Bridgeport
City
Perry Memorial Arch, facing southwards towards Seaside Park Downtown Bridgeport Total Mortgage Arena Bridgeport Station Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater Bridgeport Center Barnum Museum Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
Flag Seal
Nicknames:  The Park City, BPT[1]
Mottoes:  Industria Crecimus (Latin) "By industry we thrive" (English)
Fairfield County and Connecticut  Greater Bridgeport Planning Region and Connecticut
Show Bridgeport Show Connecticut Show the United States
Coordinates: 41°11′11″N 73°11′44″W / 41.18639°N 73.19556°W / 41.18639; -73.19556
Country	United States
State	Connecticut
County	Fairfield
Region	CT Metropolitan
MSA	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk
CSA	New York
Incorporated (town)	1821
Incorporated (city)	1836
Named for	A drawbridge over the Pequonnock River
Government
• Type	Mayor-council
• Mayor	Joseph P. Ganim (D)
Area
• City	19.4 sq mi (50.2 km2)
• Land	16.0 sq mi (41.4 km2)
• Water	3.4 sq mi (8.8 km2)
• Urban	397.29 sq mi (1,029.0 km2)
Elevation	3 ft (1 m)
Population  (2020)[2][3]
• City	148,654
• Rank	US: 172nd
• Density	7,700/sq mi (3,000/km2)
• Urban [4]	916,408 (US: 51st)
• Urban density	2,306.6/sq mi (890.6/km2)
• Metro	939,904 (US: 57th)
Demonym	Bridgeporter
GDP [5]
• Bridgeport (MSA)	$104.368 billion (2022)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (Eastern)
ZIP Codes	06601–06602, 06604–06608, 06610, 06650, 06673, 06699[6]
Area code(s)	203/475
FIPS code	09-08000
GNIS feature ID	205720
Airport	Sikorsky Memorial Airport
Major highways
Commuter rail
Website	bridgeportct.gov

Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut^[7] and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020.^[3] Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Island Sound, it is a port city 60 miles (97 km) from Manhattan and 40 miles (64 km) from The Bronx. It borders 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 Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, as well as 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.

Inhabited by the Paugussett Native American tribe until English settlement in the 1600s, Bridgeport was incorporated in 1821 as a town, and as a city in 1836. Showman P. T. Barnum was a resident of the city and served as the town's mayor (1871).^[8] 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 by 1905.^[9] Bridgeport was the site of the world's first mutual telephone exchange (1877),^[10] the first dental hygiene school (1949),^[11] and the first bank telephone bill service in the US (1981).^[12] Inventor Harvey Hubbell II invented the electric plug outlet in Bridgeport in 1912.^[13] The Frisbie Pie Company was founded and operated in Bridgeport.^[14] The world's first Subway restaurant opened in the city's North End in 1965.^[15] 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 and violent crime.^[16]

Since the beginning of the 21st century, Bridgeport has begun extensive redevelopment of its downtown and other neighborhoods. Bridgeport's crime rate started going down significantly around 2010; by 2018, it had been reduced by almost 50 percent.^[17] Bridgeport is home to three museums,^[18] the University of Bridgeport, Housatonic Community College, Paier College, and part of Sacred Heart University^[19][20] as well as the state's only zoo.^[21] Bridgeport is officially nicknamed "Park City", due to its 35 public parks taking up 1,300 acres, including two large ones. Although none are headquartered within the city itself, more than a dozen Fortune 500 companies are based in its metropolitan area, which it shares with Stamford. Bridgeport by various sites has been consistently ranked as among the 25 most ethnically and culturally diverse American cities.^{[22][23][24][25][26]}

History

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,^[27] 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.^[28] It is also an ancient Paugusett burial ground.

The burgeoning farming community grew and became a center of trade, shipbuilding, and whaling. The town was 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^[9] (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.)^[29][30] 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.)

