Landscape Information
Bordered by a dense grid of residential neighborhoods on the northern side of Pittsfield, Springside Park is the city’s largest public open space. The park’s 237 acres are bisected by paths and hiking trails which connect open fields, dense woodlands, wetlands, and Springside Pond.
The parkland was assembled from several former farms and suburban estates, thus giving the property an asymmetrical border. The extant structures from these properties include the Italianate-style summer "cottage" known today as Springside House (formerly Elmhurst) and a Gothic Revival-style barn, built by the local businessman Abraham Burbank in 1856. On the grounds of Springside House remains the traces of an original carriage drive flanked by an allée of silver maples, which replaced a collection of elms that had succumbed to Dutch elm disease.
Springside Park also encompasses the Hebert Arboretum, with 50 species of native trees and shrubs and a large diversity of wildflowers. The park’s cultural landscape is an amalgamation of a 19th century estate and a planned 20th century municipal park. Springside Park was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
