The North End of

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, th ...

is a name that describes three distinct Springfield neighborhoods: Brightwood, Memorial Square, and Liberty Heights. For more than a century, Springfield's North End neighborhood has served as a first home for some of the city's various immigrant communities, from Greeks in Memorial Square to Russians in Liberty Heights. As of 2011, the contemporary Puerto Rican flavor of the North End is evident in numerous banners depicting traditional Carnival masks and the coquí, Puerto Rico's unofficial mascot. As of 2011, the North End is dominated by Massachusetts' third largest employer,

Baystate Health Baystate Health is a not-for-profit integrated health system headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, serving Western Massachusetts and the Knowledge Corridor Region of Massachusetts and Connecticut. The system has 5 hospitals, over 80 medi ...

. Approximately ten years ago, the North End was considered one of Springfield's most dangerous neighborhoods; however, that perception has changed as Baystate Health has continued to expand - currently, with a $300 million addition called "The Hospital of the Future, which will add 550 new doctors - and from 1990-2006, Springfield's Latino community's buying power has increased over 295%. Additionally, unlike in other Northeastern cities, Springfield has been fortunate in that rather than leaving the area once adequate buying power is achieved, (as has happened in many areas of California, for example,) Springfield's Latino residents have chosen to stay - and even to further increase. These trends bode extremely well for the economic and cultural future of Springfield.http://davidsonmediagroup.com/Stations/MAPS/DMG%20Springfield%204-07.pdf Many festivals occur in the North End throughout the year. For example, during

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

, residents of the North End stage a Passion Play, depicting what happened to Jesus Christ during the last 30 hours of his life. In the summer of 2011, Main Street in Springfield's North End is scheduled to receive $3.6 million in streetlight and walkway improvements

References

{{SpringfieldMA Neighborhoods in Springfield, Massachusetts Puerto Rican culture in the United States