Seaside Park, located in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...

, is a long crescent-shaped park bordering

Bridgeport Harbor Bridgeport Harbor is an inlet on the north side of Long Island Sound in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It was carved by the retreat of the glaciers during the last ice age approximately 13,000 years ago. Bridgeport Harbor is a federal shipping port and ...

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

, and

Black Rock Harbor Black Rock Harbor is located in Bridgeport, Connecticut on Long Island Sound. The Black Rock Harbor Light on Fayerweather Island

History

As Bridgeport rapidly grew in population in the 19th century, residents recognized the need for more

public parks A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

. In 1863, ''The Standard'' urged the creation of one or more public parks in the city and a movement to create a park along

and

Black Rock Harbor Black Rock Harbor is located in Bridgeport, Connecticut on Long Island Sound. The Black Rock Harbor Light on Fayerweather Island P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...

and other residents had donated approximately to create Seaside Park, gradually increased to about by 1884. In 1867, plans for a seawall and a driving track and walkway were made and drawings for the park were obtained from

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...

whose firm completed the work. Barnum donated additional land between Iranistan Avenue, Barnum Dyke, and Waldemere Avenue in 1878. In 1866, work on a Soldiers' monument was begun and the completed monument was dedicated in 1876. In 1884, a statue of

Elias Howe Elias Howe Jr. (; July 9, 1819October 3, 1867) was an American inventor best known for his creation of the modern lockstitch sewing machine. Early life Elias Howe Jr. was born on July 9, 1819, to Dr. Elias Howe Sr. and Polly (Bemis) Howe in S ...

was added and a bronze statue of Barnum (created by Thomas Ball) was added in 1893. A final major monument, the William Hunt Perry Memorial Arch (designed by Henry Bacon, architect of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.) was added in 1918. In 1884, Olmsted described Seaside Park as "a capital place for a drive or walk.... a fine dressy promenade." In the early 1900s the park's driving track was still being used for

horse driving Driving, when applied to horses, ponies, mules, or donkeys, is a broad term for hitching equines to a wagon, carriage, cart, sleigh, or other horse-drawn vehicle by means of a harness and working them in this way. It encompasses a wide ran ...

, but enthusiasts of early

automobiles A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

also raced their " steam carriages" and " gasoline cars" on the park's track. The addition of Fayerweather Island in 1911 and Barnum Field in 1936, coupled with landfill operations, increased the size of the park to its present total of . Seaside Park was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1982.

Calvert Vaux Calvert Vaux (; December 20, 1824 – November 19, 1895) was an English-American architect and landscape designer, best known as the co-designer, along with his protégé and junior partner Frederick Law Olmsted, of what would become New York Ci ...

, and Egbert Viele were the principal architects of the design. Bridgeport architect Ernest G. Southey drew plans for the Casino ('old' bath house). The site contains three major historic buildings, the Casino (1918), stables erected at the same time and, on Fayerweather Island, Black Rock Harbor Light erected in 1823. and From 1994 to 2002, Bridgeport's Parks Department spent some $9 million on improvements. Results include a realignment of roads, more parking and a new bathhouse on the west beach with bathrooms, showers and cabanas. Not everyone was pleased about the physical changes. Charles W. Brilvitch, the city's official Historian said of the changes: "They've just disrespected the original design of the park. It was designed to have a boulevard along the waterfront, and now we've got parking lots, and we've got all this junk, this modern sculpture -- stuff that just doesn't belong in an Olmsted, Vaux and Viele park." Joe P. Gresko, the city's spokesperson, said "When Olmsted designed the park, it was back in the 1800s, when vehicles were really rare to be seen. If we kept it as is, you're asking everyone to walk to the park. I think we've improved the park. Keeping the old bathhouse and renovating it is an example of how we're trying to keep the original design in mind."

Music in the park

Seaside Park has a long history of being a venue for concerts. When the idea of Sunday concerts "for the benefit of the working people" was proposed in 1890, many neighboring residents opposed the plan, but Barnum, whose own home abutted the park, championed the cause in the local papers. When there was talk of police interference at the first concert, Barnum told the band leader to come play at his home and that the grounds would be open to all who wanted to hear the music. In the 1930s, the Bridgeport

WPA WPA may refer to: Computing *Wi-Fi Protected Access, a wireless encryption standard *Windows Product Activation, in Microsoft software licensing * Wireless Public Alerting (Alert Ready), emergency alerts over LTE in Canada * Windows Performance An ...

Orchestra, a statewide unit of the

Federal Music Project The Federal Music Project (FMP) was a part of the New Deal program Federal Project Number One provided by the U.S. federal government which employed musicians, conductors and composers during the Great Depression. In addition to performing thousan ...

, gave Thursday night concerts free to the public with amplification provided by the city. Starting in summer 1999 and 2000, and every year since 2007, Seaside Park has been home to ''

Gathering of the Vibes Gathering of the Vibes (often abbreviated as GOTV) was an annual four-day music, camping and arts festival that celebrated the Grateful Dead and showcased a diverse variety of music. Over the course of the event, styles would often include funk, ...

'' an annual four-day

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

and

arts festival An arts festival is a festival that can encompass a wide range of art forms including music, dance, film, fine art, literature, poetry and isn't solely focused on visual arts. Arts festivals may feature a mixed program that include music, lite ...

that celebrates the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

and showcases a diverse variety of music.

Facilities

Seaside Park offers many amenities including ball fields, picnic areas, a bathing beach, bath houses, and hiking trails. Parts of the park offering views of the water are wheelchair accessible. Food concessions, an access pier and boat launching facilities are available.

References

External links

*
Seaside Park History
- City of Bridgeport {{National Register of Historic Places Parks in Fairfield County, Connecticut Geography of Bridgeport, Connecticut Tourist attractions in Bridgeport, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Fairfield County, Connecticut Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut

History

Music in the park

Facilities

See also

References

External links