Norwalk, Connecticut | |||
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— City — | |||
Norwalk City Hall, with Concert Hall | |||
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Motto: E Pluribus Unum | |||
Location in Fairfield County, Connecticut | |||
Coordinates: | |||
Country | United States | ||
State | Connecticut | ||
County | Fairfield | ||
NECTA | Bridgeport-Stamford | ||
Region | South Western Region | ||
Incorporated | 1651 | ||
Consolidated | 1913 | ||
Government | |||
• Type | Mayor-council | ||
• Mayor | Dick Moccia (R) | ||
Area | |||
• Total | 36.3 sq mi (94.0 km2) | ||
• Land | 22.8 sq mi (59.1 km2) | ||
• Water | 13.5 sq mi (35.0 km2) | ||
Elevation | 36 ft (11 m) | ||
Population (2010)[1] | |||
• Total | 85,603 | ||
• Density | 3,703.7/sq mi (1,430/km2) | ||
Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | ||
• Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | ||
ZIP code | 06850-06860 | ||
Area code(s) | 203 | ||
FIPS code | 09-55990 | ||
GNIS feature ID | 0209405 | ||
Website | http://www.norwalkct.org |
Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of the city is 85,603, making Norwalk sixth in population in Connecticut, and third in Fairfield County.[1] The city is part of the New York metropolitan area.
The name "Norwalk" comes from the Algonquian word "noyank" meaning "point of land", or its Native American name, “Naramauke” (also spelled "Norwauke", "Norowake", or "Norwaake"), a Native American chief.
The farming of oysters has long been important to Norwalk, which was once nicknamed "Oyster Town." Each September, Norwalk holds its Oyster Festival.
Residents of Norwalk are often referred to as "Norwalkers".
Norwalk was purchased in 1640 by Roger Ludlow. The original purchase included the land between the Norwalk and Saugatuck rivers, at a distance of a "day’s walk" from the sea. Norwalk was chartered as a town on September 11, 1651.[2]
The traditional American song "Yankee Doodle" has Norwalk-related origins. During the French and Indian War, a regiment of Norwalkers arrived at Fort Crailo, NY. The British regument began to mock and ridicule the rag-tag Connecticut troops, who had only chicken feathers for a uniform. Richard Shuckburgh, a British army surgeon, added words to a popular tune of the time, Lucy Locket (e.g., “stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni”, macaroni being the London slang at the time for a foppish dandy).
In 1776, American spy Nathan Hale set out from Norwalk by ship on his ill-fated intelligence-gathering mission.
British forces under General William Tryon arrived on July 10, 1779 and almost completely destroyed Norwalk; only six houses were spared. After the Revolutionary War, many residents were compensated for their losses with free land grants in the Connecticut Western Reserve in what is now Ohio; this later became Norwalk, Ohio.
In 1849 the New York and New Haven Railroad started operating through Norwalk. In 1852 the Danbury and Norwalk Railroad connected Norwalk with Danbury. Both railroads eventually became parts of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. The first major U.S. railroad bridge disaster occurred in Norwalk in 1853 when a train plunged into the Norwalk River. Forty-six deaths and about 30 injuries resulted.
Oyster farming in Norwalk peaked from the late 19th century to the early part of the 20th century. By 1880, it had the largest fleet of steam-powered oyster boats in the world.
Norwalk was reincorporated as a borough in 1836, then reincorporated as a city in 1893 and was consolidated with the town of Norwalk in 1913. This latter event gave rise to the 1913 year that appears on the seal of the city.
In the mid-1970s, the city government and several local organizations started successful efforts to revitalize the South Norwalk business district ("SoNo"). The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk was founded as part of that effort.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 36.3 square miles (94 km2), of which, 22.8 square miles (59 km2) of it is land and 13.5 square miles (35 km2) of it (37.24%) is water.
Norwalk is composed of approximately 24 neighborhoods:
Norwalk is bordered on the east by Westport; on the north by Wilton; on the northwest by New Canaan; on the west by Darien and on the south by Long Island Sound.
Norwalk experiences warm to hot and humid summers and cold snowy winters. The seasonal extremes are tempered by proximity to Long Island Sound, with daily high temperatures several degrees cooler in summer, and nightly lows higher in winter compared to locations further inland.
