Place:Bridgeport, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States

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Bridgeport - named 1800, incorporated 1821 from Fairfield and Stratford. Formerly called Stratfield or Newfield. - Ricker, 11.

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Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020,^[1] it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Island Sound, it is from Manhattan and from The Bronx. It is bordered by the towns of Trumbull to the north, Fairfield to the west, and Stratford to the east. Bridgeport and other towns in Fairfield County make up the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk-Danbury metropolitan statistical area, the second largest metropolitan area in Connecticut. The Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk-Danbury metropolis forms part of the New York metropolitan area.

Showman P. T. Barnum was a resident of the city and served as the town's mayor 1871. Barnum built four houses in Bridgeport and housed his circus in town during winter. The city in the early 20th century saw an economic and population boom, becoming by all measures Connecticut's chief manufacturing city. Bridgeport was the site of the world's first mutual telephone exchange (1877), the first dental hygiene school (1949), and the first bank telephone bill service in the US (1981). Harvey Hubbell II invented the electric plug outlet in Bridgeport in 1912. The Frisbie Pie Company was founded in Bridgeport, and the city is credited as the birthplace of the Frisbee. The world's first Subway restaurant opened in the city's North End in 1965. After World War II, industrial restructuring and suburbanization caused the loss of many large companies and affluent residents, leaving Bridgeport struggling with issues of poverty, violent crime, and a bad image.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, Bridgeport has begun extensive redevelopment of its downtown and other neighborhoods. Bridgeport is home to 3 museums, the University of Bridgeport, Housatonic Community Collage, and part of Sacred Heart University as well as the state's only zoo.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Bridgeport was inhabited by the Paugussett native American tribe during the start of European colonization. The earliest European communal settlement was in the historical Stratfield district, along US Route 1; known in colonial times as the King's Highway. Close by, Mount Grove Cemetery was laid out on what was a native village that extended past the 1650s. It is also an ancient Paugusett burial ground.

The burgeoning farming community grew and became a center of trade, shipbuilding, and whaling. The town incorporated to subsidize the Housatonic Railroad and rapidly industrialized following the rail line's connection to the New York and New Haven railroad. The town was given its name because of the need for bridges over the Pequonnock River that provided a navigable port at the mouth of the river. Manufacturing was the mainstay of the local economy until the 1970s.

Colonial history

The first documented European settlement within the present city limits of Bridgeport took place in 1644, centered at Black Rock Harbor and along North Avenue between Park and Briarwood Avenues. The place was called Pequonnock^[2] (Quiripi for "Cleared Land"), after a band of the Paugussett, an Algonquian-speaking Native American people who occupied this area. One of their sacred sites was Golden Hill, which overlooked the harbor and was the location of natural springs and their planting fields. (It has since been blasted through for construction of an expressway.) The Golden Hill Indians were granted a reservation here by the Colony of Connecticut in 1639; it lasted until 1802. (One of the tribes acquired land for a small reservation in the late 19th century that was recognized by the state. It is retained in the Town of Trumbull.)

Bridgeport's early years were marked by residents' reliance on fishing and farming. This was similar to the economy of the Paugusset, who had cultivated corn, beans, and squash; and fished and gathered shellfish from both the river and sound. A village called Newfield began to develop around the corner of State and Water streets in the 1760s. The area officially became known as Stratfield in 1695^[2] or 1701, due to its location between the already existing towns of Stratford and Fairfield. During the American Revolution, Newfield Harbor was a center of privateering.^[3][2]

19th century

By the time of the State of Connecticut's ratification of the Articles of Confederation in 1781, many of the local farmers held shares in vessels trading at Newfield Harbor or had begun trading in their own name. Newfield initially expanded around the coasting trade with Boston, New York, and Baltimore and the international trade with the West Indies. The commercial activity of the village was clustered around the wharves on the west bank of the Pequonnock, while the churches were erected inland on Broad Street. In 1800, the village became the Borough of Bridgeport, the first so incorporated in the state. It was named for the Newfield or Lottery Bridge across the Pequonnock, connecting the wharves on its east and west banks.^[4] Bridgeport Bank was established in 1806. In 1821, the township of Bridgeport became independent of Stratford.

