The City of Springfield, Massachusetts, has 19 distinct neighborhoods. Many feature subdivisions known by other names, such as The X, Hungry Hill, and Mason Square. Springfield's neighborhoods fan out north, south, and east, from its original, colonial settlement in what is now Metro Center. Topographical history Initially and throughout colonial times, Springfield was oriented north–south along the Connecticut River, with Court Square at its center. Springfield's second neighborhood developed after George Washington and Henry Knox founded the Springfield Armory on a bluff in 1777. A neighborhood filled in around the Armory, composed of attractive mansions and handsome apartments blocks. Springfield's third neighborhood formed when the Springfield Armory expanded its production facilities to what is now known as Watershops Pond; the neighborhood around the Lower Watershops became known as owns as Upper Hill. With the arrival of the train in the 1830s, a fifth neighborhood took shape - although much of that neighborhood was destroyed to make I-291, one would now know it as southern Liberty Heights. The miles between each of these neighborhoods gave rise to Springfield's first nickname, "The City of Magnificent Distances." However, as Springfield quickly became among the most wealthy cities in country, new neighborhoods filled in the gaps between the old ones, (as in the case of the South End), and other neighborhoods were created from elegant designs, such as the beautiful Victorian McKnight Historic District and the gorgeous Frederick Law Olmsted-designed Forest Park neighborhood. Springfield's first "Gold Coast" was the Lower Maple, Maple-Hill, and Ridgewood Historic Districts. This area includes Mulberry Street, which was made famous by Dr. Seuss' first children's book And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. In 1881, Springfield's McKnight National Historic District became the United States' first planned residential neighborhood. The area features over 900 Victorian "painted lady" houses, similar to those found in San Francisco. Topography Metro Center Since 1636, Metro Center has served as the cultural, civic, and business center of Springfield and Western Massachusetts. The neighborhood sits on relatively flat land along the Connecticut Riverbank and stretches approximately two hundred meters inland where the first of a series of bluffs rises between the parallel Dwight and Chestnut Streets, (behind the MassMutual Center.) This bluff, essentially, constitutes a change in the character of the neighborhood, from one of high-rises, businesses, and nightlife in the low-lying areas to one of cultural institutions (e.g. The Springfield Museums, the