I decided to revisit some of the history of the Village which is now under the control of the Bridgeport Housing Authority. The Village is listed as a co-op with 14 or 15 units. It was obvious that the village-style townhouses were late 1800's or early 1900's. Due to the village proximity to Long Island Sound and Seaside Park, my assumption was that the village may have been built for weekenders from the New York City area. The Marina Village Historic District is described in the following article, yet does not include the discrete village section which I refer to in this blog post:
http://www.livingplaces.com/CT/Fairfield_County/Bridgeport_City/Marina_Park_Historic_District.html
Judging by the few photos of the interiors in the real estate listings, most of the historic cottage-style design has been long gone decimated by the "urbanization" and the deterioration of the area. One of the annexes of Sikorsky Aircraft is just down the street. There is another housing project nearby which is also called Marina Village. Interstate 95 is 3-4 blocks to the north. Picturesque Long Island Sound and Seaside Park are 2-3 blocks to the south. I enjoy renovating old urban buildings and restoring them to their original style (building interiors included). The Marina Village interiors would be a challenge to restore.
The exteriors of the Village display a charming old and sometimes customized brick. Tiled roofs were a quaint feature. Photos of the exterior are rare due to the neighborhood's contemporary scene of drugs, violence, and gangs. This particular exterior photo is encapsulated and does not reveal the true styling of the village:
Here is a view from Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/?ll=41.165668,-73.199072&spn=0.002031,0.002006&t=h&z=18
Iranistan Avenue is just to the right. I could not get a "streetside" of the Marina Village Historic District.
The village you are referring to is called Seaside Village.
ReplyDeleteI was born on 757 South Ave on April 25th 1951. My DAD returned from the 2nd World War in late 1945 and moved there. I lived there until around 6-7 years old. Remember it well, especially going to the park where MOM would take us every day she could. I learned to swim in Long Island Sound by MOM who was an expert swimmer. I remember watching her go out so far that I couldn't see her anymore and became worried! But as she reached that point way far out, she would turn, and that is when I spotted her. Yay! I see MOMMY! She would then swim a distance parallel to the waves to recover from swimming all that distance against them. Very powerful swmmer.
ReplyDeleteYes Seaside village is very old about 105+ it was build for workers making parts for the war... It's in the national registry. It's not going anywhere.....it is well maintained and very nice people live there don't get your info confused
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