On average the warmest month is July and the coolest month is January. The highest recorded temperature was 103 °F (39 °C) in July 1966, the lowest temperature was −15 °F (−26 °C) in January 1968. The maximum average precipitation occurs in September, although monthly precipitation variations are only slight (when snowfall is converted to meltwater depths as in the table below).[3]
Climate data for Norwalk | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 68 (20) |
71 (22) |
79 (26) |
95 (35) |
97 (36) |
97 (36) |
103 (39) |
97 (36) |
99 (37) |
89 (32) |
77 (25) |
66 (19) |
103 (39) |
Average high °F (°C) | 37 (3) |
39 (4) |
48 (9) |
60 (16) |
70 (21) |
79 (26) |
84 (29) |
82 (28) |
75 (24) |
64 (18) |
52 (11) |
42 (6) |
62 (17) |
Average low °F (°C) | 19 (−7) |
21 (−6) |
29 (−2) |
38 (3) |
47 (8) |
57 (14) |
62 (17) |
61 (16) |
53 (12) |
48 (9) |
33 (1) |
24 (−4) |
41 (5) |
Record low °F (°C) | −15 (−26) |
−7 (−22) |
−2 (−19) |
17 (−8) |
30 (−1) |
34 (1) |
45 (7) |
41 (5) |
31 (−1) |
17 (−8) |
14 (−10) |
−9 (−23) |
−15 (−26) |
Precipitation inches (mm) | 4.20 (106.7) |
3.03 (77) |
4.33 (110) |
4.37 (111) |
4.36 (110.7) |
3.94 (100.1) |
3.83 (97.3) |
3.89 (98.8) |
4.54 (115.3) |
3.89 (98.8) |
4.04 (102.6) |
3.96 (100.6) |
48.38 (1,228.9) |
Source: The Weather Channel[3] |
As of the 2010 U.S. Census, there were 85,603 people residing in the city.
The number of Hispanics, who may be of various races, is up by 10,889 — a 61 percent increase from the 12,966 who were counted in 2000.
Norwalk's overall population is up by 2,652. As of 2010, whites were 69 percent of the total (whites were 73.9 percent of the total in 2000); blacks, 14.2 percent; Asians, 4.8 percent; American Indians, Pacific Islanders and people counted as "some other race" were 9.4 percent of the total. Those who said they were of two or more races were 2.8 percent of the city's population (that totals 100.2 percent because the percentage figures are rounded).[4]
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 82,951 people, 32,711 households, and 20,967 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,637.3 people per square mile (1,404.1/km²). There were 33,753 housing units at an average density of 1,480.0 per square mile (571.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.95% White, 15.27% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 3.25% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 4.33% from other races, and 2.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.63% of the population.
The foreign nation in which the most residents of Norwalk were born was Colombia, the birthplace of 2.8% of Norwalk's total population and 14% of its foreign-born population.[6] There were 32,711 households, of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18, 47.9% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the city the population was 22.1% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 35.5% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 37. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females 18 or older, there were 91.4 males.
According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $70,672, and the median income for a family was $83,695.[3] Males had a median income of $46,988 versus $38,312 for females. The per capita income for the city was $31,781. About 5.0% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.6% of those under 18 and 6.3% of those 65 or older.
Norwalk leans slightly Democratic, with 1.3 active registered Democrats per Republican as of October 2005.
Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 25, 2005[7] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Active Voters | Inactive Voters | Total Voters | Percentage | |
Democratic | 13,626 | 109 | 13,735 | 29.71% | |
Republican | 10,029 | 84 | 10,113 | 21.87% | |
Unaffiliated | 21,447 | 188 | 21,635 | 46.79% | |
Minor Parties | 745 | 5 | 753 | 1.63% | |
Total | 45,850 | 386 | 46,236 | 100% |
The economy of Norwalk is spread somewhat evenly across at least 12 different NAICS industry groups according to the United States Census Bureau.[8]
NAICS code | Description | establishments | sales ($1000) | payroll ($1000) | employees |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
31–33 | Manufacturing | 147 | 1321517 | 334344 | 6897 |
42 | Wholesale trade | 178 | 4112214 | 197187 | 3053 |
44–45 | Retail trade | 404 | 2694568 | 269868 | 7455 |
51 | Information | 95 | 93210 | 1820 | |
53 | Real estate & rental & leasing | 98 | 83029 | 18108 | 443 |
54 | Professional, scientific, & technical services | 439 | 620019 | 267952 | 3874 |
56 | Administrative & support & waste management & remediation service | 234 | 1298440 | 233201 | 7824 |
61 | Educational services | 32 | 100–249 | ||
62 | Health care & social assistance | 275 | 514877 | 235061 | 5528 |
71 | Arts, entertainment, & recreation | 62 | 70408 | 21744 | 908 |
72 | Accommodation & food services | 201 | 134643 | 34692 | 2147 |
81 | Other services (except public administration) | 235 | 169490 | 54913 | 1584 |
Totals | 2400 | 11019205 | 1760280 | 41633-41782 |
Baseball and softball are popular amateur sports with active leagues across many age groups in Norwalk. There are 4 baseball fields and 16 Little League fields in the city.[9] Several of the fields are illuminated for nighttime play.[10] The Norwalk Little League team won the Little League World Series in 1952.[11] The 14 year old Babe Ruth League team won the championship in 2008.[12] In 2011, the Norwalk American Senior Legion baseball team won the Connecticut State Championship for the first time. This had not been accomplished by any other Norwalk Legion team in the storied 83 year history. The team defeated Branford, CT in the championship game.
