Little Italy (Bridgeport)

41°11′N 73°12′W / 41.19°N 73.20°W / 41.19; -73.20Little Italy is a neighborhood located in the North End of Bridgeport, Connecticut on Madison Avenue, near the Fairfield County Correctional Facility and Central High School, with a high Italian-American population.[1]

Little Italy / Central End
Neighborhood in Bridgeport, Connecticut
Nickname: 
Little Italy

History edit

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many European immigrants moved to Bridgeport to work in the city's many large-scale industrial facilities.[2] Many Italian arrivals during this time clustered together in the city's Central End and North End, particularly around Madison Avenue.[1][3]

Present day edit

The area around Madison Avenue is still referred to as "Little Italy", and remains home to many Italian restaurants.[4] However, in recent years, many of the neighborhood's Italian restaurants have moved to surrounding towns following the de-industrialization of Bridgeport.[4] The area now also has a significant Portuguese population.[1]

 
Madison Avenue, Bridgeport’s Little Italy (now mostly Luso-American)
 
Madison Avenue in Bridgeport next to Italian Ice Shop

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Connole, Dennis (2018). America's "foreign legion" : immigrant soldiers in the Great War. Jefferson, North Carolina. p. 211. ISBN 978-1-4766-7543-5. OCLC 1076408625.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ "New Neighbors: Immigrants of the 19th and Early 20th Centuries - Town of Fairfield, Connecticut". www.fairfieldct.org. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  3. ^ "How the Italian Immigrants Came to New England". New England Historical Society. October 12, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Bridgeport's 'Little Italy' not the same". Connecticut Post. July 6, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2020.

See also edit