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Springfield is the primary fictional setting of the American
animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...
'' and related media. It is an average-sized, fictional city within an indeterminate
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. The fictional city's geography, surroundings and layout are flexible, often changing to accommodate the plot of any given episode. According to the creator of the series,
Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
native
Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...
, Springfield was inspired by a number of real-life locations (including
Springfield, Oregon Springfield is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Southern Willamette Valley, it is within the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. Separated from Eugene to the west, mainly by Interstate 5, Springfield ...
and
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 ...
). However, in order to emphasize it as an example of " Anytown, USA", the location of the fictional Springfield remains a mystery, with various contradictory "clues" being found in numerous episodes of the series.


Creation

The fictional city of Springfield was intended to represent "Anytown, USA" and not be derived from any specific real-life location. However, the producers acknowledge deriving inspiration from numerous locations including ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...
'' creator
Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...
's hometown of
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...
, and
Mike Scully Michael C. Scully (born October 2, 1956) is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, ...
's hometown,
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 ...
. Springfield was named after
Springfield, Oregon Springfield is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Southern Willamette Valley, it is within the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. Separated from Eugene to the west, mainly by Interstate 5, Springfield ...
, which, as a child, Groening had believed be the fictitious Springfield featured in the 1950s sitcom ''
Father Knows Best ''Father Knows Best'' is an American sitcom starring Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin. The series, which began on radio in 1949, aired as a television show for six seasons and 203 episodes. Created by ...
''. Groening did not intend to place the fictional Springfield in Oregon, contrary to a 2012 interview with him in ''Smithsonian'' magazine; he instead adopted the name for the setting of ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...
'' in the hope that "everyone will think it's their Springfield".
Al Jean Alfred Ernest Jean III (born January 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on ''The Simpsons''. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his wri ...
explained that the magazine "misinterpreted something I've heard him say for at least 10 or 20 years. He was inspired by growing up in Portland, but it's really an every town". Groening liked ''
Second City Television ''Second City Television'', commonly shortened to ''SCTV'' and later known as ''SCTV Network'' and ''SCTV Channel'', is a Canadian television sketch comedy show that ran intermittently between 1976 and 1984. It was created as an offshoot from T ...
'' setting of Melonville, a town with a large cast of recurring characters, and used it as inspiration for ''The Simpsons''. He said, "I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, 'This will be cool; everyone will think it's their Springfield.' And they do".


Location

Because of the many contradictory statements regarding Springfield in the show, it is impossible for the town to exist in a specific state. In ''
The Simpsons Movie ''The Simpsons Movie'' is a 2007 American Animation, animated comedy film based on the long-running animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. The film was directed by the show's supervising director David Silverman (animator), David Silverman and star ...
'',
Ned Flanders Nedward "Ned" Flanders Jr. is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer and first appearing in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." He is the good-natured, ch ...
tells
Bart Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...
that the state where Springfield is located is bordered by the states of
Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
,
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...
, and
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
– only Ohio and Kentucky are neighboring states in reality, and Nevada and Maine are at opposite sides of the US. The fictional city's unknown and unknowable geography is a recurring joke in the series; the ''
Dayton Daily News The ''Dayton Daily News'' (''DDN'') is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximatel ...
'' called it the "riddle wrapped in an enigma that is Springfield's location". Episodes frequently make fun of the fact that Springfield's state is unidentifiable, by adding further conflicting descriptions, obscuring onscreen map representations, and interrupting conversational references.One of the conflicting identifications takes place in '' Lisa the Iconoclast'' (season 7, episode 16) in which the grave of Democratic Presidential candidate and later UN ambassador under President
John Fitzgerald Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
,
Adlai Stevenson II Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (; February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician and diplomat who was twice the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. He was the grandson of Adlai Stevenson I, the 23rd vice president o ...
, is shown to be located in Springfield's cemetery. The actual grave is in Evergreen Cemetery in
Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomingto ...
. Like his father, Vice President
Adlai Stevenson I Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American politician who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897. He had served as a U.S. Representative from Illinois in the late 1870s and ...
, and his son, Senator
Adlai Stevenson III Adlai Ewing Stevenson III (October 10, 1930 – September 6, 2021) was an American attorney and politician of the Democratic Party who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1970 until 1981. A member of the prominent Stevenson fami ...
, Stevenson was strongly connected to
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
, having been Governor of the state from 1949 to 1953. The Stevenson grave is thus a "clue" pointing to Springfield being in Illinois.
David Silverman, who directed the movie and various episodes of the series, joked that Springfield is located in the fictional state of "North Takoma". This is substantiated by the state abbreviations NT and TA used within the show. The telephone
area codes A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, r ...
for Springfield are 636 (
St. Charles County St. Charles County is in the central eastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 405,262, making it Missouri's third-most populous county. Its county seat is St. Charles. The county was organized Oct ...
and Western St. Louis County, Missouri) and
939 Year 939 ( CMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Hugh the Great, count of Paris, rebels against King Louis IV ("d'Outremer") and gains su ...
(
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
). To promote ''The Simpsons Movie'', various actual towns and cities across the U.S. called Springfield competed to hold the
premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its fi ...
. The town of
Springfield, Vermont Springfield is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,062. History The land currently recognized as Springfield is the traditional land of the Pennacook and Abenaki people. One of the ...
, was chosen. In 2016, a ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that "of all the Springfields in America, 'The Simpsons''is most popular in Springfields in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
,
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...
and
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
, and least popular in Springfields in
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
,
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
and
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
".