The girls Norwalk Pride fast pitch softball team won the Connecticut State Championship in 2005, 2006, and 2007.
Being a coastal city Norwalk is home to a great many water sports including competitive swimming recreational boating and fishing, sailing, windsurfing, and kayaking. The Norwalk River and inner Norwalk Harbor host rowing events and organizations.[13] Norwalk resident Daniel Walsh won a bronze medal in Beijing with the U.S. Olympic rowing team in the 2008 Summer Olympics.[14]
There are three golf courses in the city of Norwalk.[15]
The cross town rivalry between the city's two largest high schools' sports teams can be rather fierce, particularly for the football and field hockey teams in the fall; as well as lacrosse, baseball, and softball teams in the spring. McMahon high school's boys lacrosse team went on to win the state division 2 lacrosse championship in 2000.
In professional team sports Norwalk is represented by the Connecticut Wildcats in the American National Rugby League.
The Superintendent (education) of Norwalk Public Schools is Dr. Susan Marks,.
The public school system has three high schools, each covering Grades 9 through 12: The oldest, Norwalk High School (founded in 1902) is the home of the Norwalk Bears. Brien McMahon High School (founded in 1960) is named for U.S. Senator Brien McMahon. The third is Briggs High School, which was named for Dr. Richard C. Briggs, who was superintendent of schools from 1971 to 1980. Briggs High School was formerly known as the Briggs Center for Vocational Arts and is an alternative to the two traditional high schools.
The city has four public middle schools, for grades 6–8: West Rocks Middle School and Nathan Hale Middle School, which feed into Norwalk High School, as well as Roton Middle School and Ponus Ridge Middle School, which feed into Brien McMahon High School.
There are twelve elementary schools in the Norwalk public school district: Brookside, Columbus Magnet, Cranbury, Fox Run, Jefferson, Kendall, Marvin, Naramake, Rowayton, Silvermine, Tracey, and Wolfpit. One charter school, Side by Side Community School, is located in South Norwalk.
In 2006, three of the city's four middle schools and nine of its twelve elementary schools, along with a "community school" were cited as falling behind in standards for the federal "No Child Left Behind" Act. Three elementary schools had not met the standards for two years in a row, so students in those schools are offered the choice to go to a Norwalk public school that hasn't been designated as needing improvement.
Aside from public schools, there is also the private All Saints Catholic School, which offers preschool through 8th grade education; the Montessori Middle School for grades 5–8; and the Winston Preparatory School for grades 6–12, and starting in the fall of 2009 the Connecticut Friends School will offer classes for K-8.
Norwalk is served 24/7 by Norwalk Hospital and Norwalk Hospital EMS, a progressive 911 paramedic service. The service consists of hospital based paramedics and EMT-Is who serve Norwalk as well as New Canaan, Wilton, Weston, and Westport. The service responded to over 9,500 medical emergencies in 2008 in the city of Norwalk and 6,000 in the neighboring communities. Norwalk Hospital EMS is widely known as one of the top services in the state and region. Typically the ambulances respond out of Norwalk Hospital as the paramedics and EMT-I assist in the Emergency Department while not in the field. NHEMS works closely with other Norwalk first responders (Norwalk Fire and Police Departments).