In 1821, a small community of free blacks and runaway slaves was established in the South End along Main Street known as Little Liberia, with its own churches, schools and hotels, and served as a stop in the underground railroad. Many remaining Paugusset Indians also lived there.

The West India trade died down around 1840, but by that time the Bridgeport Steamship Company (1824) and Bridgeport Whaling Company (1833) had been incorporated and the Housatonic Railroad chartered (1836). The HRRC ran upstate along the Housatonic Valley, connecting with Massachusetts's Berkshire Railroad at the state line. Bridgeport was chartered as Connecticut's fifth city in 1836^[5] in order to enable the town council to secure funding (ultimately $150,000) to provide to the HRRC and ensure that it would terminate in Bridgeport. The Naugatuck Railroad—connecting Bridgeport to Waterbury and Winsted along the Naugatuck—was chartered in 1845 and began operation four years later. The same year, the New York and New Haven Railroad began operation, connecting Bridgeport to New York and the other towns along the north shore of the Long Island Sound. Now a major junction, the city began to industrialise.

The city's first immigrants were Irish Catholics who settled in the Sterling Hill section of the Hollow. Having come to the US to escape the famine, they arrived in town duirng the 1830s to build the railroad. They mostly lived in wooden four to six family tenements, often subdivided homes.

In 1842, showman P.T. Barnum spent a night in Bridgeport, and there met Charles Stratton, a local dwarf. He soon became part of Barnum's act and a star under the name "General Tom Thumb". Barnum moved to Bridgeport and built four houses in the city over the course of his life, the first being Iranistan.

In 1852, Barnum began an endeavor with William Noble to develop the land (inherited by Noble) on the other side of the Pequonnock River, across the river from Bridgeport to be known as "East Bridgeport" with Washington Park at the center. The new neighborhood had homes, commerce, and factories, centered around East Main Street. The neighborhood eventually became the East Side of Bridgeport (occasionally spelled "Eastside").

In 1863, during the Civil War, the Bridgeport Standard ran a series of articles encouraging the creation of a public park in the city. This led wealthy residents P.T. Barnum, William Noble and Nathaniel Wheeler to purchase the land on Long Island Sound and donating the land to the city in 1864. The land on the shore became Seaside Park. A second park was built near East Main Street, when in 1878, James Beardsley donated more than to the city along the Pequonnock River under the condition that the land be "kept the same forever as a public park". Both parks were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, known for creating Central Park. These two large public parks gave Bridgeport the nickname "The Park City".

The county's Roman Catholic seat, St. Augustine Cathedral was finished in 1869, built by the Irish who had arrived 30 year earlier. Saint James Church, predating the archdiocese of Hartford, was the first Roman Catholic congregation in Fairfield County, starting with 250 members in 1842. The congregation gave rise to St Augustine's in Sterling Hill, the seat of the Diocese of Bridgeport.

Following the Civil War, the town held several iron foundries and factories manufacturing firearms, metallic cartridges, horse harnesses, locks, and blinds.^[5] Wheeler & Wilson's sewing machines were exported throughout the world. Bridgeport annexed the West End and the village of Black Rock and its busy harbor in 1870. In 1875, P. T. Barnum was elected mayor of the town, which afterwards served as the winter headquarters of Barnum and Bailey's Circus and Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.^[2] Barnum also helped establish Fairfield County's first hospital (Conn.'s 3rd) and the Bridgeport-Port Jefferson ferry, connecting the town to Long Island.