Fictional history

The episode " Lisa the Iconoclast" revealed that Springfield was founded by a group led by Jebediah Springfield (a cover identity for notorious pirate Hans Sprungfeld) who, after misinterpreting a passage in the Bible, left Maryland trying to find "New
Sodom Sodom may refer to: Places Historic * Sodom and Gomorrah, cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis United States * Sodom, Kentucky, a ghost town * Sodom, New York, a hamlet * Sodom, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Sodom, West Virginia, ...
." After he refuses to found a town where men are free to marry their cousins, half of the group leave. The dissenters found the nearby town of Shelbyville, named after fellow pioneer Shelbyville Manhattan, and the two cities remain rivals for centuries. Springfield reaches its pinnacle in the mid-20th century, when it became the home of the world's first Aquacar factory; one half of the U.S. was said to wear Springfield galoshes and the city's streets were literally paved with gold. The town's prosperity is short-lived, however, and, in a 1992 episode, a fictional ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'' cover story on Springfield is titled "America's Worst City", and in a 1996 episode, ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' called the town "America's Crud Bucket".


Topography

Springfield's fictional geography is shown to be comically varied, and includes
forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
s,
meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or arti ...
s,
mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have ari ...
s, a
desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
, a
glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...
,
beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc s ...
es,
badlands Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, mi ...
,
canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...
s,
swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
s, a
harbor A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
, waterholes, and
waterway A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary ...
s. Major named geographical features includes the Springfield Gorge, Springfield National Forest, the volcanic Mt. Springfield, the West Springfield Desert ("three times the size of Texas!"), the Springfield Badlands (also known as the Alkali Flats), the gigantic Murderhorn Mountain, Springfield Glacier, Mt. Useful National Park, Springfield Mesa, Springfield Monument Park, and Springfield National Park. The town's climate is usually depicted as dry and sunny, with a bright blue sky. However, in various episodes, it has been subject to many natural disasters, including heatwaves, blizzards, avalanches, earthquakes,
acid rain Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists between 6.5 and 8.5, but ac ...
, floods, hurricanes, lightning strikes, tornadoes, and volcanic eruptions. Springfield's environment is shown as unusually polluted. Overflowing garbage forces the whole town – both population and structures — to move five miles (8km) away from the massive dump that the old town of Springfield had become. Springfield is also home to the state's largest self-sustaining tire fire, which has been burning continuously for many decades. Lake Springfield's
pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, th ...
almost leads to the town's destruction by an
Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale ...
bomb in ''
The Simpsons Movie ''The Simpsons Movie'' is a 2007 American Animation, animated comedy film based on the long-running animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. The film was directed by the show's supervising director David Silverman (animator), David Silverman and star ...
'', and pollution from the
nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces ...
has mutated the fish in the river, and the Nuclear Power Plant's mascot is
Blinky Blinky may refer to: Characters * ''Blinky'' (comics), a character in the UK comic ''The Dandy'' * Blinky (ghost), a red (sometimes orange) ghost in the ''Pac-Man'' franchise * Blinky (mascot), the mascot of FreeDOS * Blinky (The Simpsons), t ...
, an orange-colored fish with three eyes."
Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" is the fourth episode of the second season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It is actually the first episode of that season in the production order. It originally ...
"
Its atmosphere is so polluted that, in one 1995 episode, it reduces a
comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...
to a tiny rock. Springfield is shown to feature a large numbered
grid plan In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogon ...
, ranging from streets at least as low as 3rd Street and at least as high as 257th Street.


Politics, religion, and media

The fictional mayor of Springfield is Joe Quimby. In the episode " Sideshow Bob Roberts",
Sideshow Bob Robert Underdunk Terwilliger Jr., PhD, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared in the episode "The Telltale Head". Bob is a sel ...
runs for Mayor of Springfield and defeats Mayor Quimby, but Bob is later discovered to have committed
electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...
. Previous representatives include Horace Wilcox, who dies of a heart attack while in office, and Bob Arnold, who is forced to resign after Lisa exposes his corruption. Mary Bailey is the fictional governor of Springfield's state.


Sports

The town is home to a number of fictional sporting teams, including the Springfield Isotopes, a minor league baseball team which plays its home games at Duff Stadium;" Hungry, Hungry Homer" the Springfield Atoms
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
team at Springfield Stadium;"
Love Is a Many Strangled Thing "Love Is a Many Strangled Thing" is the seventeenth episode of the twenty-second season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on Fox in the United States on March 27, 2011. Plot After saving Mr. Burns' lif ...
"
the NBA's Springfield Excitement (formerly the Austin Celtics);"
The Burns and the Bees "The Burns and the Bees" is the eighth episode of the twentieth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 7, 2008. In the episode, during a poker game, M ...
"
and the Springfield Ice-O-Topes
hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
team.


