Stamford, Connecticut
Template:Stamford, Connecticut infobox Stamford is a city located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 117,083. Stamford is ranked 3rd in having the most Fortune 500 companies, following directly after Chicago and New York City.
For the first half of 2004, Stamford was the safest city in the United States with population over 100,000, according to the FBI. Given Stamford's urbanness, and diversity this is an extraordinary accomplishment; however, crime in the nearby New York metropolitan area in general has diminished greatly since the 1990s and is actually lower than many other major U.S. metropolitan areas today.
History
Stamford was known as Rippowam by the Native American inhabitants to the region, and the very first European settlers to the area also referred to it as such. The name was later changed to Stamford after a town in Lincolnshire, England. The deed to Stamford was signed on 1 July 1640 between Captain Turner of the New Haven Colony and Chief Ponus. The land that now forms the city of Stamford was bought for 12 coats, 12 hoes, 12 hatchets, 12 glasses, 12 knives, four kettles, and four fathoms of white wampum. The deed was renegotiated several times until 1700 when the territory was given up by the Native American inhabitants for a more substantial sum of money.
One of the primary industries of the small colony was merchandising by water, which was possible due to Stamford's proximity to New York.
Stamford incorporated as a city in 1893. Despite its age, Stamford has very few historic buildings. This can be attributed to a massive urban redevelopment campaign during the 1970s that changed the face of the downtown. The few historic buildings include Old Town Hall (1905, currently unoccupied) and Hoyt Barnum House (1699) And the old Yale and Towne building (1869) it was once a lock company (the stamford seal has the two keys from it).
Geography and climate
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 134.9 km² (52.1 mi²). 97.8 km² (37.8 mi²) of it is land and 37.1 km² (14.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 27.52% water.
Neighborhoods
Stamford is broken into sections, each of which has distinct character owing to the type of business and industry that thrived there at one time, such as the South End with its heavy manufacturing. Other areas include North Stamford (zip code 06903) known for its wealth, Turn of River, Roxbury, Newfield, Belltown, Springdale, Glenbrook, Hubbard Heights, Shippan, Westover and Long Ridge, which is home to many blue chip corporations.
Downtown also has a shopping mall, the Stamford Town Center, opened 1982. Ridgeway Center, located about a mile north of downtown, is one of the oldest shopping centers of its type, having been built in the 1940s. It was renovated in 1998.
Parks
The Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens is located within city limits. Stamford also possesses some enjoyable public beaches: Cummings Park was once a popular spot for shellfishing, and Cove Island Park offers visitors a choice of beaches as well as picnic grounds and bluffs. Scalzi Park has baseball fields, tennis courts and a baseball stadium.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 117,083 people, 45,399 households, and 28,964 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,197.5/km² (3,101.9/mi²). There were 47,317 housing units at an average density of 484.0/km² (1,253.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 69.79% White 65.4% of Whites were of Italian origin, 15.39% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 5.00% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 6.50% from other races, and 3.07% from two or more races. 16.77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 45,399 households out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.1% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 35.0% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $60,556, and the median income for a family was $69,337. Males had a median income of $48,386 versus $36,958 for females. The per capita income for the city was $34,987. 7.9% of the population and 5.4% of families were below the poverty line. 8.7% of those under the age of 18 and 9.7% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Italians form the largest ethnic group in Stamford. Irish, Polish, Jewish, Puerto Rican, African-American, and Caribbean people also make up a significant portion of the population.
Crime
According to a 2004 FBI report, Stamford is the 4th safest city in the United States with population over 100,000. According to the same report for the first half of 2005, Stamford was the safest city in the United States with population over 100,000. The low crime rate has been attributed to effective policing.
Economic disparity
While Stamford's proximity to New York City and low crime rate make it an attractive community in which to reside, the city suffers from a certain amount of economic skewing. High property values, expensive rents, and numerous low-income housing projects mean that the majority of residents of Stamford are either very rich or very poor. This condition is very similar to what one finds in Manhattan. This phenomenon of economic skewing is widespread throughout Fairfield County, and indeed throughout Connecticut, a state with the dubious distinction of possessing both the richest and poorest citizens in the nation.
Surrounded by the old-money towns of Greenwich, Wilton, New Canaan, Darien, and Westport, Stamford is generally considered a haven of the newly rich, as the modern, spacious homes built in North Stamford can attest. Also, Shippan Point is home to some truly stunning pieces of real estate.
Housing
Housing in Stamford is varied. The downtown area and the neighborhoods immediately north of it, especially along Strawberry Hill Avenue, have numerous high-rise apartment and condo buildings. Condos dominate in Glenbrook and The Cove, while Westover, Shippan and North Stamford are almost exclusively covered by expensive single-family housing. Urban decay in Stamford is nowhere close to what has been achieved in other Connecticut cities; however, parts of the South End, the West Side and Waterside are known for poverty and overcrowded housing.
