Stearns Square is an urban,

city square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rel ...

located 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 ...

, United States, in the heart of Metro Center's Club Quarter. It was designed by the sculptor

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculpture, sculptor of the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. Saint-Gaudens was born in Dublin to an Iris ...

and the landscape architect

Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect and a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms at the turn of the 20th century. White designed many houses ...

, to accompany Saint-Gaudens' statue, ''

The Puritan ''The Puritan, or the Widow of Watling Street'', also known as ''The Puritan Widow'', is an anonymous Jacobean stage comedy, first published in 1607. It is often attributed to Thomas Middleton, but also belongs to the Shakespeare Apocrypha ...

.''

History

Augustus Saint Gaudens' ''

'' and

's planned landscape environment were meant to aid in the transformation of northern Metro Center Springfield from a neighborhood of immigrant housing into a grandiose district, with a state-of-the-art railroad station, (the grand

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

,) a famous theater, (The Paramount;) and luxury hotels such as the Hotel Kimball. The park and the statue were unveiled on

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

, 1887. Then, however, as now, the area was Springfield's bawdy Club Quarter, and thus by December 1888, the landscaped environment and the viewing enclave's intent had been destroyed. By 1899 the Deacon Chapin figure had been moved into Merrick Park located just outside the Quadrangle. The other accouterments created for Stearns Square were placed in storage. Unfortunately, no trace remained of the architect and sculptor's landscaped arena and their socializing intent.

References

{{coord, 42.1046, N, 72.5911, W, scale:2500, display=title Tourist attractions in Springfield, Massachusetts Music venues in Massachusetts Nightclubs in Massachusetts Dance venues in the United States Squares in Massachusetts Parks in Springfield, Massachusetts Urban public parks