Harvey Hubbell founded Hubbell Incorporated in Bridgeport in 1888. The Holmes & Edwards Silver Co. was founded in 1882, its wares sold nationally, and the company became part of the International Silver Company in 1898. (The H&E brand continued well into the 1950s and was advertised in national magazines such as LIFE and Ladies' Home Journal.) Hungarian immigrants began to arrive, which led to the Ráckόczi Hungarian Aid Association in Bridgeport in 1887 and the American Hungarian Immigrant Aid Society 1892. They established themselves in the West End. In 1894, Bridgeport's Slavic immigrants played a major role in the development of the Orthodox Christian faith in America when they met with Fr Alexis Toth (now Saint Alexis) and founded Holy Ghost Russian Orthodox Church in the city's Eastside. This parish became the mother church of all Orthodox Churches in New England.

20th century

From 1870 to 1910, Bridgeport became the largest industrial center in Connecticut; its population rose from around 25,000 to over 100,000, including thousands of Irish, Slovaks, Hungarians, Germans, English, and Italian immigrants. Jewish migration to the city began in the 1881, with an influx of Polish, Russian, and especially Hungarian Jews calling Bridgeport home. Bridgeport Jew Edwin Land grew up to invent the Polaroid.

In 1905, Bridgeport was already "the largest industrial center in the state, $49,381,348 was invested in manufacturing and the products being valued at $44,586,519." The city was a port of entry with its imports being valued at around $656,271 in 1908.^[2]

The Singer factory joined Wheeler & Wilson in producing sewing machines^[2] and the Locomobile Company of America was a prominent early automobile manufacturer, producing a prototype of the Stanley Steamer and various luxury cars.

The town was also the center of America's corset production, responsible for %19.9 of the national total,^[2] and became the headquarters of Remington Arms following its 1912 merger with the Union Metallic Cartridge Co. Around the time of the First World War, Bridgeport was also producing steam-fitting and heating apparatuses, brass goods, phonographs, typewriters,^[2] milling machines, brassieres, and saddles.

Brideport's Italian immigrants settled in the "Central End", today's Little Italy, and the city was the 3rd most Italian in the state by 1910. Their newspapers were the weekly La Tribuna de Connecticut (1906-1908) and later La Sentinella (1920-1948) The West End along Wordin Avenue, known as "Hunktown", grew into one of the largest Hungarian communities in the US.^[6] It was visited by Hungarian republicans trying to take down the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, in order to garner support. The West Side nearby was home to Slovenians, French-Canadians and Swedish immigrants. By 1910 Bridgeport had grown into second largest city in Connecticut at 102,052, behind New Haven.^[2]

Between 1910 and 1920, during World War I, the city's population exploded from 102,054 to 143,555, due to the city's role in the First World War. Bridgeport had the largest factory in the world at the time, the new Remington Arms plant on Boston Avenue (on the East Side). Built in 1915, it had 13 separate buildings, each of them 5 stories, connected by a long corridor half a mile long. The purpose of the building was to fulfil a company order from the Russian tzar for a million rifles and 100 million round of ammunition. The construction site was protected by the National Guard to prevent Bolshevik arson. The factory by 1916 employed 16,000 people and led to the construction of "Remington City" in the Mill Hill neighborhood, and "Remington Village" in the East End, by Remington Arms.^[7]

In the summer of 1915, a series of strikes imposed the eight-hour day on the town's factories; rather than moving business elsewhere, the success spread the eight-hour day throughout the Northeast. Due to housing shortages in many US cities during World War I, the federal government created the US Housing Corporation. This resulted in 7 USHC housing developments being built in Bridgeport, notably Seaside Village in the South End and Black Rock Gardens in Black Rock. By this point, Remington Arms was producing 50% of America's cartrages duirng the war, with 17,000 employees, and homes for new workers were needed. The factory became a General Electric plant after the war. The First World War had continued the city's expansion so that, on the eve of the Great Depression, there were more than 500 factories in Bridgeport, including Columbia Records' primary pressing plant.