The city of Norwalk is protected 24/7, 365 by the professional firefighters of the Norwalk Fire Department (NFD). The Norwalk Fire Department operates out of 5 Fire Stations, located throughout the city of Norwalk and also operates a fire apparatus fleet of 5 Engines, 2 Trucks, 1 Rescue, 1 Tactical Rescue, 1 Haz-Mat. Unit, 1 Tanker, 1 Fire Boat, 1 Deputy Chief's Command Vehicle, and numerous special, support, and reserve units. The Norwalk Fire Department responds to over 5,000 emergency calls a year.[16][17]
Engine Company | Truck Company | Special Unit | Command Unit | Address | Neighborhood |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Engine 1 | Truck 1 | Car 10(Support) | 90 New Canaan Ave. | Broad River | |
Engine 2 | Truck 2 | Rescue 2, Tac. Rescue 2 | Car 1(Chief), Car 2(Deputy Chief), Car 2(Support) | 121 Connecticut Ave. | Central Norwalk |
Engine 3 | 56 Van Zant St. | East Norwalk | |||
Engine 4 | 180 Westport Ave. | Cranbury | |||
Engine 5 | 23 Meadow St. | South Norwalk |
Founded in 1913, the Norwalk Police Department (NPD) currently has approximately 180 sworn police officers and 3 police dogs.[18]
Norwalk sites and districts on the National Register of Historic Places include the Norwalk Green Historic District (roughly bounded by Smith and Park Streets, Boston Post Road, East and Morgan Avenues). The district contains examples of Federal Style, Greek Revival, and Late Victorian architecture. (added 1987)[21]
Another local site on the Register is the Former Joseph Loth Company Building (25 Grand St.). The 133,000-square-foot (12,400 m2) building, since renovated as an apartment building and renamed "Clocktower Close" in the mid-1980s, has an 85-foot (26 m)-high Romanesque Revival clocktower[22](added 1984) These other sites are also on the Register: the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion (added 1970), the former Rock Ledge estate in Rowayton (1977), the Norwalk Museum (1995), and three lighthouses—the Sheffield Island Lighthouse, Peck Ledge Lighthouse, the Onion domed, 1906 Moorish Revival building of Beth Israel of Norwalk/Westport and Greens Ledge Lighthouse. The most recently added site to the historical register is Village Creek, which was the first community in the United States to be racially integrated. The community was added to the register in August 2010.
For additional Norwalk sites on the list, see South Norwalk.
Several publications regularly cover news in Norwalk, including two daily newspapers, a weekly newspaper and two professional news websites. The Hour is an independent daily newspaper based in Norwalk and founded in 1871. The Advocate (Stamford), a unit of Hearst Corp., had a Norwalk edition with a bureau in the city, but both have since closed down, and the Advocate provides occasional coverage, much of which also appears in the Norwalk Citizen-News, a weekly also owned by Hearst. The Daily Norwalk (owned by Main Street Connect, which is headquartered in Norwalk).
News 12 Connecticut, a 24-hour regional news channel covering events in southwestern Connecticut is based in Norwalk. News 12 Connecticut is owned and operated by Cablevision, a unit of Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc. and is available to subscribers of that cable television service.
Rowayton is also covered by New Canaan-Darien & Rowayton magazine, a glossy monthly is owned by Moffly Publications.
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Public transportation within Norwalk is provided primarily by the Norwalk Transit District's "WHEELS" buses. The WHEELS buses offer extensive service in Norwalk and Westport and the Norwalk Transit District operates services throughout southwestern Connecticut. The state run Connecticut Transit Coastal Link buses operate through Norwalk as part of the Stamford Division.
The Metro-North Railroad's main New Haven and Danbury branch lines both run through Norwalk. Metro-North provides passenger and commuter service to four stations within the city, with direct connections to New York City, Stamford, Bridgeport, and New Haven. The South Norwalk station lies along the main line and is also the southern terminus of the Danbury branch line. The Rowayton and East Norwalk stations are along the New Haven main line. The Merritt 7 station lies along the Danbury branch line. The New Haven line bridge over the Norwalk River is the only four track swing bridge in the nation. The main line comprises a segment along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor though the national passenger railroad does not provide service to Norwalk. The nearest stations that Amtrak does stop at are Stamford and Bridgeport. The Connecticut Department of Transportation's Shore Line East passenger service trains also run through Norwalk, though only a few SLE trains stop at South Norwalk station. Shore Line East trains also stop at nearby Stamford and Bridgeport stations.
Freight service over the rail lines in Norwalk is provided by CSX Transportation and the Providence and Worcester Railroad. During the week, over 200 trains a day pass through Norwalk.