In 1639, Roger Ludlow, deputy governor of the English Connecticut Colony was ordered by the colony's General Assembly in Hartford to establish two plantations, one at Cupheg the mouth of the Housatonic River (today Stratford), and one at the harbor at the mouth of the Pequonnock River, today's Bridgeport Harbor. Ludlow disobeyed orders and instead established a settlement in Unconway (today's Fairfield), probably due to fears of the large Paugussett settlement at Golden Hill, which was a sacred site of theirs, so it is believed that they perhaps instead settled in sparsely populated land surrounding the village.^[31] In 1659, the general court in Hartford established the official borders of the Paugussett Reservation.^[32]

Bridgeport's early years were marked by residents' reliance on fishing and farming. This was similar to the economy of the Paugussett, 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.^[33] The area officially became known as Stratfield in 1695^[9] or 1701, due to its location between the already existing towns of Stratford and Fairfield.^[34] During the American Revolution, Newfield Harbor was a center of privateering.^[30][9]

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.^[33][35] 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 1787, the Fairfield County Court ordered the laying out and widening of what is now State Street and Main Street in downtown Bridgeport, along the Pequannock River then Newfield. It was assumed before the Revolution that this land would grow into a city.^{[36] [37]}

"Bridgeport grew up without a plan, or in spite of one".

— Samuel Orcutt, A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport (1886), Chapter XIX

In 1800, the village became the Borough of Bridgeport,^[40] the first so incorporated in the state.^[41] It was named for the Newfield or Lottery Bridge across the Pequonnock, connecting the wharves on its east and west banks.^[39] Bridgeport Bank was established in 1806.^[42] In 1821, the township of Bridgeport became independent of Stratford.^[43]

In 1821, a small community of remaining Golden Hill Pauguasett Natives, along with 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.^[44]

The West India trade died down around 1840,^[33] but by that time the Bridgeport Steamship Company (1824)^[45] and Bridgeport Whaling Company (1833) had been incorporated^[33] and the Housatonic Railroad chartered (1836).^[46][47] 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^[43][48][51] 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.^[52] The Naugatuck Railroad—connecting Bridgeport to Waterbury and Winsted along the Naugatuck River—was chartered in 1845 and began operation four years later.^[53][54] The same year, the New York and New Haven Railroad began operation,^[55] 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 industrialize.

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 during 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.^[56]

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.^[57] 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 100 acres (40 ha) 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".^[58]

The county's 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 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.^[59]

Following the Civil War, the town held several iron foundries and factories manufacturing firearms, metallic cartridges, horse harnesses, locks, and blinds.^[43] Wheeler & Wilson's sewing machines were exported throughout the world. Bridgeport absorbed the West End and the village of Black Rock and its busy harbor in 1870.^[60] 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.^[9] Barnum also helped establish Fairfield County's first hospital (Conn.'s 3rd) and the Bridgeport-Port Jefferson ferry, connecting the town to Long Island.^[61]

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.^[62] (The H&E brand continued well into the 1950s and was advertised in national magazines such as LIFE and Ladies' Home Journal.)^[63] Hungarian immigrants began to arrive, which led to the Ráckόczi Hungarian Aid Association in Bridgeport in 1887 and the American Hungarian Immigrant Aid Society in 1892.^[64] 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.^[65]

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.^[9]

The Singer factory joined Wheeler & Wilson in producing sewing machines^[9] and the Locomobile Company of America was a prominent early automobile manufacturer, producing a prototype of the Stanley Steamer and various luxury cars.^[66]

The town was also the center of America's corset production, responsible for 19.9% of the national total,^[9] 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,^[9] milling machines, brassieres, and saddles.^[67]

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)^[68][69] The West End along Wordin Avenue, known as "Hunktown," grew into one of the largest Hungarian communities in the US.^[64] 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.^[70][9]

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.^[71] 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.^[71]

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.^[72] 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 cartridges during the war, with 17,000 employees, and homes for new workers were needed. The factory became a General Electric plant after the war.^[73] 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 and a Singer Sewing Machine factory.^[74]

