South Norwalk, Connecticut - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

South Norwalk is a neighborhood in Norwalk

Norwalk, Connecticut

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...

, Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

. SoNo features a high density of bars and eateries and is the center of Norwalk's nightlife and restaurant culture. Also located in SoNo are the South Norwalk

South Norwalk (Metro-North station)

The South Norwalk Metro-North Railroad station is one of three stations serving the residents of Norwalk, Connecticut via the New Haven Line and is the more significant of the three. Nicknamed "SoNo" by riders and staff, the station is the point where the Danbury Branch connects to the Northeast...

Metro-North Railroad

The Metro-North Commuter Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, or, more commonly, Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service that is run and managed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , an authority of New York State. It is the busiest commuter railroad in the United...

station, the Maritime Aquarium (with IMAX

IMAX

IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...

theater), a post office, banks, and a cinema.

South Norwalk is also the home of a large annual Arts Celebration.

Geography

Roughly, South Norwalk is bounded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and West Avenue on the west, the Norwalk River

Norwalk River

The Norwalk River is a river in southwestern Connecticut, approximately long. The word "Norwalk" comes from the Algonquian word "noyank" meaning "point of land".-Description:...

and Norwalk Harbor

Norwalk Harbor

Norwalk Harbor is a recreational and commercial harbor and seaportat the estuary of the Norwalk River where it flows into Long Island Soundin Norwalk, Connecticut, United States.The last portion of the Norwalk River from the head of navigation...

on the east, the Connecticut Turnpike

Connecticut Turnpike

The Connecticut Turnpike, known now as the Governor John Davis Lodge Turnpike, is a freeway in Connecticut that runs from Greenwich to Killingly. It is signed as Interstate 95 from the New York state line at Greenwich to East Lyme, and then as Interstate 395 from East Lyme to Plainfield...

and Central Norwalk

Central Norwalk

The Central or Midtown section of Norwalk, Connecticut is an urbanized area in roughly the geographic center of the city, north of the South Norwalk neighborhood and the Connecticut Turnpike. Wall Street, West Avenue and Belden Avenue are the main thoroughfares...

on the north, and Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...

on the south. The main downtown area is Washington Street (between Main Street and Water Street).
Google Maps view of South Norwalk

History

After the original settlement

History of Norwalk, Connecticut

Archaeological evidence suggests substantial pre-contact Norwalk inhabitancy by human beings; artifacts found near Ward Street date back 5000 years ago.- 17th century :The first recorded European contact with Norwalk took place in 1614...

of Norwalk in 1649, additional settlements developed in the area, particularly one on the western side of the Norwalk Harbor and river

Norwalk River

The Norwalk River is a river in southwestern Connecticut, approximately long. The word "Norwalk" comes from the Algonquian word "noyank" meaning "point of land".-Description:...

. This settlement came to be known as "Old Well". In a 1738 deed, present-day Washington Street was referred to as the "high Way that Leads to ye Landing place ye Old Well". The actual well

Water well

A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...

was east of present-day Water Street, about seventy-five feet south of Washington Street.

In 1870, Old Well was incorporated as the City of South Norwalk. A charter for the city was granted by the Connecticut General Assembly

Connecticut General Assembly

The Connecticut General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. There are no term limits for either chamber.During...

in 1871.

In this period, South Norwalk was a manufacturing

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...

and commercial

Commerce

While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...

city with a relatively large Hungarian population. In 1913, South Norwalk combined with the Town of Norwalk, the City (formerly Borough) of Norwalk, and the East Norwalk fire district

East Norwalk

East Norwalk is a neighborhood located in Norwalk, Connecticut.The neighborhood is a culturally diverse, mostly middle-class section of the city, inhabited by many different ethnicities such as Greeks, Italians, Hispanics, African Americans, and long time "Connecticut Yankee" residents...

into the present day City of Norwalk. The former city of South Norwalk became the new Norwalk’s Second Taxing District.

Properties on the National Register of Historic Places

Former building of Beth Israel of Norwalk/Westport
Beth Israel of Norwalk/Westport
The former Beth Israel Synagogue is a historic Orthodox synagogue building located at 31 Concord Street in the South Norwalk section of the city of Norwalk, Connecticut. The Moorish Revival style building, is the only known synagogue building in Connecticut displaying Moorish Onion domes, and an...

