BRIDGEPORT Connecticut Real Estate
Best known as “The Park City,” Bridgeport is a metropolis filled with great activity and history. Bridgeport was established in 1836 and owes much of its achievement and fame to Phineas Taylor Barnum, the showman and mayor who established many of the city’s roads and parks. Bridgeport is situated around Black Rock Harbor, an establishment located on the Long Island Sound. This location created a boom in shipbuilding and whaling in the mid-nineteenth century, especially after the opening of a city railroad in 1840. Bridgeport is bursting with historic districts, recreational facilities and is one of Fairfield County’s greatest culturally diverse communities. The city is best known for its many recreational attractions such as the Beardsley Zoo, Barnum Museum and its nationally famed minor league baseball team, the Bluefish.
Population 144,470 Area 16.0 square miles
Education - Bridgeport is the second largest school system in Connecticut. The city serves approximately 23,000 students and employs a professional staff of over 1,700. Bridgeport’s academic programs and initiatives center on implementing critical thinking skills. The system is known for their literacy campaign, a movement encouraging students to become lifelong readers.
Medical Facilities
Bridgeport Community Health Center
471 Barnum Avenue: Bridgeport Community Health Center is a not-for-profit organization, offering health services in a wide range of settings including community health centers, school based clinics and programs for the homeless. The Center provides health care to more than 12,000 people.
Bridgeport Health Care Center
540 Bond Street: The Health Care Center is a 300 bed residential nursing home participating in both Medicare and Medicaid insurance programs.
Bridgeport Hospital
267 Grant Street: Bridgeport Hospital is a private, not-for-profit hospital with 425 licensed beds, 2,000 employees, 500 active attending physicians representing 70 subspecialties, 180 medical/surgical residents and fellows in programs affiliated with Yale University School of Medicine.
Park City Primary Health Center
64 Black Rock Avenue: Part of the Bridgeport Community Health Center, this healthcare organization offers medical care for infants, children, teens and adults. Additionally, the center provides screenings, physicals, sick visits, counseling, immunizations and on-site testing.
Saint Vincent’s Medical Center
2800 Main Street: St. Vincent's is a major, 397 bed acute care hospital with an active medical staff of 450 physicians. The hospital has been recognized as one of the top 100 heart hospitals in the United States, representing an ample range of more than 50 specialty and subspecialty medical and surgical disciplines.
Recreation
Arena at Harbor Yard
600 Main Street: Constructed from 1997-1998, the park was funded by both public and team contributions. Among other famed sports teams, this 26-row, 10,000-seat arena has been host to the American Hockey League’s Sound Tigers and Fairfield University’s NCAA basketball team.
Barnum Festival
1070 Main Street: This event celebrates the life and times of P.T. Barnum and also commemorates Bridgeport’s history. The Festival is a 30-day-long Fourth of July celebration. It is highlighted by the Barnum Great Street Parade, a fanfare characterized by bands and floats.
Barnum Museum
820 Main Street: The museum honors P.T. Barnum’s extraordinary life and illustrates the impact he had on 19th century America.
Barnum Statue at Seaside Park
Park Avenue: After donating the land for Seaside Park in 1865, a statue of the famous entrepreneur was created and unveiled in 1893. The monument stands by the seawall overlooking Long Island Sound.
Beardsley Zoo
1875 Noble Avenue: As Connecticut’s only zoo, Beardsley is an accredited member of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. The zoo participates in the association’s Species Survival Plan and is committed to finding methods to protect species and preserve their habitats.
Bridgeport and Port Jefferson Ferry
330 Water Street Dock: One of Bridgeport’s finest amenities, this tranquil source of transportation provides sojourners with rest and relaxation. Traveling across the Sound, passengers have the option of unwinding in the steamboat lounge or soaking up sun as they sit topside and enjoy their voyage to Port Jefferson, New York.
Bridgeport Bluefish
500 Main Street: Bridgeport’s minor league team plays baseball in their newly constructed $19 million ballpark at Harbor Yard. Since the opening of the arena, the Bluefish have had a winning track every season with a four year record of 286-199. The Bluefish won the Atlantic League Championship title in 1999.
Captain’s Cove
1 Bostwick Avenue: Established in 1982, Captain’s Cove has grown into one of Connecticut’s greatest tourist locales. The Cove is located on historic Black Rock Harbor and filled with amusements and attractions alike.
Discovery Museum
4450 Park Avenue: The museum provides a broad range of learning opportunities in science and technology through their Planetarium, Challenger Learning Center and various other programs.