The 1920s saw the city's population stabilize at 143,555, after the war.^[8] The decade saw the city grow with more leasure and entertainment. In 1919, the city of Bridgeport bought Pleaseure Beach (also known as Steepchase Island) for $220,000. Pleasure beach was an amusement park and beach on an island in the East End next to Stratford. In 1920, the city parks commissioner began the process of creating a zoo in Beardsley Park. 1922 was the year the elegantly designed Majestic and Poli Palace theatures, were built downtown, along with the Savory Hotel. The 3,600 seat Poli Palace theatre (built by Sylvester Poli) was the largest theater in the state of Connecticut, with guided hand carved moldings and vaulted cealings. Bridgeport a stop became for performances with around 20 theatures.

The Ritz Ballroom was opened in 1923. In 1928, the city bought an  racetrack and landing field in Lordship to construct Bridgeport Airport. 

During the Great Depression the city elected Socialist party candidate Jasper McLevy as mayor in 1933. McLevy's election made headlines as a New England city had a socialist mayor. Known for cutting costs, he would serve as mayor for 12 terms, finally losing in 1957.

The Great Migration led southern African-Americans to Bridgeport around the 1930s (thanks to railroads) along with black foreigners (such as Cape Verdean),^[9] By 1930, Bridgeport had the third largest percentage of African Americans in New England. The Italían population by 1930 had more than doubled, more than 13,000 American-born children would be born to Italians in Bridgeport.^[10]

The build-up to World War II helped the city's recovery in the late 1930s. Sikorsky moved into the South Avenue plant in the 1940s.

The post-war boom led to the construction of highways across the country. Interstate 95, Route 8 and Route 25 cut right through the heart of the city, and the Merrit Parkway to the north on the town line. I-95 led to the destruction of Hunktown, parts of the East Side and East End, Route 8 and 25 parts of the Hollow, and passed through the older, grittier parts of the city so as to not displace residents.

The North End of Bridgeport was built up around this time, 1940s-late 60s, made up of quiet suburban houses north of Westfield Avenue. On suburban Park Avenue in 1962 the Museam of Art, Science and Industry (MASI) was opened to the public, today's Discovery Museam and Planetarium. Known for the newly developed approach of hands on-exhibits, the Museam became science oriented later on.^[11] 1962 also saw the construction of Connecticut's first indoor shopping mall, the Trumbull Shopping Park in the suburb of Trumbull, bordered between the North End border and the Merrit Parkway). Built by the Frouge Construction Company, the mall had an E.J Korvette and a Read's Department store as anchors, along with a Woolworth's, a kiddie ride area and a movie theature among other stores. The mall, located 7 mi north of downtown, would soon be joined by in 1980 by an enclosed Connecticut Post Center in the neighboring suburb of Milford. Continued development of new suburban housing outside of the North End attracted middle and upper-class residents, leaving the city with a higher proportion of poor. By the 1960s, Puerto Ricans had begun to immigrate to Bridgeport in large numbers, and by about 1970 had made up 10% of the city's population. Groups such as the local Young Lords branch organized themselves on East Main Street.

As cities across the country were renovating their central business district after the war, Bridgeport attempted its own urban renewal projects in its old downtown in the early 1960s during the construction of the highways. Bridgeport under Mayor Tedesco went under the State Street redevelopment project, demolishing entire residencial blocks and churches, clearing the land for development. Replaced with modern high-rise office buildings, parking, the Route 8/25 expressway towards Waterbury and Newtown, and a shopping mall. Constructed with federal funding around 1965, on Lafayette Boulevard and Broad Street, the 450,000 acre, 2 story (with basement) Lafayette Shopping Plaza was erected, a downtown shopping mall with a Sears and a Gimbels department store as anchors, along with Walgreens, food court and other stores.