Economy
The downtown area of Stamford has a cluster of modern commercial buildings, some of which are corporate headquarters (many of which moved from New York in the 1980s both to lower their tax bill and to be closer to the homes of their top executives). This includes four Fortune 500 Companies, nine Fortune 1000 Companies, and thirteen Courant 100 Companies,as well as numerous divisions of large corporations, such as GE Commercial Finance, a division of General Electric. This gives Stamford one of the largest concentration of corporations in the nation. UBS AG, International Paper, and Purdue Pharma are some of the companies headquartered downtown. Pitney Bowes has its headquarters in South End, World Wrestling Entertainment and Clairol on the East Side, Xerox, Hyperion, and GE Commercial Finance on Long Ridge Road, several miles north of downtown. Royal Bank of Scotland announced in October 2005 that it would consolidate its North American headquarters in downtown Stamford and build the largest trading floor in North America. The current largest trading floor is across the street from the future site of RBS, at the U.S. headquarters of UBS AG.
Education
Stamford has branches of the University of Connecticut, University of Bridgeport and Sacred Heart University. The University of Connecticut's campus is located in a large modern building in downtown that opened in 1998 after extensive renovations to an abandoned former Bloomingdales store. The other two are located in small office parks in Springdale. All are commuter campuses.
At one time, Stamford had a well-funded public education system. However, budget cuts by the city's Board of Finance in recent years have put a strain on the school system. Stamford is a fully integrated school district whose racial balance requirements exceed those of the state of Connecticut. State standards require that a school's racial makeup be within 25% of the community's racial makeup. Stamford's standard is a more strict 10%. Over the years, schools have become unbalanced, leading to a real need for redistricting. Stamford has four high schools, Westhill High School, Stamford High School, Trinity Catholic High School and the Academy of Information Technology and Engineering.
Stamford's public library, the Ferguson Library, is one of the largest in Connecticut. In addition to the main library downtown, it has branches in South End, Springdale, and the Turn of River sections of the city. The Turn of River branch, officially called the Harry Bennett Branch, is the largest library branch in the state.
Communications and media
The headquarters of the Outdoor Life Network and World Wrestling Entertainment reside in Stamford, amongst others. The major newspaper is The Advocate, owned by the Tribune Company. It is published daily. The magazine for Stamford is Stamford Plus magazine [1], published independently.
Transportation
Stamford is a transportation hub for smaller communities in Fairfield County and is one of the largest cities on the route between New York City and Boston. It is located on one of the busiest stretches of highway in the nation, and is in the vicinity of six major airports.
Mass transit
Stamford is located on the main branch of the New Haven Line on Metro North, the commuter rail system for metropolitan New York City. Stamford Station is the last express station in the direction of New York City, and thus serves as a major transfer point for faster trains into New York City. Stamford Station is also the terminus of a Metro North branch line that ends in New Canaan, about 15 miles (24 km) away. There are two smaller local stations in Stamford, Glenbrook and Springdale along the New Canaan Branch.
A major increase in the population of Fairfield County in the 1990s put Metro North service under increasing strain to cope with the increase in commuters. Currently, the system operates at capacity with an express train departing from Stamford Station in both directions of the New Haven line every hour during off-peak hours and every 10 to 15 minutes during peak hours. The antiquated railcars have started to break down more regularly, although there is a large service depot located near Stamford Station. While Metro North, in conjunction with New York State for funding, has replaced all the trains on all New York State-only lines, it continues to operate 30-year-old trains to Connecticut. Despite protests, Connecticut has not so far signaled that it will invest in new trains.
Stamford Station is also a major Amtrak station and has its own Amtrak ticket counter. Stamford is served by the high-speed Acela trains that run from Washington, DC to Boston. Metroliners also connect Stamford to the rest of the country via Pennsylvania Station in New York City. During the height of the dot com bubble, there was talk of starting a ferry service between Stamford, Long Island, and New York City, but the plans have fallen by the wayside as tax revenue for the city declined.
Airports
Stamford does not have its own airport. However, its location is within an hour of six major airports. International flights come in to John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York and Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey. Commuter and short-haul flights arrive at Westchester County, LaGuardia, and Tweed-Tweed New Haven airports.
Buses
Bus transportation is provided by CT Transit which is run and financed by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The bus terminus for the city is located under the highway across State Street from Stamford Station. Bus service runs along major arterial roads as well as connecting the city to Darien, Norwalk, Greenwich and Port Chester, New York.
Highways
Stamford is located on one of the busiest road transportation corridors in the United States. Interstate 95, which runs through the southern portion of the city, is the main highway between New York City and Boston. There are four exits in Stamford, two of which service downtown where the highway is elevated to allow traffic to pass underneath.
The Merritt Parkway runs through northern Stamford. It is has been designated a historic road by the State of Connecticut for the art deco design of many of the bridges that pass over it. Due to the low height of the bridges, no trucks of any kind are allowed on the road, so it serves little commercial transportation use. However, it is used heavily by commuters into Stamford, Greenwich, and New York.
Notable natives
Stamford is the birthplace of U.S. Senator and Vice-Presidential Candidate Joseph Lieberman, and former residence of Darien native U.S. Representative Christopher Shays. Chief U.S. weapons inspector Charles Duelfer grew up in the city. Acclaimed baseball star Jackie Robinson and famous actor/comedian Gene Wilder made Stamford their home later in their lives. The Stamford Little League is named after Jackie Robinson . Bobby Valentine, a former baseball player and manager, was also born in Stamford. Pro Football Hall of Famer Andy Robustelli was also born in Stamford, as was actor Christopher Lloyd.
See also
External links
- City of Stamford
- Stamford Chamber of Commerce
- Stamford Historical Society
- Ferguson Library
- Stamford Downtown Special Services District
- Stamford Town Center
- University of Connecticut-Stamford
- The Advocate
