A white concrete obelisk in Bridgeport’s Seaside Village honors residents who have served in the country’s wars. The obelisk, at the southern end of a green located near the center of the village, bears a dedication on its front (south) face reading, “Dedicated in honor of those men & women of Seaside Village who have […]
The founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was honored with a monument in Bridgeport’s Seaside Park thanks to showman and former mayor P.T. Barnum. The monument, a fountain that was later converted into a planter, was dedicated in 1897 to honor Henry Bergh’s lifelong efforts to protect animals. Bergh […]
UPDATE: Removed in July of 2020 A statue of explorer Christopher Columbus in Bridgeport’s Seaside Park has stared into Long Island Sound for nearly 45 years. The statue, by sculptor Clemente Spampinato, depicts Columbus, with a map in one hand, standing at the bow of a ship. The statue stands on a black base, with […]
Continue reading about Christopher Columbus Statue, Bridgeport
A cannon captured from a Spanish warship has been mounted in Bridgeport’s Seaside Park to honor the service of local residents during the Spanish-American War. The bronze cannon, which faces southeast into Long Island Sound, was cast in Seville on December 13, 1794, according to a date inscribed near the cannon’s neck. We assume the […]
Continue reading about Spanish-American War Monument, Bridgeport
The first statue erected in Bridgeport’s Seaside Park honors local industrialist and Civil War hero Elias Howe, Jr. The monument was dedicated in 1884 to honor Howe, who invented the first practical sewing machine and built a Bridgeport factory to build the machines. Several inventors created similar machines about the same time as Howe, but […]
Bridgeport honors the local men who served in the Civil War with an elaborate monument in Seaside Park. The monument features a large, granite base with several decorative elements that narrows into a shaft topped by a bronze allegorical figure representing the United States. The monument’s side feature bronze statues depicting an infantry soldier and […]
Continue reading about Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, Bridgeport
Bridgeport has honored the memory of circus showman, mayor and philanthropist P.T. Barnum with a statue at the intersection of Iranistan Avenue and Soundview Drive in Seaside Park. The P.T. Barnum statue, which faces south, depicts a seated Barnum with a book in his left hand. An inscription at the bottom of the base lists […]
The Perry Memorial arch in Bridgeport’s Seaside Park stands at the park’s main entrance, at the foot of, naturally enough, Park Avenue. The granite archway was dedicated in 1918 to honor William H. Perry, who had served as superintendent of the Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Company, a sewing machine producer that would later be acquired […]
A large bronze and granite monument in Bridgeport’s Mountain Grove Cemetery honors local Civil War dead buried in distant battlefields. The Pro Patria (“For One’s Country” in Latin) monument was dedicated in 1906 by the local Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) post, with funding help from the state. The front (south) face of the […]
On the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, the city of Bridgeport dedicated a new memorial honoring the 550 local residents lost in World War II. The new monument, made from polished black granite, was dedicated during a ceremony Saturday morning that featured World War II veterans and local officials who gathered on the Broad […]