Bridgeport, Connecticut

"Bridgeport" redirects here. For other uses, see Bridgeport (disambiguation).

Bridgeport
City
Seaside Park
Perry Memorial Arch, facing southwards towards Seaside Park
Downtown Bridgeport facing southeast from a parking garage
Downtown Bridgeport
Providence Bruins vs Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the Total Mortgage Arena
Total Mortgage Arena
Bridgeport Station
Bridgeport Station
a front view of the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater during the Sound on Sound Music Festival
Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
View of People's bank building and downtown from I-95
Bridgeport Center
Front view of the The Barnum Museum, a collection of famous shownman and former mayor of Bridgeport
Barnum Museum
Entrance to Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
Flag of Bridgeport
Flag
Official seal of Bridgeport
Seal
Official logo of Bridgeport
Nicknames: 
The Park City, BPT[1]
Mottoes: 
  • Industria Crecimus (Latin)
  • "By industry we thrive" (English)
Bridgeport's location within Fairfield County and Connecticut
Map
Map
Map
Coordinates: 41°11′11″N 73°11′44″W / 41.18639°N 73.19556°W / 41.18639; -73.19556
CountryUnited States
StateConnecticut
CountyFairfield
RegionCT Metropolitan
MSABridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk
CSANew York
Incorporated (town)1821
Incorporated (city)1836
Named forA drawbridge over the Pequonnock River
Government
 • TypeMayor-council
 • MayorJoseph P. Ganim (D)
Area
 • City19.4 sq mi (50.2 km2)
 • Land16.0 sq mi (41.4 km2)
 • Water3.4 sq mi (8.8 km2)
 • Urban
397.29 sq mi (1,029.0 km2)
Elevation
3 ft (1 m)
Population
 (2020)[2][3]
 • City148,654
 • RankUS: 172nd
 • Density9,290.875/sq mi (3,587.228/km2)
 • Urban
[4]
916,408 (US: 51st)
 • Urban density2,306.6/sq mi (890.6/km2)
 • Metro
939,904 (US: 57th)
DemonymBridgeporter
GDP
[5]
 • Bridgeport (MSA)$104.368 billion (2022)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (Eastern)
ZIP Codes
06601–06602, 06604–06608, 06610, 06650, 06673, 06699[6]
Area code(s)203/475
FIPS code09-08000
GNIS feature ID205720
AirportSikorsky Memorial Airport
Major highways
Commuter rail
Websitebridgeportct.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]

  1. ^ "BPT Wants to Know - Bridgeport, CT". Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  2. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "US Census Bureau QuickFacts: Connecticut; Bridgeport". Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  4. ^ "List of 2020 Census Urban Areas". census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  5. ^ "Total Gross Domestic Product for Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT (MSA)". fred.stlouisfed.org.
  6. ^ "All Zip Codes in Bridgeport CT". www.zip-codes.com. Archived from the original on July 21, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  7. ^ "Annual Town and County Population for Connecticut". portal.ct.gov. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  8. ^ Andrews, Evan. "10 Things You May Not Know About P.T. Barnum". HISTORY. Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  9. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bridgeport" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 532.
  10. ^ "Dental Hygiene School in CT | University of Bridgeport". Archived from the original on July 4, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  11. ^ Only in Bridgeport, a History of the Park City: Lenne Grimaldi
  12. ^ "First US Detachable Electric Plug – Today in History: November 8 - Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project". November 8, 2020. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  13. ^ "History Of Frisbies". Archived from the original on November 10, 2007. Retrieved November 28, 2007.
  14. ^ Emily Ross, Angus Holland (2005). One hundred great businesses and the minds behind them. Sourcebooks, Inc. p. 388. ISBN 978-1-4022-0631-3.
  15. ^ Magubane, Vukani (October 13, 1985). "If You're Thinking of Living in; Bridgeport". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  16. ^ "Bridgeport CT Crime Rate 2004-2018". Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  17. ^ "History – SHU Discovery Science Center". Archived from the original on August 13, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  18. ^ "About the Museum". Archived from the original on July 3, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  19. ^ "Sacred Heart and University of Bridgeport". June 30, 2020. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  20. ^ "About". Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  21. ^ "Most diverse cities in the United States". September 7, 2021. Archived from the original on December 4, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  22. ^ "The 25 most diverse cities in the United States". February 10, 2021. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  23. ^ "22. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut". August 23, 2017. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  24. ^ "Park Information - Bridgeport, CT". Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  25. ^ "Parkscore for Bridgeport, CT - TPL". Archived from the original on December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.