Springfield Audio Tours

The sculpture garden, part of the Springfield Museums campus on State Street, features bronze statues of characters including the Cat in the Hat, the Lorax, Horton, and a young Theodor Geisel himself at a drafting table. The garden is outdoors and free to visit. The adjoining Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum is ticketed and aimed particularly at families.

The Basketball Hall of Fame and the Springfield Museums are about 1.5 miles apart and walkable on a good day via downtown streets. The Springfield Armory National Historic Site is about a mile from downtown on the hill above the city. Most visitors drive or use the local PVTA bus network.

The Springfield Armory, established in 1777 by George Washington to supply weapons for the Continental Army, was the primary American federal weapons manufacturer for nearly two centuries. The museum holds thousands of historic firearms, including the organ-gun rack described by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his 1843 poem 'The Arsenal at Springfield.' It is free to enter as a National Historic Site.

Springfield sits at the southern end of the Pioneer Valley and is an excellent base for exploring the area. Northampton, with its independent bookstores, music venues, and college-town energy, is 20 miles north. Old Sturbridge Village, a living history museum of early 19th-century New England, is 35 miles to the east.