On Middle Street was built the 18-floor Park City Plaza, in 1972 by the FD Rich Co. with the hope that a major New York company would move in, which never occurred. The plan for three identical towers never materialized, due to finances. Bridgeport was largely bypassed by the New York companies heading to suburban Fairfield County. "The block" area on Main Street would be demoshied and replaced with the $24 million Hotel Bridgeport Plaza, later a Holiday Inn. Much of the north section of downtown Bridgeport, mostly north of Fairfield Avenue, would end up abandoned, neglected and boarded up as department and discount stores closed, leaving only federal and municipal buildings.

Restructuring of heavy industry starting after the mid-20th century caused the loss of thousands of jobs and residents. Like other urban centers in Connecticut, Bridgeport suffered during the deindustrialization of the United States in the 1970s and 1980s. Pleasure Beach was sold 5 years after a rollercoaster caught fire. A year later the park closed for good.

In September 1978, Bridgeport teachers went on a 19-day strike due to deadlocked contract negotiations. A court order, as well as a state law that made strikes by public workers illegal in Connecticut, resulted in 274 teachers being arrested and jailed. In November 1978, a wave of arson passed through the city's East side, with the fire chief calling it as a microcosm of "the Bronx". The city suffered from overall mismanagement, for which several city officials were convicted, contributing to the economic and social decline.

The once busy Lafayette Shopping Plaza began to lose customers after Gimbel's closed in 1984. Replaced with a Read's store, the mall was later bought by Hi-Ho Industries and renamed "Hi-Ho Mall", until it closed in 1993 and became Housitonic Community College in 1997.

Despite its issues, Bridgeport remained the state's second city and as Hartford's population continued to shrink, Bridgeport became the largest city in Connecticut by 1980, with a population of 142,546. On Bridgeport's economy, a 1981 Times article read; "Bridgeport... for years has suffered an image problem when compared with Hartford because of that city's role as state capital and as the site of a number of large corporations." Mayor Mandanici's response was that appearance isn't everything. "Hartford reported state sales taxes of $712.7 million, but Bridgeport yielded state sales taxes of $890.4 million. That's economic power, right?" In 1985, Bridgeport was still Connecticut's chief manufacturing center, its major industries i including General Electric, Remington Products, Bryant Electric, Raybestos. A New York Times article from 1985 stated Bridgeport was the fifth largest banking city in New England, with five of the banks based Bridgeport having assets of more than $6 billion.^[12] Between 1984 and 1989 the construction of the new $75 million headquarters for People's United Bank, the second largest bank in New England. The new downtown building, the 18-story Bridgeport Center on Main Street, was designed by famous architect Richard Meier.^[12] People's United emerged as the largest bank in the area by acquiring local banks and establishing the first phone bank service in the country.

In 1991, the city filed for bankruptcy protection but was declared solvent by a federal court.

Bridgeport made numerous efforts at revitalization. In a proposal in 1995, Las Vegas developer Steve Wynn was to build a large casino, but that project failed due to traffic concerns. The project was opposed as rival Donald Trump feared a Bridgeport casino would harm his Atlantic City properties and proposed to build a theme park and potencial casino on the same site.^[13]

Later that same year, Mayor Mary C. Moran lost the election to Joseph Ganim, at 33 years old, the youngest person to hold that office. He was known for being one of the city's biggest promoters and under him the city was able to begin redevelopment with the construction of the Arena at Harbor Yard and the Ballpark at Harbor Yard. In 1999, city-owned Sikorsky Memorial Airport ceased its commercial regional flight offerings.

21st century

The new AHL Bridgeport Sound Tigers (the NY Islanders farm team) lost to the Chicago Wolves at the 2002 Caldor Cup Finals. In 2003, Mayor Ganim was involved in a corruption scandal after being investigated by the FBI as he received gifts from developers in exchange for being allowed to build in Bridgeport. He was sentenced to federal prison, and was replaced by John Fabrizi.

