Homes of Forest Park - October 2009

Besides being Springfield's largest local historic district, Forest Park Heights is one of the most elegant turn-of-the-century neighborhoods in Western Massachusetts. Residential development was spurred in the 1890s by expansion and electrification of the trolley system, which connected the suburban neighborhood to Downtown. Creation of nearby Forest Park was a further incentive for people to live in the area. More than 600 houses were constructed over a 35-year period. The area north of Sumner Avenue was primarily developed by the McKnight family, which also developed the McKnight and Ridgewood areas.

Maple Street - May 2009

The Springfield Preservation Trust Spring House Tour focused on homes on and off the length of Maple Street, one of the city's oldest streets. Maple Street was opened in the early nineteenth century to connect Downtown to the various mills along the Mill River. Homes on the tour ranged from the Queen Anne style 1897 George Merriam house to a unit in the 1989 Wyndhurst Condominiums. Also open was a portion of our current rehabilitation project, the 1832 Female Seminary.

McKnight Twilight Tour - October 2008

Developed between 1870 and 1900, Mcknight is the largest and most intact, wood-frame, late-nineteenth century neighborhood in New England. Among its more than 800 houses are some of the most elegant homes in Springfield. The tour featured homes built between 1886 and 1903. They reflect Stick, Queen Anne, Tudor Revival, and English Cottage styles, including the Besse Mansion, one of the largest homes in the district.

Forest Park Heights - May 2008

Forest Park Heights is the largest and most elegant late nineteenth/early twentieth century neighborhood in Western Massachusetts. Residential development was spurred in the 1890s with the expansion of the electrified trolley system and creation of Forest Park. The following 30 years saw construction of the 600 houses now protected as a historic district.

The Springfield Preservation Trust House Tour will open homes south of Sumner Avenue. Colonial Revival and Shingle style homes predominate in this area, developed by the Forest Park Heights Company headed by Lewis Newman.

Atwater Park - October 2007

Much of the Atwater neighborhood was developed from the 300-acre estate of George Atwater, founder of the Springfield Street Railway. Ten years after his death in 1902, the Atwater heirs hired the Boston firm of Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. to create a plan for a pleasant residential area.

Several noted local architects were involved in designing houses. Eugene Gardner and his son George worked on more than a dozen homes. Napoleon Russell and his partner Fred Knowlton designed numerous homes and also helped develop the area around Shefford and Caseland Streets. Max Westhoff, who designed the old Shriners Hospital and the Connecticut Valley History Museum, also worked on homes.

The neighborhoodís park-like setting, proximity to Springfield Hospital, and access to the trolley line encouraged development. (A remnant of the trolley tracks can be seen at Atwater Road and Crestwood Street). Prior to the Great Depression, many houses were built in the popular Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival styles. Noted residents over the years include early aviatrix Maude Tait Moriarty, impressionist painter Harriet Randall Lumis, ìliveî cork-centered baseball inventor Milton Reach, and Mass Mutual president Betrand Perry.

Belmont Heights - May 2007

Forest Park Heights is the Pioneer Valleyís largest local historic district and one of its most elegant turn-of-the-20th century neighborhoods. Development was spurred in the 1890s by expansion of the trolley system as well as the creation of Forest Park. Over the next 35 years, more than 600 houses were built.

Bellevue Avenue and Marengo Park were laid out as ìBelmont Heightsî by local builder and industrialist Diodate Swan. Mr. Swan died in 1895, and his children developed the area. Most houses were constructed after 1900 in the popular Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival styles. All three of his sons as well as his widow lived on Bellevue Avenue.

Homes featured today are Colonial Revival style, which began after the Centennial Exposition of 1876 sparked renewed interest in the countryís colonial past. It soon became the most popular style in the East. Such houses were more symmetrical than Victorian houses and featured classically inspired decoration.