There is no scheduled air service directly into Norwalk, but there are airports nearby such as LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City; Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey; Westchester County Airport in Westchester County; Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, New York; and Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks (near Hartford) Connecticut. Nearby general aviation airports include Danbury Municipal Airport in Danbury, Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, and the Tweed New Haven Regional Airport in New Haven.
Interstate 95 crosses through Norwalk, and there are several exits within the Norwalk city limits. The Merritt Parkway also crosses through Norwalk. Both of these roads are designated to be north/south routes, but through Norwalk, both of them primarily travel east/west. The major north-south artery is Route 7, which begins at Interstate 95. There is an exit to the Merritt Parkway, but only southbound towards New York City, as environmental activists have successfully blocked a full interchange between the two arteries. In northern Norwalk, Route 7 changes from a limited access, divided highway to an ordinary surface road. Originally, the intent was to build the "Super 7" highway (in a different place than the current Route 7), which would link Interstate 95 with Interstate 84 in Danbury, but environmental groups and slow-growth advocates succeeded in preventing this highway from being built (although the state of Connecticut continues to own the land to build the highway). Other state highways in Norwalk are Route 53, Route 123, and Route 136.
The Route 123 bridge over the Norwalk River, which was undergoing being replaced from August 2007 to August 2008, was one of 12 bridges in the southwestern part of the state (including New Haven) with safety inspection ratings so low they are (or were) considered to be in critical condition.[23]
Electricity in most of Norwalk is provided by the Northeast Utilities's Connecticut Light and Power Company division (CL&P). However, within the second and third taxing districts the taxing districts act as the local electric power utility company. Residents of those districts are billed by the district. The districts in turn purchase wholesale power and arrange for its delivery to, and distribution within, the district. Power lines and meters in East Norwalk, South Norwalk, and parts of Rowayton are maintained by line crews employed by the district and they may be seen driving about in trucks with district logos.[24][25] Both the second (SNEW) and third (TTD) district electric departments belong to the six member Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative which pools their wholesale power purchasing to obtain lower rates for customers.[26] The history of municipal power in Norwalk extends back to the 1890s when Albert A. Winchester was an early and forceful advocate of it. In 1892 Winchester designed the city of South Norwalk's generating station – remnants of which still lie along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in South Norwalk in front of the railroad station. The newer power plant on Manressa Island (near the Harbor View neighborhood) does still generate power within the city. The Manressa generation plant was originally a coal fired plant but was converted to burn oil. It was operated up until the early first decade of the 21st century by CL&P but is now operated under contract by another company. In 2004 the third taxing district installed 3 diesel powered generators at the Norden complex on Norden Place that were initially licensed only for emergency power supply. By summer 2008 the generators, with a combined capacity of 6 Megawatts, had been upgraded to allow licensed operation as regular power providers for the grid (not just emergency power).[27] In 2007 and 2008 the construction of the Middletown-Norwalk transmission line disrupted traffic along the Boston Post Road, but the completion of the line is hoped to help CL&P to provide additional power to lower Fairfield County. In addition a high-voltage undersea line runs from Manressa Island to Long Island to help provide electric power to Long Island Power Authority customers. In 2008 the city government of Norwalk started initial investigations of whether the city might resume generating power for sale to electricity customers in the city. [28]
Natural gas is provided by Northeast Utilities' Yankee Gas subsidiary.[29]
Water in most of the city is provided by the Aquarion Water Company from reservoirs in Wilton.[29] In the first and second taxing districts the taxing districts act as the local water utility provider.[24] [30]
Notable residents and others connected to Norwalk include Andy Rooney, commentator on 60 Minutes, who lives in Rowayton, as does author Philip Caputo. A. Scott Berg, an award-winning biographer of celebrities was born in Norwalk. Johnny Gruelle, artist and author, creator of Raggedy Ann, lived in town before he moved to Wilton. Big Band composer Arthur (Artie) Shaw lived in Norwalk in the 1950s. Jazz-piano great Horace Silver was also born in Norwalk.
Multi-Grammy award winner Vince Mendoza was born and raised in Norwalk. NBA Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy, and baseball player Mo Vaughn both hail from Norwalk. The late Bob Miller was born in the city. Two Medal of Honor recipients came from Norwalk: John D. Magrath in World War II and Daniel J. Shea in the Vietnam War.
Full-length features and documentary movies, partially filmed or completely taking place in Norwalk, listed in reverse chronological order:[31]
New Canaan | Wilton | Weston | ||
Darien | Westport | |||
Norwalk | ||||
Long Island Sound |
|