In the early 21st century, Bridgeport has taken steps toward redevelopment of its downtown and other neighborhoods. In 2004, artists' lofts were developed in the former Read's Department Store on Broad Street. Several other rental conversions have been completed, including the 117-unit Citytrust bank building on Main Street. The recession halted, at least temporarily, two major mixed-use projects including a $1-billion waterfront development at Steel Point, but other redevelopment projects have proceeded, such as the condominium conversion project in Bijou Square. In 2009, the City Council under Mayor Finch approved a new master plan for development, designed both to promote redevelopment in selected areas and to protect existing residential neighborhoods. The plan was updated in April 2019. In 2010, the Bridgeport Housing Authority and a local health center announced plans to build a $20 million medical and housing complex at Albion Street, making use of federal stimulus funds and designed to replace some of the housing lost with the demolition of Father Panik Village.

The Steel Point (or Steelpointe) project of Bridgeport's on the lower portion of the East Side finally led to the construction of a Bass Pro Shop in 2013, along with a Chipotle, Starbucks and T-Mobile, and a lighthouse with a marina and oyster bar). The plan for high-end mixed use apartments is in place, although concerns about gentrification have been raised. A hotel is also in the works. A new proposed train station in East Bridgeport, meant to be completed in 2021, was postponed in 2019.

By 2013 the city and local business owners agreed that work needed to be done in the downtown area north of Fairfield Avenue, nicknamed Downtown North, above. Made up of old empty brick buildings which were neglected for years, the city and developers began their rehabilitation starting in 2015, most of which are now converted apartments or retail.^[14] Bridgeport's downtown renovation has resulted in various restaurants, the renovation of the Bishop Arcade Mall, a comedy club, and theatres. A 2022 plan to renovate McLevy Hall is in place.

In 2017, MGM had announced plans to build a waterfront casino and shopping center in the city, awaiting approval by the state government. If built, the development would have created 2,000 permanent jobs and about 5,779 temporary jobs. After a legal battle with the Mohegan and Pequot tribes on the right to build a casino in Connecticut, the project "appears to be dead", and tenents such as Bridgeport Boatworks now occupy the proposed space. The construction of Honey Locust Square began on the East End, which when complete will house a supermarket (something the neighborhood lacks), a public library, a health center, and a retail building.

Notable speeches

On March 10, 1860, Abraham Lincoln spoke in the city's Washington Hall, an auditorium at the old Bridgeport City Hall (now McLevy Hall), at the corner of State and Broad Streets. The largest room in the city was packed, and a crowd formed outside, as well. Lincoln received a standing ovation before taking the 9:07 pm train that night back to Manhattan. A plaque marks the site where Lincoln spoke; later that year, he was elected president.

The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke three times at the Klein Auditorium during the 1960s. Additionally, President George W. Bush spoke before a small group of Connecticut business people and officials at the Playhouse on the Green in 2006. President Barack Obama also spoke at the Harbor Yard arena in 2010 to gain support for the campaign of Democratic Governor Dan Malloy.

Timeline of notable first and inventions

• 1896 - The chain socket was invented in Bridgeport
• 1904 - The AC plug outlet was also invented in Bridgeport by Harvey Hubbell
• 1877 - The world's first telephone exchange was established in Bridgeport by the District Telephone Company. The first commercial phone exchange was opened in nearby New Haven two years later.^[15]
• 1903 - German immagrant Gustave Whitehead claimed to have flown the first airplane in Bridgeport two years before the Wright Brothers, confirmed in the Bridgeport Post.
• 1949 - The first dental school was founded in the University of Bridgeport
• 1920 - The Frisbie Pie Company was founded in Bridgeport in 1871.^[16]
• 1949 - The first daily UHF television station, KC2XAK aired in Bridgeport. It was a test conducted by NBC and was known as "Operation Bridgeport".^[16]
• 1965 - The first Subway restaurant was founded in Bridgeport. Student Fred DeLuca needed money to attend collage, and with the help of Peter Buck started "Pete's Subs". Renamed Subway, the franchise grew into one of the largest fast food chains in the world.
• 1981 - the first telephone banking service in the United States was provided by People's Bank to its clients.