Businesses


Springfield Nuclear Power Plant

The famous fictional city is home to The Springfield Nuclear Power Plant is a two-unit
pressurized water reactor A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan and Canada). In a PWR, the primary coolant (water) i ...
nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces ...
in Springfield owned by Charles Montgomery Burns. Among the plant's employees are
Homer Simpson Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared, along with the rest of his family, in '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' short ...
,
Lenny Leonard The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The writ ...
, and Carl Carlson, and Burns' assistant
Waylon Smithers Waylon Joseph Smithers Jr., usually referred to as Mr. Smithers or simply Smithers, is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer. He first appeared in "Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons), Homer's ...
. The plant is shown to be the key supplier of the city of Springfield's energy, and the carelessness of Mr. Burns and the plant's employees often endangers the residents and natural environment of Springfield. Mutated fish with more than two eyes are often shown in the lake behind the power plant, which has a large pipe pumping nuclear waste into it. There is a
crow A crow is a bird of the genus '' Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifica ...
or
raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between " crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigne ...
shown living near the Power Plant, which caws whenever an
establishing shot An establishing shot in filmmaking and television production sets up, or establishes, the context for a scene by showing the relationship between its important figures and objects. It is generally a long or extreme-long shot at the beginning of ...
of the Power Plant is on screen. A running gag in earlier seasons was the poor security of the plant, with the outside security booth often going unmanned. The design of Springfield Nuclear Power Plant is often rumored to be based on the troubled Trojan Nuclear Power Plant (closed in 1993 due to defects) near
Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...
's home town of
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...
, or the
Hanford Site The Hanford Site is a decommissioned nuclear production complex operated by the United States federal government on the Columbia River in Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington. The site has been known by many names, including SiteW a ...
in southeastern
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
. However, Antonia Coffman, Groening's publicist, has said that the Springfield plant's design is generic and that "the Springfield Nuclear Power plant was not based on the Trojan Plant or any other power plant in the country."


Kwik-E-Mart

Kwik-E-Mart The Kwik-E-Mart (spelled "Quick-E-Mart" in "Bart the General") is a convenience store in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It is a parody of American convenience stores, such as 7-Eleven and Cumberland Farms, and depicts many of th ...
is a fictional convenience store run by Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. The Kwik-E-Mart first appeared in the first-season episode "
The Telltale Head "The Telltale Head" is the eighth episode of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 25, 1990. It was written by Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Sam Simon and Matt ...
" (although mentioned in "
Bart the General "Bart the General" is the fifth episode of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 4, 1990.. In the episode, Bart Simpson enlists Grampa's help to battle local bully ...
" as the "Quick-e-Mart"). In " Stark Raving Dad", a street sign reading "Highland" is seen outside one of the front windows, in the same blue color as is used for signs for Highland Avenue in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
. Likewise, three buildings are visible that are similar to some of those that might be seen on that street: two low buildings with bars over the windows, and a third, also with barred windows, which has a mission-style roof and a sign reading "Smog Center." The episode "
Homer and Apu "Homer and Apu" is the thirteenth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 10, 1994. In the episode, Homer participates in a ...
" suggests that Apu is an employee of the Kwik-E-Mart and after losing his job there had to travel to India, where the Kwik-E-Mart head office is located, in the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
. However, Apu mentions at a bachelor auction that he runs his own business in "
The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons" is the eighth episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 16, 1997. It was written by Richard A ...
". In addition to the sale of items offered at a typical convenience store,
gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic c ...
pumps A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic energy. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the method they ...
have been shown in front of the store on two occasions.''The Springfield Shopper'' also sells there, and it is where
Principal Seymour Skinner Principal Seymour Skinner (born Armin Tamzarian) is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', who is voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the principal of Springfield Elementary School, which he struggles to control, ...
purchases his tabloids. In the episode " Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song", Apu installs 16 new gas pumps to compete with a rival convenience store, the Gas 'N Gulp. However, they, along with the Kwik-E-Mart, are destroyed when Bart accidentally interrupts a live mortar exercise at Fort Springfield, forcing the soldiers to redirect the mortar fire into the town. The episode " Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield" also shows the pumps. In July 2007, convenience store chain
7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...
converted 11 of its stores in the United States and one in Canada into Kwik-E-Marts to promote the release of ''
The Simpsons Movie ''The Simpsons Movie'' is a 2007 American Animation, animated comedy film based on the long-running animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. The film was directed by the show's supervising director David Silverman (animator), David Silverman and star ...
''. The locations of the renovated Kwik-E-Marts were:
Bladensburg, Maryland Bladensburg is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland. The population was 9,657 at the 2020 census. Areas in Bladensburg are located within ZIP code 20710. Bladensburg is from central Washington. History Originally called Garrison's Landi ...
/Washington, D.C.;
Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, who ...
;
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
;
Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
;
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
;
Henderson Henderson may refer to: People * Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada * ...
/
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...
;
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
; Mountain View/
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
; New York City;
Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
/
Lake Buena Vista, Florida Lake Buena Vista () is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is mostly known for being the mailing address for Walt Disney World—although almost all of the resort facilities, including all four theme parks, are physically located ...
;
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...
; and
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...
/ Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada. These 12 locations, as well as the majority of other North American 7-Elevens, sold products found in ''The Simpsons'', such as " Buzz Cola", " Krusty-O's", " Squishees", pink frosted "Sprinklicious doughnuts", and other ''Simpsons''-themed merchandise. The Squishees were
Slurpee Slurpee is the brand name for carbonated slushies sold by 7-Eleven and its subsidiaries A-Plus and Speedway. The brand first originated in 1966 when 7-Eleven made a licensing deal with The Icee Company to sell slushies in 7-Eleven stores. ...
s that are sold in special collector cups and the Krusty-O's were made by Malt-O-Meal. The promotion resulted in a 30% increase in profits for the changed 7-Eleven stores. This can be seen during the opening of ''The Simpsons Movie''.


