Bridgeport’s most famous resident, and one-time mayor, was master showman Phineas Taylor (P.T.) Barnum. Barnum built three Victorian mansions in the city and a museum on Main Street whose Byzantine and Moorish design was every bit as flamboyant as the owner’s “Greatest Show on Earth.” The temple-like McLevy Hall is also historic – Abraham Lincoln spoke against slavery here in 1860, before he was much known outside of Illinois. Other standout downtown buildings include heritage structures on Golden Hill: the Old Fairfield County Courthouse, the Cabaret Theatre, and the United Methodist Church.
There are plenty of water-related landmarks around Long Island Sound to stir civic pride, including the Fayerweather Island Light and the Tongue Point Light. The Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry has been operating for so long that Barnum was one of the original moneymen in the venture.
Bridgeport’s aggressive redevelopment has created a diverse housing market that includes 13,809 single family residences, 7,861 multi-family properties, and 6,200 apartments for sale. Renters can investigate 872 apartments and there are 151 other residential properties as well for those looking outside the box. Business property in the Bridgeport real estate market includes 1,791 commercial properties and 561 industrial sites. Another 291 city properties are zoned for mixed use. The most obvious recent real estate trend in Bridgeport is the aggressive anti-blight program that has removed abandoned and hazardous buildings from the streetscape, contributing to the 1,319 vacant lots available for development.
The Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority runs 19 bus routes throughout the city and into surrounding towns in southern Connecticut. The Bridgeport Metro-North station is the hub for commuter rail services and Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan is exactly 1 hour and 21 minutes away. Three ferry boats shuttle cars and passengers across Long Island Sound to Port Jefferson, New York.
The students in Bridgeport’s 30 public elementary schools have a range of options as they progress in the education system – three general achievement high schools, two alternative programs and a unique vocational aquaculture school. The University of Bridgeport has the 10th most racially diverse student body in the country according the U.S. News & World Report.
St. Vincent’s Medical Center and Bridgeport Hospital are the city’s two largest employers. The latter is an affiliate of the esteemed 200-year old Yale School of Medicine.
The chances of property crime in Connecticut’s largest city are somewhat higher than the state as a whole – 1 in 42 in Bridgeport and 1 in 55 in the Constitution State. The numbers for violent crime are a 1 in 148 chance in Bridgeport, and 1 in 458 in Connecticut.
The Barnum Museum is still as good a place as any to start to capture the spirit of Bridgeport. The Discovery Museum and Planetarium is the logical next stop of your get-to-know Bridgeport tour. The Beardsley Zoo, with 110 species of animals, is Connecticut’s only zoo. One of the state’s largest greenhouses is also on the grounds. Housatonic Community College owns the largest public collection of art of any two-year school in the nation.
Bridgeport steps up with an array of performing arts venues, like the intimate Playhouse on the Green; the Klein Memorial Auditorium, which hosts national touring acts; and the Webster Bank Arena, a 10,000-seat multi-purpose facility.
Any outing in Bridgeport can be paired with a stop at Merritt Canteen on Main Street where the sweet potato fries, chili, and clam chowder have been drawing in crowds since 1942. With 325 acres of green interspersed with beaches, Seaside Park is Bridgeport’s marquee waterside destination for sailors, cyclists, hikers, and picnickers.
