Downtown Stamford
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Downtown Stamford, Connecticut is an economically thriving section of Stamford, Connecticut, USA, with major retail establishments, a shopping mall and the headquarters of major corporations, as well as other retail businesses and offices. In recent years more housing has been built in the neighborhood, and more is planned.
With transportation widely seen as one of the biggest challenges facing the economy of Stamford, the Downtown has become more important as an area within walking distance of the Metro-North train station, which is one of the busiest on the New Haven Line.
The Downtown area has been the heart of Stamford, Connecticut since colonial times. Much of the history of Stamford took place there.
The city plans to make improvements to the Atlantic Street underpass beneath the New Haven Line railroad tracks just east of the Stamford Transportation Center in order to alleviate a traffic bottleneck.[1] The improvements are also meant to allow quicker evacuation of areas of the South End if disaster strikes.[citation needed] The project received a $245,000 earmark in the federal budget passed in December 2007.[1]
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[edit] Location
In relation to other neighborhoods in Stamford, the Downtown is east of the West Side (separated by the Mill River), north of the South End (separated by Interstate 95 and the Metro-North Railroad tracks) and Shippan (also separated by the highway and railroad), west of the East Side and Glenbrook, and south of Newfield, Belltown, High Ridge and Turn of River. Bull's Head, the mostly commercial area at the intersection of High Ridge Road and Long Ridge Road, is immediately north of the Downtown.
[edit] Distinctive Architecture
VICTOR BISHARAT'S BUILDINGS
Many of the most distinctive buildings in downtown Stamford were designed by the late Victor Bisharat, a Jordanian who received his education at the American University in Beiruit, Lebanon and at the University of California at Berkeley. His Stamford buildings were designed for F.D. Rich Co.[2] (For information on Bisharat's buildings on High Ridge Road, see Arts and culture in Stamford, Connecticut.)
- St. John's Towers -- The three cylindrical, 17-story towers were finished in 1971.
- One Stamford Forum-- Looking like an upside-down ziggurat above its three-story parking garage, the building has an enclosed arboretum rising from the ninth floor to the penthouse roof, which is covered by 76 acrylic glass domes. Formerly the "GTE building" named after a former tenant, the 13-floor structure is 196 feet (60 meters) high. GTE used to show off the building in numerous magazine advertisements. In the 1990s, the Tresser Boulevard entrance to the building was changed (in a design by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum) from a "formidably stark concrete wall of a parking garage" to "a more inviting entrance ... clad in blue-gray ceramic tiles, with a lobby, canopy, colonnade and small garden."[3]
- One Landmark Square -- completed in 1973 at a cost of $35 million,[4] the skyscraper became the tallest building between New York City and New Haven. The "Landmark" in its name is no exaggeration. When it was built, the 23-story structure towered over a much lower skyline, but it remains the tallest and one of the most distinctive buildings in downtown Stamford. Five smaller buildings, designed by Moshe Safdie, were later built around the tower.[3]
OTHER BUILDINGS
- One Atlantic Street -- Art Deco interiors, with murals in the ground-floor bank, and Art Deco exterior details as well. The red-brick/white marble building at the corner of Broad and Atlantic streets was finished in 1931 and for a long time was the tallest in Stamford.
- University of Connecticut Campus -- The 225,000-square-foot building with the vast, green glass facade at the corner of Washington and Broad streets was designed by Perkins Eastman Architects.[3]
- Old Town Hall — The Beaux Arts building was built from 1905 to 1907 and served as the seat of local government until the early 1960s. The building opened for business on March 20, 1907. The last mayor to work there was J. Walter Kennedy, who moved to the Municipal Office Building that was on Atlantic Street (now torn down) in about 1961. The Old Town Hall held offices for the city government until all city offices were moved to 888 Washington Blvd. in 1987.[5]
- The "Fish Church," or the First Presbyterian Church of Stamford, was designed by Wallace K. Harrison, the chief architect of the United Nations buildings in New York City, and opened in 1958. The fish shape is obvious to anyone who drives by, but the floor plan is also fish-shaped. The stained glass windows in the sanctuary contain more than 20,000 pieces of faceted glass. They depict the story of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. The 32-foot-high cross is faced with wood from Canterbury Cathedral. "Brilliant blues, reds and yellows make up the walls -- and seem to fill the air. 'It really is like being inside a jewel,' says Reverend David R. Van Dyke, a co-pastor. 'When I bring people who haven't been here before, there's an audible gasp.'" (Life Magazine, April 14, 2005)[6] In March 1958, the $1.5 million church was dedicated with capacity crowds filling it for three services.[7]
[edit] Shopping
By city ordinance, all large stores in Stamford must be located within the Downtown Special Services District, unless special waivers are given. The area includes the Stamford Town Center, an indoor shopping mall in the heart of the Downtown.