The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop

The Android's Dungeon is a fictional comic book store owned by Comic Book Guy. The comic book store and its owner first appeared in the episode " Three Men and a Comic Book", when Bart sees a copy of the first issue of the Radioactive Man comic on sale for $100. In the episode "
Worst Episode Ever "Worst Episode Ever" is the eleventh episode of the twelfth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 4, 2001. In the episode, Bart and Milhou ...
", Bart and
Milhouse Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a recurring character in the Fox animated television series ''The Simpsons'' voiced by Pamela Hayden and created by Matt Groening. Milhouse is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class at ...
are given the job of running the comic book store after Comic Book Guy suffers from a stress-induced heart attack and is instructed to try and gain a social life. During their brief tenure at the store, Bart and Milhouse discover a secret room filled with bootleg videotapes of various extremely rare or illegal subjects. These tapes are later confiscated during a police raid on the store.


Barney's Bowl-A-Rama

Barney's Bowl-A-Rama is a fictional
bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a clubhouse or dwelling ...
in Springfield. It is owned by Barney Gumble's Uncle Al. In the episode " And Maggie Makes Three", Homer tells the family the story of Maggie's birth. In this story,
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
explains how he quit his job at
Springfield Nuclear Power Plant Springfield is the primary fictional setting of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and related media. It is an average-sized, fictional city within an indeterminate state in the United States. The fictional city's geography, surroundi ...
to work at the Bowl-A-Rama, which was Homer's dream job.


The Leftorium

The Leftorium is a fictional store in the Springfield Mall specializing in products for
left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...
people. The store is owned by
Ned Flanders Nedward "Ned" Flanders Jr. is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer and first appearing in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." He is the good-natured, ch ...
, who first started the Leftorium in the episode "
When Flanders Failed "When Flanders Failed" is the third episode of the third season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 3, 1991. In the episode, Homer makes a wish for ...
". At first, business at the store goes very poorly. Irritated with
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
, Homer wishes that the store would go out of business after receiving the larger half of a
wishbone Wishbone commonly refers to: * Furcula, a fork-shaped bone in birds and some dinosaurs Wishbone may also refer to: * Wish-Bone, an American salad dressing and condiment company * Wishbone formation, a type of offense in American football * Wishb ...
. Homer gets his wish, and the Flanders family are forced to sell many of their possessions, much of which Homer purchases at a meager price of $75. The bank repossesses the Flanders' home and the Leftorium is to be the next asset repossessed. Homer then regrets making this wish and the fact that he never told any of his friends who needed left-handed items about the Leftorium. As a result, he manages to get everyone he knows in town to shop at Ned's store, saving it from closure. The Leftorium continues to thrive over the following years. However, Flanders mentions in several episodes that the store does not do that well, such as in the season 10 episode " Thirty Minutes over Tokyo", where Ned mentions that the business now has a competitor "Leftopolis" next door to it. In the episode " Home Away from Homer", Ned mentions that a recently opened, left-hand megastore, called "Left-Mart" (a parody of
Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
) is threatening his business. The season 25 episode "
White Christmas Blues "White Christmas Blues" is the eighth episode of the twenty-fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and the 538th episode of the series. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 15, 2 ...
" reveals that competition from the Southpaw Superstore forced Flanders to downsize the business to a mall cart, the "Leftorium Express", which he splits with a cosmetic saleswoman. In the season 29 episode "
Left Behind ''Left Behind'' is a multimedia franchise that started with a series of 16 bestselling religious novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. It focuses on a seven-year conflict between the Tribulation Force, an underground network of converts, ...
", the Leftorium closes for good, leaving Flanders unemployed until he finds a new job as
Bart Simpson Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in '' The Tracey Ullman Sh ...
's new teacher. The writers had wanted to have Flanders own a failing business and the idea for the store was suggested by George Meyer. He got the idea from a friend whose family had owned a left-handed specialty store which had failed.


Springfield Mall

The Springfield Mall is a fictional shopping mall that features comical fictional stores and pastiches, such as the Happy Market, Cost-Mo, Girdles N' Such, Eye Caramba, The Ear Piercery, Happy Sailor Tattoo Parlor, Love Your Computer, Gum4Less, Popular Books, the
Leftorium Springfield is the primary fictional setting of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and related media. It is an average-sized, fictional city within an indeterminate state in the United States. The fictional city's geography, surroundi ...
, Nick's Bowling Shop, Stoner's Pot Palace, Bookacchino's, Moe's Express (a mini version of Moe's Tavern), a Mapple Store (a parody of the
Apple Store The Apple Store is a chain of retail stores owned and operated by Apple Inc. The stores sell various Apple products, including Mac personal computers, iPhone smartphones, iPad tablet computers, Apple Watch smartwatches, Apple TV digital me ...
), numerous knockoff
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...
coffee shops, and several Krusty Burgers.


