Springfield, Massachusetts. The City of Homes and City of Firsts.

One of the city’s mottos has to do with an abundance of contemporary and historic housing. The other is due to being the first city in the nation to be called Springfield.

With a population of over 154,000, Springfield is the 3rd largest city in Massachusetts. It rests regally on the Connecticut River just north of and between the Massachusetts/Connecticut border. The city’s terrain is rather low and flat at the river, but becomes hilly further away from the river.

Two unique historical births occurred here – Dr. Seuss and basketball. That’s right, iconic author of The Cat in the Hat, among other children’s books, was born right here in ole Springfield, Mass. James Naismith invented basketball here in 1891.

Other famous people from Springfield are inventor and manufacturer of games Milton Bradley, founder and namesake of Breck Shampoo Dr. John H. Breck Sr., slavery abolitionist John Brown, pioneer of object-oriented programming (OOP) and the early designer of a Windows-based graphical user interface (GUI) Alan Curtis Kay, world-renowned and twice Grammy award winning blues musician Taj Mahal (aka Henry Saint Clair Fredericks) and actor Kurt Russell.

Several bands and artists hail from Springfield like the metalcore bands Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage and All that Remains, along with alternative rock band Staind, heavy metal band The Acacia Strain, hardcore band Onslaught, soft rock band PrideFalls and reggaeton artist Jowell of Jowell and Randy.

The economy is fueled by several major corporations, like Breck Shampoo, Smith & Wesson, chief healthcare provider and employer in the western Massachusetts area Baystate Health, Peter Pan Bus Lines, the American Hockey League, Health New England, largest Fortune 500 company in Springfield Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, TD Banknorth and the nation’s first motorcycle brand founded two years before the Harley the Indian Manufacturing Company.

There are all kinds of things to do in Springfield. The city’s ethnic history can be experienced in the many restaurants throughout the city. The Quadrangle contains several museums and sculpture gardens and remains a monument to the city’s 1800s grandeur. Off Broadway productions, orchestral presentations, concerts and children’s programming is available at CityStage and Symphony Hall. The 17th century St. Michael’s Cathedral, Basketball Hall of Fame and Worthington Street, the primary entertainment district in the city, should all be visited and experienced.

You’ll want to meander through Forest Park, one of the largest urban parks in the country. Highlights of the park include a popular petting zoo, an ice skating and hockey rink (Cyr Arena), a rose garden, a baseball grandstand and diamond, a bocce court, swimming pool, several miles of walking trails, tennis courts, basketball courts, a water spray park for the kids, beach-sand volleyball courts, ponds with water fowl, picnic areas and a dinosaur tracks exhibit.

Along with public schools, you’ll find several private schools and colleges. Some of the elementary public schools have achieved an above-average rating from GreatSchools.net based on public test scores.

You’ll find a lot of historical, modern and retro styles in the real estate here, especially in the downtown business district. A convenient and simple one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo with 650 sq. ft. of living space located in the metro center goes for $28,900. A plain four-bedroom, one-bathroom colonial with 1594 sq. ft. of living space with a carport on Wilbraham Avenue is going for $47,000. A very nice three-bedroom, two-bathroom two-story colonial, newly renovated with a single-car garage on Sycamore Street and near Blunt Park is going for $109,900.

Nicer homes and condos are priced around $125,000 and above. If you’ve got $1.2 million, you can have a honey of a home built for a king with glass walls overlooking the waterfront, a gazebo, an in-ground pool and so much more. Real estate here in is priced to sell.

No matter what kind of property you’re looking for, you’ll find it by clicking Springfield, MA Homes for Sale.