The 1920s saw the city's population stabilize at 143,555 after the war.^[75] The Roaring Twenties brought more leisure 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.^[76] In 1920, the city parks commissioner began the process of creating a zoo in Beardsley Park.^[77] Bridgeport a stop became for performances with around 20 theatres. 1922 was the year the elegantly designed Majestic and Poli Palace theatres, were built downtown, along with the Savoy Hotel. The Poli Palace theatre (built by Sylvester Poli) was the largest theatre in the state of Connecticut, with gilded hand-carved moldings and vaulted ceilings.^{[78] [79]} The Ritz Ballroom was opened in 1923. In 1928, the city bought an 800-acre (320 ha) racetrack and landing field in Lordship to construct Bridgeport Airport.^[80] Spanish immigration in 1920 and 1921 brought hundreds of migrants from Spain, particularly from Pedreguer, Valencia, where "practiclly the entire town migrated" to Bridgeport.^[81]

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.^[82]

The Great Migration led southern African-Americans to Bridgeport around the 1930s (thanks to railroads)^[83] along with black foreigners (such as Cape Verdean),^[83] By 1930, Bridgeport had the third largest percentage of African Americans in New England. The Italian population by 1930 had more than doubled, now the city's largest ethnic group.^[69] The build-up to World War II helped the city's recovery in the late 1930s.

Suburban development made its expansion into the undeveloped North End neighborhood.^[84] On 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.^[18] Continued development of new suburban housing outside of Bridgeport in the city's adjacent suburbs such as Fairfield and Milford^[85] 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 settle to Bridgeport in large numbers, and by about 1970 had made up 10% of the city's population, or 15,000 people, the largest Puerto Rican population in Connecticut, and they would continue to grow.^[86] Groups such as the local Young Lords branch organized themselves on East Main Street, leading to activism to advance the Puerto Rican community with increased access to health care, better housing, food and an end to poverty and police brutality.

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. Hunktown, with a population of 15,000 and the Irish neighborhood in the South End were demolished and replaced with highways and an industrial park. The Trumbull Shopping Park was built just outside Bridgeport city limits in Trumbull in 1965, Connecticut's first fully enclosed shopping mall.^[87][88] Bridgeport under Mayor Tedesco went under the 52-acre (21 ha) State Street redevelopment project,^[89] demolishing 52 acres of State Street, 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 at its core.^[90] Large parts of Main Street were demolished in what was called the Congress Street Renewal project, nothing was built on the land. Constructed with federal funding, 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 connected to it.Military contracts during the 1950s and 1960s enabled the Bridgeport-Lycoming division of AVCO, founded 1951, to employ at times more than 12,000 people, building tanks, helicopters, and other military hardware. Decreased demand led to layoffs, and then closure in 1984.^[91] Other examples of urban development include two city landmarks, the 12-story 855 Main Street (People's Savings Bank building), and 18-floor Park City Plaza, (State National Bank building) built 1972. The plan for three identical towers never materialized, due to the Oil Crisis and corporate vacancies.

Bridgeport was largely bypassed by the New York City companies fleeing Manhattan for suburban Fairfield County locations for various reasons; the city developed a reputation for having an industrial character thanks to the factories located right along both sides of Interstate 95, and the city's lack of urban amities and its reputation as a "blue collar" city simply wasn't the image these companies wanted to identify with in order to attract top executives, Bridgeport was being farther from New York City than Stamford or White Plains with no immediate benefits, and the trend of establishing headquarters outside of major cities in suburban campuses all played a factor.^[92] As such, most skyscraper construction models for downtown Bridgeport from the 70s were never built, unlike Hartford (a city already home to major insurance companies) or Stamford. Much of north downtown Bridgeport would end up abandoned, neglected and boarded up as department and discount stores closed, leaving only federal and municipal buildings along now empty lots.^[93][94]

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.^[95] Pleasure Beach was sold 5 years after a rollercoaster caught fire. A year later the park closed for good.^[96] The old Bridgeport station caught fire in 1978.

