Springside Park
Also known as: Elmhurst Abbott Park
Why it's listed
Springside Park is a 237.5-acre public park in the North End of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, framed by North Street, Crane Avenue, Benedict Road and Springside Avenue. Most of it is wooded, and nearly all of the developed area lies in the southwest quadrant. The focal point is Springside House, formerly called Elmhurst, a wood-frame Italianate house on a knoll. It has a mansard-roofed section, a flat-roofed tower, a gambrel-roofed ell and a wraparound verandah. Nearby are a Gothic Revival barn, a ca. 1920 garage, a 1939 brick bath house, Springside Pond, rusticated stone gateposts and a greenhouse complex. The park grew through a major enlargement in 1939 and later purchases in the 1950s, and the house opened for community use in 1941. In 1954 it became the headquarters of the city's parks department. A middle school now occupies part of the original parkland. Later outbuildings and the relocated Victory Hill House are counted as noncontributing.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the park as Pittsfield's largest public park, grown through donated and purchased land from the 1930s through the 1950s. It preserves the former Elmhurst estate and its house, which the city converted to community and parks department use. The document's Section 8 excerpt is truncated, so the stated criteria and period of significance are not visible.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 08000553, listed June 27, 2008. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 874 North St, Pittsfield |
|---|---|
| County | Berkshire County |
| Listed | June 27, 2008 |
| Reference number | 08000553 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architectural style | House - Late Victorian: Italianate/Second Empire; Barn - Mid-19th Century: Gothic Revival |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Community Planning and Development, Entertainment/Recreation, Landscape Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Springside House serves as the Parks and Recreation Department office and headquarters. The park is in current recreational use, and the greenhouse complex is used by the Springside Greenhouse Club. |
| Acreage | 237.5 |
| Coordinates | 42.46374, -73.24524 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 08000553.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16900453
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.