Bars and restaurants


Moe's Tavern

Moe's Tavern is a local
bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...
in Springfield frequented by Homer Simpson, Carl Carlson, Lenny Leonard, Barney Gumble and barflies Sam and Larry, but is seemingly unpopular with the rest of the city's residents. The tavern is named after and run by
Moe Szyslak Moe Szyslak is a recurring character from the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode " Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Moe is the proprietor and bartender o ...
. Moe's Tavern first appeared in the episode " Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". In the first season of ''The Simpsons'', the entrance appears to be a saloon door. The bar sells mostly Duff Beer, although other beverages are served. A recurring gag is the dirty and dilapidated state of the bar. In "
Mommie Beerest "Mommie Beerest" is the seventh episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 30, 2005. The episode was directed by Mark Kirland and w ...
", it is revealed that Moe was long able to avoid several enormous health code violations as he is friends with the health inspector. Another episode reveals that the bar's liquor license has expired, is only valid in
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
, and is signed by Moe himself. Moe's Tavern undergoes several makeovers in various episodes of ''The Simpsons'', but always reverts to its original dark, squalid state. In the episode " Homer's Barbershop Quartet" Moe's Tavern is named Moe's ''C''avern as a reference to the world-famous Cavern Club in
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
, where
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
played. Other notable makeovers are in the episode "
Bart Sells His Soul "Bart Sells His Soul" is the fourth episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 8, 1995. In the episode, Bart scornfully dismisses th ...
", where Moe turns his tavern into a family restaurant called Uncle Moe's Family Feed Bag, and in " Homer the Moe" where Moe turns his tavern into a
yuppie Yuppie, short for "young urban professional" or "young upwardly-mobile professional", is a term coined in the early 1980s for a young professional person working in a city. The term is first attested in 1980, when it was used as a fairly neu ...
bar called "m". In the episode "
Mommie Beerest "Mommie Beerest" is the seventh episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 30, 2005. The episode was directed by Mark Kirland and w ...
", it is turned into an English pub named Nag and Weasel. In " Flaming Moe", Moe enlists the help of
Waylon Smithers Waylon Joseph Smithers Jr., usually referred to as Mr. Smithers or simply Smithers, is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer. He first appeared in "Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons), Homer's ...
to transform the bar into a gay bar called Mo's, although he changes it back again at the end of the episode. Moe and his tavern are the victim of Bart's ongoing
prank calls A prank call (also known as a crank call) is a telephone call intended by the caller as a practical joke played on the person answering. It is often a type of nuisance call. It can be illegal under certain circumstances. Recordings of prank ph ...
in earlier seasons, when Bart would call looking for nonexistent people with names that would get Moe laughed at by his customers.
Universal Studios Florida Universal Studios Florida (also known as Universal Studios or USF) is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Primarily themed to movies, television and other aspects of the entertainment industry, the park opened to the public on June 7, 1990 ...
includes a Moe's Tavern in the Springfield section of the park.


Krusty Burger

Krusty Burger is a
fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredie ...
restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...
owned by
Krusty the Clown Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky (; ) better known by his stage name Krusty the Clown (sometimes spelled as Krusty the Klown), is a recurring character on the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castel ...
as one of his many branded products and services. Krusty Burger is seen as a parody of a typical fast-food chain, like
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...
,
Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based restaurant ch ...
and
Wendy's Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (1932–2002) on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was ...
. Krusty Burger is located across the entire United States; in the episode "
Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood "Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 18, 1993. In the episode, Bart, intoxicated f ...
", Homer uses a map of the entire United States with locations of Krusty Burger restaurants. In the episode "
The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer" is the first episode of the eighteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 10, 2006. In the episode, ...
", Krusty Burger is one of the few burger places open in Springfield, because Krusty has been paying mobster Fat Tony to keep
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...
and
Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based restaurant ch ...
from establishing local franchises. A common gag, especially in the later seasons of the show, is the extremely low quality of the food served at the restaurants, a parody of common beliefs and urban legends surrounding American fast food. Documentary filmmaker Decland Desmond has made several exposes on the chain, revealing practices such as stapling together half-eaten burgers and serving them to new customers, and substituting all manner of cheap filler as meat. Krusty also reveals that the Ribwich was made of an unspecified animal with more than four legs, presumably some sort of insect or spider, that was driven into extinction by its production.
Universal Studios Florida Universal Studios Florida (also known as Universal Studios or USF) is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Primarily themed to movies, television and other aspects of the entertainment industry, the park opened to the public on June 7, 1990 ...
includes a Krusty Burger in the Springfield section of the park.


Lard Lad Donuts

Lard Lad Donuts is a donut store in Springfield. Its mascot is an (estimated) tall statue of a rather chubby boy proudly holding a donut over his head. The name and the statue of the eponymous boy are likely references to
Big Boy Restaurants Big Boy Restaurant Group, LLC is an American restaurant chain store, chain headquartered in Warren, Michigan, Warren, Michigan. Frisch's Big Boy Restaurants is a restaurant chain with its headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Big Boy name, desi ...
. In " Treehouse of Horror VI", the Lard Lad statue is brought to life by a mysterious atmospheric disturbance, enraged by Homer Simpson having stolen his giant donut.
Universal Studios Florida Universal Studios Florida (also known as Universal Studios or USF) is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Primarily themed to movies, television and other aspects of the entertainment industry, the park opened to the public on June 7, 1990 ...
includes a Lard Lad Donuts in the Springfield section of the park.