Downtown Cabaret Theatre
263 Golden Hill Street: Well known for their fully-produced, award-winning musicals, the Downtown Cabaret Theatre is the only locale in the country where spectators can picnic, bring refreshments and sit at comfortable tables, enjoying a spectacular performance and quality family time.
Fairchild Wheeler Golf Course
2390 Easton Turnpike, Fairfield: This facility offers two eighteen-hole courses and is open year-round. With outstanding greens and generous fairways, the province ranges from flat to hilly and is adorned by streams flowing throughout its terrain.
Greater Bridgeport Symphony
446 University Avenue: From its feeble beginnings in 1945, the symphony now plays several times each year in Bridgeport’s renowned Klein Memorial Auditorium. Drawing talent from all corners of the earth, spectators are enraptured by the brilliant music created by 65 symphony members.
Housatonic Museum of Art
900 Lafayette Boulevard: The Museum displays works from artists such as Rodin, Picasso, Matisse and Chagall; it holds one of the most significant collections of any two-year college.
Klein Memorial Auditorium
910 Fairfield Avenue: Since its feeble beginnings in 1940, this 1,400 seat theatre has hosted programs from symphonies, operas and theatre to local dance recitals, graduations, and union meetings. Prominent figures such as Leonard Bernstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Paul Robeson and Milton Berle have given great performances there. The auditorium has been home to the Greater Bridgeport Symphony for the past 60 years.
Seaside Lighthouse
Park Avenue: Graced with age, Seaside Lighthouse is located at the end of the beach’s jetty. Recently restored, taking a stroll to the lighthouse can be invigorating.
Seaside Park
Park Avenue: Leafy expanses, vast lawns and sports fields create the 325 acres of this sightly estate. Fayerweather Island can be found at the western end of the park. P.T. Barnum is largely responsible for the parkland’s development.
St. Mary’s by the Sea
Eames Boulevard: Located one mile from the Connecticut side of Long Island Sound, this beach has great historic and cultural interest. Power walkers will be pleased with the walkways provided at St. Mary’s by the Sea. Bird watchers and nature enthusiasts can enjoy watching egrets and other birds by the beach’s marshy inlet.
Volunteer Services
AmeriCares, Big Brothers Big Sisters SWCT, Bridge House Inc., Bridgeport Area Youth Ministry, Bridgeport Cat Project, Burroughs Community Project, Cardinal Shehan Center, Caring Connections, Catholic Family Services, Champions Mentoring Program, CT Food Bank, Fairfield Community Services, Goodwill Industries, Habitat for Humanity, International Performing Arts, Inc., Jewish Center for Community Services, Jewish Family Service, Literacy Volunteers of Southeastern Fairfield County, Mercy Learning Center, Operation Hope, Salvation Army, Seymour Hollander Apartments, Southern Regional Sickle Cell Association, St. Vincent’s Medical Center, Sterling House Community Center, United Way of Eastern Fairfield County, Voluntary Services for the Blind.
Transportation
Amtrak railroad transportation provides 14 trains daily, the only service stopping between New Haven and Stamford.
The Bridgeport Ferry provides year-round transportation to Port Jefferson, New York. 1,500,000 passenger and vehicle trips were made in 2004.
The Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority operates a family of bus transit services in the Greater Bridgeport Connecticut Area with services provided throughout Bridgeport, Fairfield, Stratford and Trumbull. Route 15 services extend to Shelton and Derby. Additional services include extensive minibus assistance for riders with disabilities.
Interstate 95; Connecticut Routes 8 and 25
Metro-North Commuter Railway provides 63 trains daily; 75-80 minute train ride to New York City.
Sikorsky Memorial Airport is owned by the City of Bridgeport and located off Interstate 95 in Stratford, Connecticut. The airport features both a general terminal and a vacant commercial aviation terminal, and can handle jets as large as a 727.
Accommodations
Arcade Hotel 203-333-9376
Holiday Inn 800-345-8082
Ramada Inn 203-375-8866
Homewood Suites By Hilton 203-377-3322
Historical Sites
Black Rock Harbor Lighthouse: Erected in 1808
Bridgeport City Hall: Erected in 1720
Bridgeport Public Library: Erected in 1882
Congregation B'nai Israel: Erected in 1859
Housatonic Railroad: Erected in 1840
Palace and Majestic Theatres: Erected in 1922
Penfield Reef Lighthouse: Erected in 1874
Pleasure Beach: Erected in 1892
Priscilla Dailey (Canal Boat): Erected in 1929
Seaside Park: Erected in 1865
St. Augustine’s Cathedral: Erected in 1865
St. John’s Episcopal Church: Erected in 1748
West End Congregation Achavath Achim Synagogue: Erected in 1926
