Massachusetts
Massachusetts Has Lost Another Once-Thriving Mall
When Eastfield Mall opened in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1968, it quickly became the place to shop. To the detriment of downtowns everywhere, shopping malls became the rage.
And then they weren’t.
Eastfield Mall, owned by Mountain Development Corporation, was constructed in 1967 by the Rouse Company. The mall’s three original anchors were Forbes & Wallace, Steiger’s and Sears. As with many shopping malls in these days of online shopping, retail stores came and went. Then there were no more.
In 2011, JCPenney, Macy’s and Sears anchored Eastfield Mall. JCPenny closed that year and Macy’s closed in 2016. Sears folded in 2018. The mall closed on July 15, 2023.
Demolition of Eastfield Mall began in August of 2023.
What remained of the mall was bulldozed just before Valentine’s Day 2024. The former Sears building, owned by a different company, remains standing, at least for now.
Another Once-Thriving Massachusetts Mall Is Demolished
A sign erected at the Boston Road property says “Springfield Crossing,” which appears to be an open-air retail complex similar to Fall River’s SouthCoast Market Place. The sign says, “New Development Coming Summer 2025.”
Folks here along the SouthCoast recall when the once-thriving Silver City Galleria Mall attracted shoppers to Taunton in droves. That mall failed when shoppers stopped showing up and was demolished in February 2021.
SouthCoast Marketplace replaced Fall River’s failed Harbour Mall, and the former Swansea Mall is now the struggling Swansea Center, currently in development under Brady Sullivan Properties. Work on the property is also expected to include a residential community.
Several online websites pay tribute to past malls, including some from Massachusetts and Rhode Island, that have closed.
The New Level99 at Providence Place Is Unlike Any Other Mall Experience
Ever since word came out last spring that Level99 in Natick was expanding with a second challenge venue location in Providence, people have been eager to see what types of games they would be bringing.
Now you can find out with a sneak peek inside the Providence Place Mall’s newest hotspot.
Gallery Credit: Nancy Hall
Welcome to Your New Humble Abode: A Providence Shopping Mall
America’s oldest indoor shopping mall is now home to more than 40 micro-lofts, some as tiny as 250 square feet. But they sure are convenient and a great option in downtown Providence. Check out the inside of one of these tiny living spaces at The Arcade. This one’s even currently on the market!
Gallery Credit: Kari Jakobsen
How Many of These Iconic Mall Food Court Restaurants Do You Remember?
From retro favorites to the icons that are still serving customers today, take a walk down memory lane with our roundup of the most iconic mall food court restaurants of the ’80s and ’90s.
Gallery Credit: Meg Dowdy
Massachusetts
Where was the snowfall jackpot zone in Massachusetts? Some stats from the Blizzard of 2026
The Blizzard of 2026 was moving out to sea Monday night. What’s left behind in its wake is a complete mess. One to three feet of snow with drifts twice as high.
Hundreds of thousands without power. Telephone poles snapped, wires were left hanging, trees and limbs down, cars left stranded.
Blizzard of 2026 stats
Just some of the remarkable stats:
This was the biggest snowstorm in the recorded history of Providence, Rhode Island with more than 37″.
The city absolutely smashed the prior record set back in the Blizzard of ’78.
Blizzard in Boston
The total in Boston as of Monday evening was up to 16.9″.
This puts the city over 60″ for the season, the first above average snowfall season in four years.
This is also the most snow Boston has received in a season since that insane winter of 2014-2015.
It looks like it will fall just short of another top 10 snowstorm in Boston.
Worcester snow
This certainly wasn’t one of Worcester’s biggest storms, but the 16″ from this nor’easter puts the city well over six feet for the winter season to date.
This is Worcester’s snowiest winter season since 2016-2017 when they recorded 78.3″.
Snowfall jackpot zone
The snowfall “jackpot” was, as predicted, across southeastern Massachusetts.
An intense band of snow parked itself right over Plymouth and Bristol counties all day long.
By late afternoon, several communities in this area received more than 30″ of snow. Fall River got 41″ and New Bedford got 37″.
Snowfall rates reached as high as 4-5″ per hour at times in this area.
Massachusetts
Plow truck driver nearly impaled by falling tree branch during Massachusetts blizzard
A snow plow driver in Kingston, Massachusetts narrowly avoided being impaled by a falling tree branch Monday while clearing snow during a blizzard.