Luigi's

Luigi's is a Springfield
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
restaurant owned by
Luigi Risotto The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The writ ...
, who is a parody of the "Italian pasta/pizza chef"
stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for exampl ...
, but seems to be aware of his status as a
stock character A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a fictional character in a work of art such as a novel, play, or a film whom audiences recognize from frequent recurrences in a particular literary tradition. There is a wide range of s ...
. Luigi is polite to his customers and treats them with respect when they order, and then loudly insults and belittles them to his cook Salvatore, fully aware that they can hear him from the kitchen. The restaurant also employs an old Italian
saucier A saucier () or sauté chef is a position in the classical brigade style kitchen. It can be translated into English as ''sauce chef''. In addition to preparing sauces, the saucier prepares stews, hot hors d'œuvres, and sautés food to order ...
, who in Take My Life, Please, claims they can tell what someone's life could have been like by stirring tomato sauce in a certain way. By using his magical tomato sauce, the saucier helps Homer see what his life would have been like if he had won his high school election. Fat Tony and his mob frequently use the restaurant for their meetings. Luigi takes customer service very seriously.
Universal Studios Florida Universal Studios Florida (also known as Universal Studios or USF) is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Primarily themed to movies, television and other aspects of the entertainment industry, the park opened to the public on June 7, 1990 ...
includes a Luigi's in the Springfield section of the park.


The Frying Dutchman

The Frying Dutchman is a maritime-themed restaurant operated by Sea Captain Horatio McCallister. Its cuisine specializes in seafood (to which Marge is allergic), and even the bread has fish in it. Homer sued them for their refusal to honor the 'all you can eat' promise in the episode "
New Kid on the Block "New Kid on the Block" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 12, 1992. After meeting his new neighbor, Laur ...
", and was given a job as a freak attraction "more stomach than man" (to Marge's great embarrassment).
Universal Studios Florida Universal Studios Florida (also known as Universal Studios or USF) is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Primarily themed to movies, television and other aspects of the entertainment industry, the park opened to the public on June 7, 1990 ...
includes a Frying Dutchman in the Springfield section of the park.


The Singing Sirloin

The Singing Sirloin is a restaurant where waiters sing everything they say. It is first featured in the Season 1 episode " Life on the Fast Lane"; Marge celebrates her birthday there. Bart also celebrated here after getting an A, however after Homer was unable to pay them for the food, they had to sing on stage to pay for the bill (in the episode "
Homer vs. Dignity "Homer vs. Dignity" is the fifth episode of the twelfth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 26, 2000. In the episode, Mr. Burns hires a cash-strap ...
").


The Happy Sumo

The Happy Sumo is a
Japanese restaurant Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan (Japanese: ) is based on rice with miso soup and other ...
. Among the restaurant's menu offerings are all kinds of
sushi is a Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is "sushi rice," also ...
, including
fugu The fugu (; ; ) in Japanese, ''bogeo'' (; 鰒魚) or ''bok'' () in Korean, and ''hétún'' (河豚; 河魨) in Standard Modern Chinese is a pufferfish, normally of the genus '' Takifugu'', '' Lagocephalus'', or '' Sphoeroides'', or a porcupi ...
, which can be fatally poisonous if not properly prepared. The Master Sushi Chef is the only person at the restaurant qualified to prepare fugu. The restaurant also offers
karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...
. Akira works as a waiter and translates on occasion for the Simpson family.


The Gilded Truffle

The Gilded Truffle is an upscale restaurant. It features as a place where adult couples without children can go, while Homer and Marge look on wistfully from another restaurant. It also features as the scene of Bart's prank towards Edna, when he pretends to be a man interested in meeting her in person from a personal advertisement and then watches her be stiffed by the fictional date. The Simpsons are able to eat at the restaurant from Lisa and Homer's gambling proceeds following their bonding time of Homer betting on Lisa's football picks.


Schools


Springfield Elementary School

Springfield Elementary School is a local school attended by
Bart Simpson Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in '' The Tracey Ullman Sh ...
,
Lisa Simpson Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. She is the middle child and most accomplished of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa was born as a character in '' The Tracey Ullman ...
, and most other Springfield children. It teaches children from kindergarten through to sixth grade. Springfield Elementary is depicted as a grossly underfunded school that suffers from the incompetence and apathy of its administration, teachers, staff, and students. It is portrayed within the show as a satire of publicly funded schools and education in the United States, an illustrative example and parody of the lengths undertaken by some schools to overcome underfunding. Edna Krabappel was Bart Simpson's 4th-grade teacher, and from season 23 onwards also neighbor due to marrying Ned Flanders until Krabappel's death in season 25. In "
Left Behind ''Left Behind'' is a multimedia franchise that started with a series of 16 bestselling religious novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. It focuses on a seven-year conflict between the Tribulation Force, an underground network of converts, ...
", the
Leftorium Springfield is the primary fictional setting of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and related media. It is an average-sized, fictional city within an indeterminate state in the United States. The fictional city's geography, surroundi ...
closes, leaving Flanders unemployed, and he returns to Springfield Elementary School, where he finds a new job as Bart Simpson's new teacher, substituting the void left following by his deceased second wife Edna Krabappel. In 1994, the naming of a new, real-life elementary school in
Greenwood, South Carolina Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Greenwood County, South Carolina, United States. The population in the 2020 United States Census was 22,545 down from 23,222 at the 2010 census. The city is home to Lander University. Geography and ...
, was left up to the students, and the name ''Springfield Elementary'' was chosen. The school board was unaware of the connection to ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...
'' until a protest by one group of parents, who argued that the character of Bart Simpson was a poor role model. The name stood, and the school opened in August 1994.


