Springfield College, where Naismith taught
The school on Alden Street is the birthplace of basketball, the home of the Pride, and one of three colleges inside the city.
Springfield College sits on Alden Street and runs from State to Mason. The campus has the Olmsted designed park edge, the Marsh Memorial Library, and the gymnastics facility that has produced multiple Olympians. James Naismith invented basketball here in 1891. The college still teaches the Humanics curriculum he helped shape.
Three institutions of higher education sit inside Springfield's city limits. Springfield College, Western New England University, and American International College. Each pulls students from across the country and pushes a steady audience of staff, faculty, and parents into the local commerce around their campuses.
A directory tuned to college rhythms knows when move in is, when family weekend is, and when finals are. Listings around the three campuses get the editorial timing that matters.
More from landmarks and nearby
Family Saturdays in Springfield
Forest Park has the swings and the rose garden. Van Horn has the playground that gets busy by 9 a.m. Sixteen Acres has the soccer fields. Saturdays stay outside.
Springfield's city neighborhoods
McKnight, Bay, Old Hill, the South End, the North End, Brightwood, Memorial Square, Liberty Heights. The city is a stack of distinct places.
Springfield's professional services corridor
Court Square holds the courthouse. The blocks around it hold the law firms, accountants, insurance brokers, and financial planners that make Springfield a regional hub.