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.^[97] 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".^[98] The city suffered from overall mismanagement, for which several city officials were convicted, contributing to the economic and social decline.^[99] 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 Housatonic Community College in 1997.^[100]

Bridgeport remained the state's second city and as Hartford's population continued to shrink, Bridgeport became the largest city in Connecticut in 1974, with a population of 142,546.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 "Hartford reported state sales taxes of $712.7 million, but Bridgeport yielded state sales taxes of $890.4 million. That's economic power, right?"^[101] In 1985, Bridgeport was still Connecticut's chief manufacturing center, its major industries including General Electric, Remington Shaver, Bryant Electric, and Raybestos plants. A New York Times in 1985 stated Bridgeport was the fifth largest banking center in New England, with five of the banks based Bridgeport having assets of more than $6 billion.^[16] The largest scissors, shear and surgical materials manufacturer in the world by 1946, Bridgeport-based ACME Shear closed its Bridgeport plant in 1996 due to mergers and acquisitions. The industrial operations relocated to Fremont, North Carolina. 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 10-story Connecticut National Bank building was demolished and replaced with the new 18-story Bridgeport Center overlooking McLevy Square, and was designed by famous architect Richard Meier and was meant to give the city a new icon^[16]

Bridgeport in 1989 had more homicides per capita than any Northeastern US city over 100,000 people. Bridgeport had a smaller police force than smaller cities like Hartford or New Haven, yet hiring due to city financial issues, having not recovered from the exodus of manufacturing companies, would result in even higher taxes for residents.^[102][91] The city in 1995 saw a serious reduction in violent crime, notably in its East Side, where crime rate fell by nearly half, homicides dropped, burglaries by 3/4s and stolen car thefts by more than half, among other stats, as the Phoenix Project led to barricading city streets, confusing out of town drug buyers, and preventing sellers to escape.^[103]

In 1991, the city filed for bankruptcy protection but was declared solvent by a federal court.^[104] 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.^[105] 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.

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.^[106] 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 potential casino on the same site.^[106]

New waves of migrants from places such as Brazil, Jamaica, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Mexico, and other nations arrived in Bridgeport. Immigrants from Brazil, after the nation's inflation crisis, established themselves in the city due to the large Portuguese population already present, easing the language barrier. Bridgeport was a common second US destination for Vietnamese refugees "There's already an established community here, so that's why they come," from the New York Times in 1996. Along with them, Thai, Koreans, Chinese, and especially Laotians and Cambodians established themselves in the city. Laotians refugees settled in the West End opening businesses ^[107][108] Bridgeport's Mexican population grew gradually, from 24 people counted in 1970,^[109] 599 people in 1990, to 2,687 by the 2000 census, becoming at that point the second largest Latino group in the city behind the city's Puerto Ricans (31,117 people), surpassing the Cuban population. Likewise, the population from other Central and South American nations continued to increase^[110] while the Cuban population continued to decrease.^[110][111] "There has been a big shift in ethnic groups. Just look at the restaurants that have opened in the last few years—Mexican, Brazilian, Chilean and Jamaican." an interviewee, local chamber of council president Paul Timpanelli stated in 2000 according to the Connecticut Post.

In 1999, city-owned Sikorsky Memorial Airport ceased its commercial regional flight offerings.

21st century

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.^[112] 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.^[113] The plan was updated in April 2019.^[114] 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.^[115]

The Steel Point (or Steelpointe) project of Bridgeport's on the lower portion of the East Side finally led to the construction of a big box retailer in 2013, along with other stores, shops, 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.^[116] 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.^[93][117] 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.^[118]

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.^[119] 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 tenants such as Bridgeport Boatworks now occupy the proposed space.^[120] 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.^[121]

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.^[122][123] 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, as well as at the University of Bridgeport and the original Central High School (today Bridgeport City Hall)., as well as in Bridgeport City Hall. Additionally, President George W. Bush spoke before a small group of Connecticut business people and officials at the Playhouse on the Green in 2006.^[124] President Barack Obama also spoke at the Harbor Yard arena in 2010 to gain support for the campaign of Democratic Governor Dan Malloy.^[125]

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.^[126] The first commercial phone exchange was opened in nearby New Haven two years later.^[10]
• 1903 – German immigrant Gustave Whitehead claimed to have flown the first airplane in Bridgeport two years before the Wright Brothers, confirmed in the Bridgeport Post.^[127]
• 1914 – Caresse Crosby, the woman credited with inventing the modern bra, sold her patent to Bridgeport-based Warnaco which mass-produced it for the first time. The alphabet bra sizing system was invented, which we still use today, in 1937 by the Bridgeport company.^[128]
• 1949 – The first dental school was founded in the University of Bridgeport^[129]
• 1920 – The Frisbie Pie Company was founded in Bridgeport in 1871.^{[clarification needed][126]}
• 1949 – The first daily UHF television station, KC2XAK aired in Bridgeport. It was a test conducted by NBC and was known as "Operation Bridgeport".^[126]
• 1965 – The first Subway restaurant was founded in Bridgeport. Student Fred DeLuca needed money to attend college, 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.^[130]
• 1981 – The first telephone banking service in the United States was provided by People's Bank to its clients.