Colleges/universities

Springfield University is a large college which Homer attended in " Homer Goes to College". It teaches several different courses, including nuclear physics, arts management, and the meaning of cartoons. Springfield University also has a fierce rivalry with Springfield A&M University. In the episode " Faith Off", the nickname of the Springfield University football team is revealed to be the Nittany Tide—a reference to the
Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The inte ...
and
Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a me ...
. Springfield Agricultural and Mechanical (A&M) University is a rival institution of Springfield University. Carl Carlson is an A&M alumnus. Springfield A&M's
mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as ...
is a pig named Sir Oinks-A-Lot, who was kidnapped by Homer and his three student tutors as a prank in " Homer Goes to College". Springfield Heights Institute of Technology focuses on the engineering sciences. Professor Frink is a college professor at the university, and it is from where Apu Nahasapeemapetilon earned his doctorate.


Residential


Springfield Retirement Castle

The Springfield Retirement Castle is Springfield's retirement home for the elderly. Some noted residents of the Castle include Abraham "Grampa" J. Simpson and his neighbors, Jasper Beardley, and the Crazy Old Man. For Grampa Simpson, the Retirement Castle is a lonely place to be. He often gets mad when his family does not come and visit him. The door features a sign reading 'Thank you for not discussing the outside world'. The most interesting way to pass time at the home is to "stake yourself out a good spot at the starin' window", which overlooks nothing but a barren tree, and bingo (the prize being a
banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", disting ...
). The staff of the home has little to no respect for the residents, doing things like vacuuming their hair during "nap time", or switching their IV bags with their
catheter In medicine, a catheter (/ˈkæθətər/) is a thin tubing (material), tube made from medical grade materials serving a broad range of functions. Catheters are medical devices that can be inserted in the body to treat diseases or perform a surgi ...
bags when the former is empty, and the latter is full. In the episode "
Old Money Old money is "the inherited wealth of established upper-class families (i.e. gentry, patriciate)" or "a person, family, or lineage possessing inherited wealth". The term typically describes a social class of the rich who have been able t ...
," Grampa inherits $106,000 from his girlfriend Beatrice "Bea" Simmons. He uses both this money and his winnings from a gambling junket to refurbish and redecorate the home and has the dining hall renamed in Bea's honor.


Government


The Springfield City Hall

The City Hall of Springfield serves as the workplace of Mayor Quimby and the City Government. Often it is the site of
town meeting Town meeting is a form of local government in which most or all of the members of a community are eligible to legislate policy and budgets for local government. It is a town- or city-level meeting in which decisions are made, in contrast with ...
s regarding an issue facing the city, where the citizens vote to approve a proposal that generally causes havoc (most of the time proposed by Homer) and causes more problems. The building is based on the
Chelmsford, Massachusetts Chelmsford () is a town in Massachusetts that was established in 1655. It is located northwest of Boston. The Chelmsford militia played a role in the American Revolution at the Battle of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill. ...
public library due to longtime ''The Simpsons'' background designer Lance Wilder, being a former Chelmsford resident.


Landmarks


Five Corners

Five Corners is "the only geographic location in the US where five states meet". A boundary marker indicates the exact spot. While on their road trip to Itchy & Scratchy Land, the Simpsons visit Five Corners, where they each "stand in five different states while holding hands". The location is visited again in " The Bob Next Door", where
Sideshow Bob Robert Underdunk Terwilliger Jr., PhD, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared in the episode "The Telltale Head". Bob is a sel ...
plots to kill Bart at the marker where the location's unique property would result in a lack of extraterritorial jurisdiction, explaining it as: "I can stand in one state, fire a gun in a second state, the bullet will travel through the third, hitting you in the fourth, so you fall dead in the fifth. No single act is against any law, but their sum total is the greatest murder..." In reality, no such place exists in the US; the location is a spoof of
Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...
.


Other towns


Shelbyville

Shelbyville is Springfield's neighbor and rival city. It was founded in 1796 by Shelbyville Manhattan, who advocated
cousin marriage A cousin marriage is a marriage where the spouses are cousins (i.e. people with common grandparents or people who share other fairly recent ancestors). The practice was common in earlier times, and continues to be common in some societies toda ...
among his followers, causing a split between himself and Jebediah Springfield. An intense
rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
between the two cities continues today, especially in the sixth-season episode "
Lemon of Troy "Lemon of Troy" is the twenty-fourth and penultimate episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 14, 1995.. In the episode, the childre ...
", in which Shelbyville residents steal a prized lemon tree from Springfield. In several episodes, "Lemon of Troy" in particular, it is suggested that Shelbyville is to an extent a parallel version of Springfield. Shelbyville is also the city where Luann van Houten grew up. It also has at least one
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...
restaurant, a Speed-E-Mart, Joe's Tavern, and a school. Per "
Last Exit to Springfield "Last Exit to Springfield" is the seventeenth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 11, 1993. The plot revolves around Homer ...
", Shelbyville was at least briefly called "Morganville" during Abe Simpson's youth. According to ''
The Simpsons Movie ''The Simpsons Movie'' is a 2007 American Animation, animated comedy film based on the long-running animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. The film was directed by the show's supervising director David Silverman (animator), David Silverman and star ...
'', Shelbyville is west of Springfield. It is the home of the button fly. Shelbyville was ranked 10th in "The 10 Best
Dystopia A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
s" in the December 2005 issue of ''
Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...
''.


