Black Rock, Connecticut
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Black Rock is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the city of
Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the List of cities in New England by population, fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Loc ...
. It borders Fairfield and the Ash Creek tidal estuary on the west, the West Side/West End of Bridgeport on the north and east, and Black Rock Harbor and
Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), 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 (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...
on the south. Black Rock comprises
census tract A census tract, census area, census district or meshblock is a geographic region defined for the purpose of taking a census. Sometimes these coincide with the limits of cities, towns or other administrative areas and several tracts commonly exis ...
s 701 and 702 and part of census tract 703. It includes two
historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...
s listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. Residences comprise 86% of properties in Black Rock, 10% are commercial, and 4% are industrial or other property classes.


History

Black Rock was first settled in 1644 by a group of settlers led by Thomas Wheeler. The region was also inhabited by Native Americans, who relinquished their settlement in the area in 1681. During the early days of Black Rock, the area was also the community of Stratfield, which has also been absorbed into modern
Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...
. Stratfield was originally known as Pequonnock and was located about midway between Black Rock and the original settlement of Bridgeport. The cemetery known as Stratfield Burying Place is located here and has many of Black Rock's early settlers interred there. Black Rock was incorporated into Bridgeport in 1870. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, wealthy merchants built homes in Black Rock in an array of different architectural styles, including
Mediterranean Revival Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada, and certain other countries in the 19th century. It incorporated references to Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonial, Italian Renaissance, French Colonial ...
and
Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...
. One of these homes, with of land and 16 rooms ("The Chimneys"), is located on Old Battery Road. The S. S. Norden Club is a private club founded in 1902, the first of a number of private clubs in the neighborhood. A Carnegie Library was built in the neighborhood in 1932, which would later become the Black Rock Branch Library, a branch of the Bridgeport Public Library system.


Historic districts

There are two
historic districts A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from ce ...
in the neighborhood that have been listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. The Black Rock Historic District was created on March 15, 1979, and comprises a number of houses and other structures from the mid 18th Century through the late 19th Century. The other historic district is the Black Rock Gardens Historic District, created on September 26, 1990. The district comprises 7 acres of emergency housing built for workers during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.


Present-day

Black Rock maintains a leafy and seaside character which is typically viewed in stark contrast to the more industrial and urban character of Bridgeport as a whole. Despite this, the area is more affordable compared to many of the surrounding towns, partially due to the association of the neighborhood with Bridgeport. The neighborhood maintains a diverse character, with sizable Irish,
Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
, Jamaican, and
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...
communities. Many who move to the neighborhood are retirees, but the area is also home to a small but growing art scene. In July 2009, the Black Rock Branch Library, the area's library, expanded in size from 6,000 to 11,000 square feet, and was renovated to be outfitted with
wi-fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...
and public computers. On December 5, 2011, the Fairfield Metro station opened on, which eased the burden on Fairfield station, and made commuting via Metro-North easier for Black Rock residents. While the neighborhood is overwhelmingly residential, there is a significant commercial presence along Fairfield Avenue, the main thoroughfare, which connects Black Rock to Fairfield and downtown Bridgeport. Fairfield Avenue is in a state of transition with older businesses being replaced by upscale restaurants, cafes, espresso bars, gourmet ice cream shops, and art galleries. The neighborhood's residential areas lie on either side of Fairfield Avenue, with the area of least density being a section called St. Mary's-by-the-Sea, which consists of Resident AA zoned properties (which require a minimum lot of 11,250 SF). Grovers Hill is the highest elevation in Black Rock and some of the most expensive properties in Black Rock are located on this hill with views of Long Island Sound. There are also direct waterfront properties, including two condominium complexes on the Sound and two on the Ash Creek tidal estuary. St. Mary's-by-the-Sea also has a public park along the Sound with half a mile of sidewalks and an area for bird watching.