— 31 Concord St., now the Canaan Institutional Baptist Church. The 1906 structure built in Moorish Revival
Moorish Revival
Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of the Romanticist fascination with all things oriental...

style, is the only known synagogue building in Connecticut displaying Moorish onion-shaped domes, and the only known example of an urban wood-frame synagogue. (added to the National Register in 1991)
Haviland and Elizabeth Streets-Hanford Place Historic District
Haviland and Elizabeth Streets-Hanford Place Historic District
The Haviland and Elizabeth Streets-Hanford Place Historic District is an irregularly shaped historic district in Norwalk, Connecticut that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988....

— Roughly bounded by Haviland and Day Streets, Hanford Place, and South Main Street in South Norwalk. The district has examples of Queen Anne style, Italianate, and Second Empire architecture. (added 1988)

Norwalk River Railroad Bridge
Norwalk River Railroad Bridge
The Norwalk River Railroad Bridge — the Amtrak and Metro-North Railroad right-of-way over the Norwalk River was built in 1896, when the route was widened to four tracks...

— the Amtrak right-of-way over Norwalk River was built in 1896, when the route was widened to four tracks (the South Norwalk Railroad Bridge over the intersection of Washington Street with North Main and South Main streets was built the same year). The 562 feet (171.3 m) span, with a rotating swing span (202 feet long) was provided by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company of East Berlin, Connecticut
Berlin, Connecticut
Berlin is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 19,866 at the 2010 census. It was incorporated in 1785. The geographic center of Connecticut is located in the town. Berlin is residential and industrial, and served by the Amtrak station of the same name...

. "The bridge's swing span, rotating on a rim-bearing system of 96 rollers, allows tall vessels to pass on the Norwalk River," according to a Web page about the bridge. The span is one of only 13 of the company's bridges (and one of only two railroad bridges) that survive in the state (as of August 2001). In 1907 the rail line was electrified with overhead catenary wires, which form a prominent feature of the bridge today.(added 1987)
South Main and Washington Streets Historic District
South Main and Washington Streets Historic District
The South Main and Washington Streets Historic District — 68-139 Washington St. and 2-24 South Main St. is a historic district in South Norwalk, Connecticut. The district encompasses 35 buildings and two other structures...

— 68-139 Washington St. and 2-24 South Main St. The 11 acre (0.04451546 km²) district encompasses 35 buildings and two other structures (including the South Norwalk Railroad Bridge). Varied architectural styles from the late 19th and early Twentieth centuries include Romanesque Revival, Second Empire, Italianate.
U.S. Post Office-South Norwalk Main — 16 Washington St. (added 1986)

Jeremiah Donovan's saloon

The former Jeremiah Donovan's pub has stood at the corner of Washington and Water streets since the late nineteenth century. Jeremiah Donovan

Jeremiah Donovan

Jeremiah Donovan was a United States Representative from Connecticut. He was born in Ridgefield, Connecticut where he attended the public schools and was graduated from Ridgefield Academy. He moved to South Norwalk, Connecticut in 1870 and engaged in the retail liquor business until 1898 when he...

a former Norwalk mayor and U.S. Congressman, owned the bar, which at some points had been a small grocery store.

In 2006, Richie Ball sold it to Ron and Dominique Rosa, two Greenwich, Connecticut

Greenwich, Connecticut

Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...

restaurateurs. The Rosas removed about 80 percent of the roughly 200 photographs of boxers that had lined the walls in order to spread them around to two other bars they planned to open.

On the blank outside wall of the eastern side of the building, facing the Stroffolino Bridge, a large mural depicts a sailing ship under a banner announcing "Welcome to Historic South Norwalk". The mural was painted in 1978 by Brechin Morgan, then a South Norwalk artist and now a resident of Milford, Connecticut

Milford, Connecticut

Milford is a coastal city in southwestern New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located between Bridgeport and New Haven. The population was 52,759 at the 2010 census...

. In 1983, after a billboard company rolled white paint over it, Morgan repainted the mural with some friends. The mural was touched up in 2007. It depicts one of the last working schooners on Long Island Sound, the Alice S. Wentworth, and Sheffield Island. Morgan also painted "Blue skies Over South Norwalk", a mural on Elizabeth and South Main streets.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.