Geography

Bridgeport lies along Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Pequonnock River.

Neighborhoods

Bridgeport has many distinct neighborhoods,^[131] divided into five geographic areas: Downtown, the East Side, the North End, the South End, and the West Side.^[132]

• Downtown
  • McLevy Green
  • Downtown South
  • Downtown North
• The Hollow
  • The Hollow
  • Enterprise Zone
• East Side
  • Steel Point
  • Lower East Side/East Side
  • Upper East Side/ North Bridgeport

East End

• • Boston Avenue/Mill Hill
  • East End
  • Newfield
  • Pleasure Beach
• North End
  • Lake Forest
  • Lake Success
  • Reservoir/Whiskey Hill
  • Old Town Road
• Brooklawn/St. Vincent
  • Central End/Little Italy
  • Brooklawn
• South End
  • Seaside Park
  • Soundgate
• West Side
  • Black Rock
  • West Side
  • West End
• Black Rock
  • St. Mary's by the Sea

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Bridgeport straddles the humid subtropical climate (Cfa) and humid continental climate (Dfa) zones with long, hot summers, and cool to cold winters, with precipitation spread fairly evenly throughout the year. Bridgeport, like the rest of coastal Connecticut, lies in the broad transition zone between the colder continental climates of the northern United States and southern Canada to the north, and the warmer temperate and subtropical climates of the middle and south Atlantic states to the south.

The warm/hot season in Bridgeport is from mid-April through early November. Late day thundershowers are common in the hottest months (June, July, August, September), despite the mostly sunny skies. The cool/cold season is from late November though mid March. Winter weather is far more variable than summer weather along the Connecticut coast, ranging from sunny days with higher temperatures to cold and blustery conditions with occasional snow. Like much of the Connecticut coast and nearby Long Island, NY, most of the winter precipitation is rain or a mix and rain and wet snow in Bridgeport. Bridgeport averages about 29 inches (75 cm) of snow annually, compared to inland areas like Hartford and Albany which average 45–60 inches (110–150 cm) of snow annually.

Although infrequent, tropical cyclones (hurricanes/tropical storms) have struck Connecticut and the Bridgeport metropolitan area. Hurricane landfalls have occurred along the Connecticut coast in 1903, 1938, 1944, 1954 (Carol), 1960 (Donna), Hurricane Gloria in 1985, and Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Bridgeport lies in USDA garden hardiness zone 7a, averaging about 92 days annually with freeze. The coastal location of Bridgeport allows it to be milder than locations well south but inland. For example, the record coldest low temperature at Atlanta is -8 F, while the record coldest at Bridgeport is -7 F. Coastal Connecticut is the broad transition zone where so-called "subtropical indicator" plants such as cold hardy palms and other broadleaf evergreens can successfully be cultivated. As such, Southern Magnolias, Needle Palms, Windmill palm, Loblolly Pines, and Crape Myrtles are grown in private and public gardens. Like much of coastal Connecticut, Long Island, NY, and coastal New Jersey, the growing season is rather long in Bridgeport—averaging 210 days from April 8 to November 5 according to the National Weather Service in Bridgeport.

The average monthly temperature ranges from 31.4 °F (−0.3 °C) in January to 75.7 °F (24.3 °C) in July. The record low is −7 °F (−22 °C), set on January 22, 1984, while the record high is 103 °F (39 °C), set on July 22 in 1957 and 2011.^[133]

Precipitation averages 44.9 inches (1,140 mm) annually, and is somewhat evenly distributed throughout the year, with March and April the wettest months. Annual snowfall averages 33.6 inches (85 cm), falling almost entirely from December to March. As is typical of coastal Connecticut, snow cover does not usually last long, with an average of 33 days per winter with snow cover of at least 1 inch (2.5 cm).