Transportation

Fairfield Avenue is Black Rock's primary artery. Black Rock is also accessible from exit 25 on
I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
and from
Route 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered S ...
, both of which run just north of the area. Black Rock is served by the Fairfield–Black Rock station on Metro-North's
New Haven Line The New Haven Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Metro-North Railroad in the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Connecticut. Running from New Haven, Connecticut, to New York City, the New Haven Line joins the Harlem Line ...
, located just across Ash Creek in neighboring Fairfield, which opened on December 5, 2011. Two
Greater Bridgeport Transit Greater Bridgeport Transit (GBT) is a Mass transit, transit service serving the Greater Bridgeport region of the U.S. state of Connecticut. Greater Bridgeport Transit was established in 1971 in anticipation of diminished bus service by the Connec ...
bus routes run in Black Rock, primarily along Fairfield Avenue. The Coastal Link, a service provided in conjunction with the
Norwalk Transit District The Norwalk Transit District (NTD) is the primary provider of public transportation services in Norwalk, Connecticut, United States, and surrounding communities. The local Norwalk fixed-route bus rapid transit, bus transit system, is the primary ...
and the
Milford Transit District Milford Transit District is the primary provider of mass transportation in Milford, Connecticut, United States. Two routes provided by the agency operate Monday-Saturday, and one route operates Monday-Friday. Routes/Schedules Coastal Link Mil ...
, runs eastbound to the
Connecticut Post Mall The Connecticut Post Mall is a super-regional shopping center located on U.S. Route 1 in Milford, Connecticut. The center comprises 1.3 million square feet of leasable space and features 125 stores. It is the largest mall in the state of Connecti ...
in Milford and westbound to the Norwalk Wheels Hub in
Central Norwalk The Central or Midtown section of Norwalk, Connecticut is an urbanized area in roughly the geographic center of the city, north of the South Norwalk neighborhood and the Connecticut Turnpike. Wall Street, West Avenue and Belden Avenue are the ...
. Greater Bridgeport Transit's Route 5 runs south along Brewster Street (the primary north–south artery that links the neighborhood to neighboring Fairfield) and provides additional eastbound service along Fairfield Avenue. Route 5's primary terminus is the intermodal transit center in Downtown Bridgeport, where riders can make connections to several other bus routes and
Metro-North The Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company , also branded as MTA Metro-North Railroad and commonly called simply Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of ...
. Service along these routes typically run every 30 minutes Monday through Saturday, while Sunday service is hourly.


Business Association

The Black Rock Business Association (BRBA), originated in 2005, is a group of Black Rock business owners who work together to promote Black Rock as a shopping, dining and entertainment district. The Black Rock Business Association's activities include: *Black Rock Harvest Hootenanny *Managing local website and calendar for www.EnjoyBlackRock.com *Seasonal neighborhood clean-up projects *Business development workshops, open to the community *Sponsorship of neighborhood enhancements, such as trash pick-up


Bodies of water

* Black Rock Harbor * Cedar Creek * Ash Creek *
Rooster River Rooster River is a river in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County, Connecticut that lies on and serves as the border between Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport and Fairfield, Connecticut, Fairfield.
*
Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), 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 (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...
* Burr Creek


Climate

Black Rock has an overall moderate climate, the average January temperature is around 23 degrees (F) and the average high in July is 82 degrees (F). Black Rock has in the past been hit with a number of large winter snow storms. Although the average snowfall is 29", the following is the list of top snow-accumulating winters (October 1 - April 30):National Weather Service # 1995-96 - 75.7" # 2002-03 - 64" # 2010-11 - 62.6" # 1966-67 - 61.6" # 2012-13 - 61.3"


Notable residents

*
John Ratzenberger John Dezso Ratzenberger (born April 6, 1947)About John
from Ratzenberger's official website
is an Americ ...
, actor *
Christopher Shays Christopher Hunter Shays (born October 18, 1945) is an American politician. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives as representative of the 4th District of Connecticut from 1987 to 2009. He is a member of the Repub ...
, former Fourth District congressman * David Walker,
Comptroller General of the United States The comptroller general of the United States is the director of the Government Accountability Office (GAO, formerly known as the General Accounting Office), a legislative-branch agency established by Congress in 1921 to ensure the fiscal and man ...
and head of the
Government Accountability Office The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan government agency within the legislative branch that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the s ...
(GAO) and author of ''Comeback America'' (published January 2010) * Sidney Wood, tennis player


Notes


External links


"Living in St. Mary's-by-the-Sea, Connecticut" by C. J. Hughes
in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' Real Estate section, May 23, 2010
Black Rock Community BlogFayerweather Yacht ClubBlack Rock Yacht ClubBlack Rock Business Association"Black Rock history""Black Rock's spy, Caleb Brewster, in the American Revolution, member of the Culper Spy Ring"
* ttp://bportlibrary.org/hc/business-and-commerce/the-charles-cooper-the-only-surviving-american-packet-ship/ "Black Rock shipping history, the Charles Cooper: The Only Surviving American Packet Ship"br>"Historic Districts"


Further reading

*Black Rock: A Bicentennial Picture Book - A Visual History of the Old Seaport of Bridgeport: 1644 to 1976, edited and designed by Dick Jones and published by the Black Rock Civic and Men's Club, Inc. in 1976. {{authority control Geography of Bridgeport, Connecticut Neighborhoods in Connecticut Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in the United States Populated coastal places in Connecticut 1644 establishments in Connecticut Populated places established in 1644