The Kingston Police Department shared photos showing a branch that came crashing down. The limb pierced the windshield of the pickup truck.
Police said the branch, which was about six inches in diameter and several feet long, landed between the driver’s legs, “missing impaling him by inches.”
Kingston Fire and Emergency Management also posted a photo from inside the truck that shows the branch wedged underneath the steering wheel.
“Please stay off the roadways. Even those who are trying to keep the roads clear and safe are having difficulties. Luckily there was no injury to the plow operator,” the fire department said.
Police said roads are being plowed, but then become messy immediately as the snow covers them. In addition, winds are blowing branches onto power lines and into the roads.
“There is no sugar-coating this. It’s bad out here. The worst in years and it’s not over yet,” Kingston police said.
Monday’s punishing storm officially was declared a blizzard for many areas in the state. “Considerable falling and/or blowing snow which reduces visibility to less than ¼ mile for 3+ hours AND sustained winds or frequent gusts 35 mph or greater in that same timeframe” is the official criteria of a blizzard.
Several hundred thousand people in Massachusetts are without power during the storm. Some parts of the state have already reported two feet of snow.
Massachusetts
Most Harvard Schools to Move Classes Online Following Massachusetts State of Emergency | News | The Harvard Crimson
Updated February 22, 2026, at 7:42 p.m.
Harvard College and several other Harvard schools will move Monday classes online following a statewide emergency declaration issued ahead of a major blizzard.
The decision was announced in a Sunday afternoon email sent to undergraduates, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences students, and other Faculty of Arts and Sciences affiliates. In separate emails and notices posted on school websites, the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Divinity School, Harvard Law School, Graduate School of Design, Harvard School of Public Health, and Harvard Extension School also confirmed they would hold classes online Monday.
The email to FAS affiliates instructed nonessential employees to remain home and work remotely, reinforcing a University-wide announcement issued earlier Sunday by Executive Vice President Meredith L. Weenick ’90.
Residential dining services for undergraduates are expected to operate as usual, according to the email, while GSAS students will have access to limited dining options through the student center.
The Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Harvard Graduate School of Education canceled all Monday in-person classes and events, according to announcements posted on the schools’ websites.
Harvard Business School will continue to hold in-person classes, but non-essential staff were instructed to work remotely as a result of the forecast.
Massachusetts Governor Maura T. Healey ’92 declared a statewide state of emergency amid blizzard warnings across Southern New England. Forecasters expect the storm to bring with winds of up to 75 miles per hour to Cambridge, along with 18 to 25 inches of snow.
Harvard’s decision mirrors those of nearby institutions, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brown University. Harvard has closed campus only a handful of times in recent years, most notably during winter storms in 2013 and 2015.
Forecasts of a major snowstorm at the start of the semester did not prompt the FAS and College to close, however, drawing widespread complaints among the student body.
Harvard Undergraduate Association co-president Abdullah Shahid Sial ’27 cheered the College’s decision following a regular HUA meeting Sunday.
“Having lived in Pakistan my entire life, I’ve never seen snow until pretty much I came to Harvard,” he said. “Now, being in a position where all classes are canceled because of snow, I’m very excited.”
—Staff writers Alma T. Barak and Theresa F. Bartelme contributed reporting.
—Staff writer Sebastian B. Connolly can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal @sbc.23. Follow him on X @SebastianC4784.
—Staff writer Summer E. Rose can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal @ser.85. Follow her on X @summerellenrose.
-
Montana4 days ago2026 MHSA Montana Wrestling State Championship Brackets And Results – FloWrestling
-
Science1 week agoWhat a Speech Reveals About Trump’s Plans for Nuclear Weapons
-
Oklahoma6 days agoWildfires rage in Oklahoma as thousands urged to evacuate a small city
-
Technology3 days agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Education1 week agoVideo: Secret New York City Passage Linked to Underground Railroad
-
Politics1 week agoChicago-area teacher breaks silence after losing job over 2-word Facebook post supporting ICE: ‘Devastating’
-
Technology3 days agoStellantis is in a crisis of its own making
-
Movie Reviews1 week agoAssi Movie Review: Hard-hitting, horrifying, and heartfelt, this courtroom drama is impossible to ignore



