Everett Barney inspired Dr. Seuss

Thebrilliant and very eccentric inventor/ businessman/ philanthropist, Everett H. Barney was one of Springfield’s most respected and celebrated citizens. His Barney & Berry Manufacturing plant located in the South End was world famous for its quality adjustable skates. Those skates were commonly used by skaters on Porter Lake each winter. The design of garden landscapes, mansion architecture, and Barney’s striking mausoleum were unusual for New England and reflected his life-long proclivity of taking a non-traditional path. His eccentric touches evident in the buildings, statuary and landscape influenced Ted Geisel and elements of Barney’s unusual estate appear in his drawings.

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