Pleasure Beach

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This article is about the area in Connecticut, for the Pleasure Beach in Blackpool (UK), see Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

Pleasure Beach is the Bridgeport portion of a Connecticut barrier beach that extends 2-1/2 miles easterly from Point No Point (the portion in the adjoining Town of Stratford is known as Long Beach). It is surrounded on three sides by water (Lewis Gut to the north, Bridgeport Harbor to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south).

From 1892 until 1958, it was home to a popular amusement park of the same name (also known for a brief interlude [1905-1919] as 'Steeplechase Island'). It was accessed by ferry service and by a wooden drawbridge that accommodated automobiles and pedestrians completed in 1919. Currently, Pleasure Beach is a place of refuge to endangered birds (piping plover, osprey) and plants (prickly pear cactus, southern sea lavender). Sections of the beach are roped off seasonally to protect the plover nesting areas. There is also an abundance of white-tailed rabbits, deer, foxes, raccoons, and other mammals. The sand spit is estimated to contain more than 25% of the remaining undeveloped beachfront in the entire state.

After a portion of the bridge burned in June of 1996, Pleasure Beach was suddenly cut off and became accessible only by a lengthy trek along the shoreline, or by small boat from the mainland. This has severely limited human incursion and allowed nature to make something of a comeback.

There are a total of 45 cottages on that Long Beach portion owned by the Town of Stratford. The leasing and ownership of these seasonal homes had caused controversy for a decade. In May of 2007, the remaining occupants agreed to give up their claims, and their possessions were removed by barge. The cottages are currently (February 2008) open to the weather and vandals.

The transmitter towers for radio station WICC (AM) are located on Pleasure Beach,[1] which requires using an amphibious landing craft to reach the facility when carrying cargo[2]. There are also the carousel structure, dodge-'em car enclosure, and beer garden (substantially altered for use as a summer theater in the 1960s).