Bridgeport

LIVING IN BRIDGEPORT CT

One of the advantages of living in Bridgeport is its convenient location. Situated along the Long Island Sound and just a short drive from New York City, Bridgeport offers easy access to both coastal and urban attractions. Residents can enjoy the beautiful beaches, go boating, or take a day trip to the vibrant cityscape of Manhattan.

Bridgeport is also known for its cultural and recreational offerings. The city is home to the renowned Beardsley Zoo, where visitors can observe a variety of animal species. Seaside Park, a waterfront park spanning over 325 acres, provides opportunities for walking, jogging, picnicking, and enjoying outdoor events. Additionally, the Downtown Cabaret Theatre and the Klein Memorial Auditorium offer diverse entertainment options, including live performances and concerts.

The city has a rich history and is proud of its heritage. Bridgeport features historic districts such as Black Rock and Brooklawn, where residents can explore charming neighborhoods with well-preserved architecture and local landmarks. The Barnum Museum showcases the life and legacy of P.T. Barnum, a famous showman who once called Bridgeport home.

Bridgeport is also known for its educational institutions. The city is home to the University of Bridgeport, a private university offering a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs. There are also several public and private schools, providing options for families with children.

In terms of transportation, Bridgeport offers convenient access to major highways, making it easy to commute to neighboring cities and towns. The Metro-North Railroad provides train service to New York City and other parts of Connecticut, making it a commuter-friendly location.

Like any urban area, Bridgeport has a diverse culinary scene, with a wide range of dining options to suit various tastes. From family-owned eateries to trendy restaurants, residents can explore a variety of cuisines within the city.

It’s important to note that, like any city, Bridgeport has its own unique challenges. It’s advisable for prospective residents to research specific neighborhoods, consider factors such as crime rates and schools, and visit the area to get a feel for the community before making a decision.

Overall, living in Bridgeport offers a blend of urban amenities, cultural attractions, and natural beauty. Whether you’re seeking a waterfront lifestyle, a vibrant arts scene, or convenient access to both city and coastal destinations, Bridgeport provides a diverse and engaging living experience.

12 FACTS ABOUT BRIDGEPORT, CT

1. Bridgeport’s most famous resident was 19th-century showman P.T. Barnum, who was born in and established his first string of businesses in Bethel, about 20 miles north of the city. At the height of his circus’ success, Barnum headquartered his troupe of performers, “freaks,” and animals at Iranistan, his Moorish palace-like country manor. (Iranistan Avenue is named for it.) Barnum also invested heavily in a few companies to buttress the local economy, which all went belly up, resulting in near financial ruin for the mogul.

2. In 1842, Barnum met his most successful performer, Charles S. Stratton, a.k.a. “General Tom Thumb,” a singing, dancing dwarf, in Bridgeport. Stratton, who stood 25 inches tall, was the son of a city carpenter when Barnum backed his tours of America and Europe. As a result, Stratton became richer and more famous than Barnum and lent him money after his investments soured. Stratton is buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery under a stone monument topped by a life-sized statue of himself.

3. Another favorite son is James Henry O’Rourke, a baseball player who scored the first-ever hit in National League history in 1876 and went on to a six-decade career. A Yale Law graduate, O’Rourke worked as an attorney in Bridgeport during the Boston Red Stockings’ offseason. He commissioned a Victorian-style home in the East End, near the water. The city was so attached to it that, when the neighborhood was razed for development in the 1990s, the O’Rourke house was preserved. When the project stalled, the shuttered house stood alone in a vast field for decades. The city finally parted with it in 2009.

4. Subway, the world’s largest restaurant chain by the number of locations, began as Pete’s Subway in Bridgeport. In 1965, with a $1000 loan from family friend Peter Buck (not the R.E.M. guitarist), Central High School graduate Fred Deluca established it at a “crummy location” on a side street. Business was better at the second outpost downtown, creating the Subway business plan: Always expand.

5. As of 2013, Bridgeport was home to one of the world’s oldest bartenders, per the World Record Academy. Resident Angie MacLean, then 98, had tended bar since the age of 17; in 2013, she was still slinging drinks at Panama Joe’s Cafe, where she’d worked for more than 20 years. “If you stay at home, what are you gonna do? Watch TV?” she told Connecticut’s News 12. “That’s not for me.”

6. Pleasure Beach, a two-mile sand barrier jutting off the mainland, was once the site of an amusement park and vacation cottages. In 1996, a fire destroyed the bridge leading there, leaving it abandoned. The ghost town still attracted visitors—mainly curious kayakers toting cameras. In 2014, the city cleared away all the crumbling structures and established a water taxi to the beach.

7. Igor Sikorsky, the engineer behind the world’s first working helicopter, achieved liftoff with his creation in Stratford, Connecticut, in 1939. After receiving a contract from the U.S. government, he began manufacturing the aircraft in neighboring Bridgeport.

8. The Bridgeport-Port Jefferson Ferry has linked the Connecticut coastline to Long Island since 1883. The ever-industrious P.T. Barnum was the first president of the steamboat company that established the line. Ridership picked up in the 1980s, thanks to an increase in gas prices and the NYC commuter nightmare created by the collapse of the Mianus River Bridge on I-95. Currently, the company operating the ferry line has three ships—the Park City, the P.T. Barnum, and the Grand Republic—that take passengers and some of their cars on the 15-mile, 75-minute trip across the Sound.

9. Bridgeport is nicknamed the Park City. In addition to the larger recreational areas, like Seaside Park and Pleasure Beach, nearly every neighborhood has a green or pocket park. The city has 1300 acres of public space.

10. Since the ’70s, the city has played host to an ever-expanding population of monk parakeets, a species typically only found in the wild in Argentina. As the story goes, a cargo crate full of the birds broke open at New York City’s JFK Airport, releasing dozens of them—although a senior director for the Connecticut Audubon Society called the tale an “urban legend,” adding, “it [did] start from the pet trade … maybe someone just opened their window and let their pet out.”

11. From 2007 to 2015, Seaside Park became a hippie wonderland for a few days each summer during the Gathering of the Vibes, a music festival/campout catering to fans of jam bands. Initially, the shindig rotated between East Coast venues before settling on Bridgeport. Organizers announced a one-year hiatus in 2016.

12. Bridgeport has claimed to be the birthplace of the Frisbee, supposedly patented after the aerodynamic tins used by the Frisbie Pie Company, which baked its wares on Kossuth Street from 1871 to 1958. It’s a little more complicated than that. Fred Morrison, inventor of the Frisbee, clarified in his autobiography that he had no knowledge of the pie company and had never visited New England when he first made the disc, which he called “the Pluto Platter.” Toy company Wham-O borrowed the name because kids in the New York region were already tossing around the pie tins and colloquially calling them “Frisbies.” (The pie discs were also popular with Yalies goofing around on the New Haven Green.)