Forest Park (Springfield, Massachusetts)
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Forest Park in
Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...
, is one of the largest urban, municipal parks in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, covering of land overlooking the
Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...
. Forest Park features a zoo, aquatic gardens, and outdoor amphitheater, in addition to design elements like winding wooded trails, and surprising, expansive views. The site of America's first public, municipal
swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...
, currently, during the holiday months Forest Park hosts a popular high-tech lighting display, known as '' Bright Nights''. Contrary to popular belief, the park was not designed by
Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...
, although it was designed by his firm.


History

In 1884, Springfielder Orick H. Greenleaf offered for the establishment of a park to be named Forest Park. Shortly after, approximately were donated by wealthy philanthropist Everett Hosmer Barney. Barney made his fortune as a
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
arms producer and later as a businessman, inventing clamp-on
ice skates Ice skates are metal blades attached underfoot and used to propel the bearer across a sheet of ice while ice skating. The first ice skates were made from leg bones of horse, ox or deer, and were attached to feet with leather straps. These skates ...
and rollerskates. In 1890 Barney built an elaborate, turreted -story Victorian mansion on a hill at the west end of his estate, which featured a spectacular view of the
Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...
and Metro Center Springfield. The mansion's elaborate carriage house still stands, today serving as a restaurant and banquet hall in Forest Park. To create the parcel of land on which Forest Park was built, Greenleaf and Barney convinced several of their wealthy friends and neighbors to donate much of the remaining land that would ultimately make-up the 735-acre Forest Park. They both became members of the Board of Park Commissioners, which also listed John Olmsted (resigned on March 1, 1886). At the time, much of this land was located in the neighboring suburb of Longmeadow, Massachusetts, (which had separated from Springfield nearly a century before the construction of Forest Park). Ultimately, Longmeadow ceded complete control of Forest Park to the City of Springfield. In October 2017, Massachusetts Governor
Charlie Baker Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician serving as the sixth president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 72nd governor of Massa ...
announced that the state would assume the $3 million costs to repair a
culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe (fluid conveyance), pipe, reinforced concrete or other materia ...
at the main entrance of the park. On Aug. 27, 2024, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and Parks Director Tom Ashe unveiled a new street sign for Chief Joe Luvera Way. Joseph Luvera (1930 - 2021) founded the Springfield Park Rangers in 1990, and served as its volunteer chief for over 25 years. He led a group of more than two dozen volunteer rangers. The newly named street is inside the Trafton Road entrance to the park. The mayor called Joe an "unsung hero" and "dedicated public servant."


Interstate 91

The Barney Mansion was used for Forest Park events until the mid-1950s, when about of the park, including of the former Barney estate, were taken to construct the Springfield/Longmeadow sections of
Interstate 91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It is the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. Its southern terminus is in New Haven, Connecticut, at I-95, whi ...
. Barney's house stood atop the hill at the northwest corner of the park, and the highway construction may have threatened its foundations; anticipating that, it was razed. Ultimately, the construction of
I-91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It is the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. Its southern terminus is in New Haven, ...
severed the Forest Park's connection to the
Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...
. The Barney Mansion's stained glass windows were moved to a house in
Palmer, Massachusetts Palmer is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. With a population was 12,448 at the 2020 census, Palmer is the least populous city in the Commonwealth. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...
, where the demolition contractor lived at the time. The mausoleum of Barney's son and a carriage house still survive from the estate, along with many remnants of an extensive arboretum and water gardens planted by Barney around 1900. The developer of the Forest Park neighborhood continued this theme by planting many specimen trees, especially around Magnolia Terrace. This historic neighborhood with many fine examples of Victorian houses abuts the park on the north, while a small enclave of Springfield's stately brick colonial homes and the town of Longmeadow, Massachusetts borders the park to the south.


Attractions

Among the Forest Park's notable year-round attractions are the Forest Park Zoo, which features large cats, monkeys, birds, and a number of other "exotic and indigenous animals"; several playgrounds; Porter Lake; an
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
and ice-skating rink, Cyr Arena; several
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
diamonds and a grandstand; a rose garden; a
bocce (, or , ), sometimes anglicized as bocce ball, bocci, or boccie, is a ball sport belonging to the boules family. Developed into its present form in Italy, it is closely related to English bowls and French , with a common ancestry from anc ...
court; a
lawn bowling Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...
court; basketball and tennis courts; an aquatic garden (in the Asian style); numerous promenades; a
beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...
court; several wooded groves; picnic areas; America's first public swimming pool (1899); ponds with various waterfowl; an exhibit of ancient
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...
tracks, and an eternal flame that burns 24 hours a day honoring President John F. Kennedy. The ruggedly contoured valley of Pecousic Brook occupies more than half of the south side of the Forest Park. This area has been left largely
Naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
in style, although it features many walking trails and a few elegant bridges. This network of trails includes the Meadowbrook Ravine Trail, accessible near Barney Pond, and is a wide, well-traveled path with outlets to the Forest Park neighborhood of Springfield. The park is also home to many species of birds and wildlife. The statue at the Route 5 entrance to Forest Park was created by Peter Wolf Toth and is part of the ''Trail of the Whispering Giants''. The statue represents Omiskanoagwiak. A statue of a golden retriever, ''Stone Dog II'', currently stands between the park's largest playground and the zoo. The statue is a near replica of an older statue (known by Springfield natives and park patrons as '' Stone Dog''), which went missing from the park in 1987. The original ''Stone Dog'' dates back to the late 19th century. Since 1970, the Environmental Center for Our Schools (or ECOS, as it is commonly called) takes all Springfield public school students in grades four through seven on a two-day environmental learning outing in Forest Park. The headquarters of this organization is located in Forest Park.


Camp STAR

During Summer, Camp STAR/Angelina is an inclusive camp for children of all abilities, ages 3 to 22 years old. Some of the special needs populations the camp has worked with include: developmental delays, ADD/ADHD, emotional problems, learning disabilities, and visual and hearing impairments. Camp STAR/Angelina is a 6-week summer program. The camp is located on the outskirts of Forest Park off Trafton Road and activities include swimming, sports, games, crafts, field trips and an end of camp variety show.


Bright Nights

''Bright Nights at Forest Park'' is a national attraction from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day. It is a lighting spectacle that features time and color coordinated lighting exhibits. Trees and sculptures are decorated to look like various scenes and characters, including many from the works of Springfield native Dr. Seuss. Many scenes are animated; others are simply decorative. One of the spectacles' most elaborate exhibits is a replica of Everett Barney's mansion. Viewers in automobiles queue up to drive for approximately three miles along a meandering path through the park to see the displays.


References


External links


City of Springfield Park DepartmentForest Park ZooBright Nights

The Carriage House at the Barney EstateForest Park Civic Association
{{SpringfieldMA Parks in Springfield, Massachusetts Urban public parks Forest parks in the United States 1884 establishments in Massachusetts Landscape design history of the United States Urban forests in the United States