Capital City

Capital City (often spelled Capitol City in early episodes) is the capital and largest city in the state in which the show is set. It is a major urban center, hosting major sports events, conventions, and
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
conferences. Its nickname is ''The Windy Apple'' (a joke by the show's writers, combining the nicknames of New York City's "The Big Apple" and
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
's "The Windy City"). Landmarks include a Duff brewery, possibly mimicking the Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis, the Cross-town
suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridges, which lack vertical ...
resembling San Francisco's
Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...
, the Capital City Stadium, the Capital City Amphitheatre (featuring Krusty the clown), and the intersection of 4th Street and Avenue D. ''
The Simpsons Movie ''The Simpsons Movie'' is a 2007 American Animation, animated comedy film based on the long-running animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. The film was directed by the show's supervising director David Silverman (animator), David Silverman and star ...
'' places Capital City just to the north of Springfield.


Brockway

Brockway is mentioned by Lyle Lanley (voiced by
Phil Hartman Philip Edward Hartman (; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and his family moved to the United States w ...
) as a town to which he has sold
monorail A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and " rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurat ...
systems (" Marge vs. the Monorail"). Brockway, Ogdenville, and North Haverbrook are also mentioned in Episode 18 of the TV series ''
Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
'' by Sam Winchester, as locations of past Shtriga activity.


Ogdenville

Ogdenville was first mentioned in " Marge vs. the Monorail", when Lyle Lanley claimed to have sold a monorail to Ogdenville. Ogdenville has also been mentioned in other episodes such as "
Saddlesore Galactica "Saddlesore Galactica" is the thirteenth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 6, 2000. In the episode, the Simpson fa ...
", " Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield" and " To Surveil with Love". In " Eeny Teeny Maya Moe", Maya is from Ogdenville. Ogdenville has an outlet mall and is separated from Springfield by a rocky desert. In "
Coming to Homerica "Coming to Homerica" is the twenty-first and final episode of the twentieth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 17, 2009. The episode title is a pa ...
", Ogdenville is a town of barley producing farms that are shut down due to tainted barley being used in a new, vegetarian Krusty Burger. Ogdenvillians are composed of Norwegian immigrants with thick Norwegian accents. They also are big fans of the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
due to the heavy incidence of Norwegian immigrants in the state of Minnesota. As a small
easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tr ...
, during a flu outbreak in Springfield, the hospital only received schemas in Norwegian, which is later confirmed via close-up. Series creator
Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...
's background is Norwegian and German, which he has described as "two of the unfunniest ethnic groups in the history of the world".


North Haverbrook

North Haverbrook was first mentioned by Lyle Lanley in " Marge vs. the Monorail".
Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret. Notable Marges include: People * Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist * Marge Anderson (1932–2013), Ojibwe ...
arrives in North Haverbrook and finds a desolate
ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...
, where the faulty monorail derailed, causing a disaster, chasing away most of their residents and scaring away investors. The remaining North Haverbrook locals have since denied the monorail's existence presumably blaming Lanley for the whole thing that ruined their town's reputation. Marge is met with hostility by the locals, including a woman who works at the 'Monorail Cafe'. She orders Marge to leave her town at once and never speak of the monorail anymore. A resident scientist from Germany, Sebastian Cobb, was the only one willing to help Marge out and save the passengers off the Springfield Monorail from suffering the same fate as North Haverbrook. Lanley is later attacked by the citizens of the town after his plane makes an unscheduled stop there, presumably tipped off by Marge knowing Lanley will answer for his crimes. North Haverbrook also appeared in " Little Big Girl". After
Bart Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...
is awarded a
driver's license A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a publi ...
, he gets sick of countless errands and goes for a drive and eventually finds North Haverbrook, and falls in love with a girl named Darcy. In this episode, the town appears to have recovered well from the monorail disaster, as it is now changed from a
ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...
to a thriving community with multiple businesses that Bart enjoys. It has a romantic reputation. All signs of the monorail have also disappeared. It also appears on a road sign as Snake drives towards Mexico with the Kwik-E-Mart on a flatbed trailer during " Marge in Chains".


Cypress Creek

Cypress Creek is a model town created for the workers of the Globex Corporation. It appears in the episode " You Only Move Twice". It is an affluent town and is home to many wildflowers (to which Lisa is allergic). The city is an obvious parody of
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Cou ...
or the master-planned communities often built by major corporations.


Guidopolis

In the episode "
Midnight Towboy "Midnight Towboy"Fox Flash
is the third episode of the towtruck driver and is introduced to the
vehicle recovery Vehicle recovery is the recovery of any vehicle to another place, generally speaking with a commercial vehicle known as a ''recovery vehicle'', tow truck or spectacle lift. Recovery can take the form of general recovery, normally of broken down ...
sector. The town is primarily inhabited by
Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...
greasers.


Little Pwagmattasquarmsettport

Little Pwagmattasquarmsettport is a seaside town close to Springfield's State, where the Simpsons went for the Fourth of July in the Flanders's holiday home; the town appears in the episode "
Summer of 4 Ft. 2 "Summer of 4 Ft. 2" is the twenty-fifth and final episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series, ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 19, 1996.. In the episode, the Simps ...
". Nicknamed "Little Pwag", the town contains many beaches and a large boardwalk section, and a fun fair open every summer.


References

Informational notes Citations Bibliography *


External links


Where Is The Simpsons' Springfield?
from the fan-maintained "The Simpsons Archive" {{Authority control The Simpsons locations Fictional populated places in the United States Fictional elements introduced in 1987