[edit] Entertainment
Most of Stamford's larger entertainment venues are located in the downtown, including the Palace Theatre, Rich Forum and various movie theaters. The area around Columbus Park has become a center for bars and restaurants, although both can be found elsewhere Downtown and around the city.
[edit] Mill River Park
Mill River Park, which separates Downtown from the West Side, is to be expanded in an $8.5 million project, including $4 million in federal funding earmarked in 2007, with the city government financing the rest of the cost. The federal funding is to pay for removing the Mill River dam and dredging. That part of the project is the first step in the long-planned renovation of the park.[1]
The project plans call for narrowing the width of the river to less than half of its current expanse, which would expand the park's area and provide space for more amenities. The master plan provides for a carousel, fountain, ice rink and network of trails connecting a greenway with the Kosciuszko, Southfield and Scalzi parks. Removing the dam will also allow fish to swim up from Long Island Sound. As of 2007, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had spent $800,000 on preliminary studies, planning and design.[1]
The cherry trees in Mill River Park were presented to the city on April 27, 1957 by Junzo Nojima, a native of Japan who had settled in the city in 1926 and in 1932 became the first Japanese man to own a restaurant in the state (K&J Three Decker Restaurant on Atlantic Street). Nojima gave the city 120 trees, and for three years he watered each one until they took root. He gave the city instructions on how to care for them, but when they were overlooked, he began tending the trees himself. On Arbor Day, April 27, 2007, the city celebrated the 50th anniversary of the gift with a ceremony at the park.[8]
[edit] Events
The Downtown Special Services District sponsors "Alive@Five" concerts in Columbus Park in the summer, as well as an annual Thanksgiving Day parade with large balloons. Both events bring thousands of people into the Downtown.
[edit] Filming locations
- Almost all of Elia Kazan's 1947 film, Boomerang was shot in Stamford, Connecticut, and most of that in the downtown area. The Old Town Hall was used, particularly the old Police Department offices and the stairway leading up from them to the courtroom. For a scene in which a pastor was killed, the movie used the front and sidewalk of the Plaza Theatre, which stood on Greyrock Place (a driveway leading into the Stamford Town Center Mall is at that location now). The former offices of The Advocate of Stamford, on Atlantic Street, were also used. "[I]t wasn't an oddity to run into Dana Andrews, one of the stars of the movie, in a local restaurant, or to see other stars on the street," according to Don Russell, a columnist for The Advocate.[9]
- Part of Otto Preminger's 1963 film, The Cardinal, was shot in St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church on Atlantic Street. Some people stood for hours on the east side of Atlantic Street (across the street from the church) to get a glimpse of the stars.[9]
[edit] Pictures
 Atlantic Square, ca. 1908 |
 Ferguson Library, ca. 1912 |
 Universalist Church and parsonage, ca. 1905 |
 Same church and parsonage, 2007 |
 Prospect Street, ca. 1915 |
 Prospect Street, same spot, 2007 |
 First Congregational Church, ca. 1913 |
 Same church in 2007 |
 Hotel Davenport, from a postcard sent in 1916 |
 West Park, 1905 |
 West Park, 1906 |
 West Park, 1910 |
 Central Park, circa 1910-1919 |
 Suburban Avenue, circa 1908 |
 U.S. Post Office, circa 1911 |
 Summer Street, circa 1909 |
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d Porstner, Donna, "Stamford to get $7M from feds", The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, December 20, 2007, Stamford edition, page 1
- ^ Emporis web site, accessed July 5, 2006
- ^ a b c [1]Dunlap, David W., "Stamford Reinvents Its Downtown Once Again" New York Times, January 5, 1997
- ^ [2] Charles, Eleanor, "In the Region/Connecticut: A Landmark Becomes Less of a Fortress," May 1, 2005, The New York Times Real Estate section, accessed August 9, 2005
- ^ Dalena, Doug, "100 years ago, Old town hall had something new to offer", article in The Advocate of Stamford, page 1, Stamford and Norwalk editions
- ^ [3]"America's Coolest Churches," Life magazine, April 14, 2005, accessed July 5, 2006.
- ^ Walsh, Erin, "From the Archives: The Week of March 9" weekly column in The Advocate of Stamford, March 10, 2008, p A5
- ^ Deka, Christina, special correspondent, "On Arbor Day, city will honor deep roots: Event will mark 50 years of Mill River cherry trees", news article in The Advocate (Stamford) of Stamford, Connecticut, page A11
- ^ a b Russell, Don, "'Roles' in movies are nothing new for city: Kazan used Stamford in the '40s", editorial page column in The Advocate, Stamford edition, page A10, April 25, 2007
[edit] External links
- Stamford Downtown Special Services District, established in 1993
- City of Stamford
- Stamford Historical Society
- Stamford CT Guide
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