entertainment-based tourists, as well as for colleges which are locally based but trying to diversify beyond standard “undergrads from 18-22” populations. When my dad was at Bay Path their most successful program was a weekend-classes based associate’s or bachelor’s degree in several practical areas (criminal justice, accounting, physician’s assistants, special ed administration) targeting middle-aged women who either never went to college or wanted to re-train in a different degree. Bay Path and other local colleges have continued to expand these sorts of offerings into master’s programs now usually focused on MBAs, occupational therapy, digital marketing, etc. Solid professional degrees for a healthy mix of blue- and white-collar workers. It will be interesting to see, however, if the area retains these graduates or they move to other parts of the state (towards Worcester and the 495 “outside Boston” highway loop) which have seen more job growth over the past decade+.
And randomly, if you’re looking for a really good in-depth discussion Chris had about his book “Dignity,” I recommend this one (and The Realignment podcast generally): https://www.hudson.org/research/15532-the-realignment-ep-18-chris-arnade-back-vs-front-row-america
Chris, I never in my life wanted to go to the US (once I almost flew to Chicago to visit distant relatives but then life happened) and yet I feel a sad, strange longing to these places. I want to see Back Row America. Please walk and write more.
It was a while back now, but this son of Holyoke made it over to Amherst College--where I later bumped into a former Morgan Street neighbor who had just transferred from Holyoke CC. Hope it still happens...
I really enjoyed this! And as a native El Pasoan, it made me happy for you to list it among your favorite cities :)
Your "combination Dunklin Donuts Post Office" reference is the finest pop culture reference I've read on a blog, or in a newsletter, in some time. Bravo.
Springfield has several colleges also: Spgfld, Western New England, Baypath, AIC. 3 community colleges in area, Holyoke, Spgfld and Greenfield in north. Also several small schools that serve the underserved, prepping for GED’s and college. And in Holyoke a store that sells kilelbasa, etc. in the Polish section near the river that was decimated by urban renewal
Looks like they wiped out everything north of Lyman Street, but left a few Polish names on streets and parks -- Kosciuszko, Pulaski, Kolbe.
They did build some apartments and condos and the area near the river looks better. Now the Polish church, Mater Dolorosa, has been demolished also. That was a huge blow to the proud Polish community, but several churches have been lost.