What’s in a building? Or better yet, what’s the look of one externally?
Hearst Media’s CT Insider team trekked across the state to rank adornment of all Connecticut’s 169 town halls.
Bridgeport’s stately “monolith” that has housed many municipal departments for roughly 60 years and prior to that a high school ranks 13 among the municipal buildings just ahead of Westport and Greenwich. And how often are those three communities mentioned in the same sentence?
Prior to 45 Lyon Terrace, Bridgeport’s city hall was housed several blocks away at McLevy Green named for Jasper McLevy, Socialist mayor from 1933-57.
In the pursuit of subjective fun, an excerpt from the CT Insider report:
Some are stately, imposing structures of pillars and brick. Others are more modern, low-slung and flat. Many are small, utilitarian but charming. A handful are simply office buildings, facilities that leave the ornamentation to the rest of the town.
Each of the town halls in Connecticut’s 169 towns is different, even as it serves similar functions for the community. And our idea, earlier this year, was uncomplicated.
We — the members of the CT Insider data team — would visit each of those 169 town halls in order to rank them. We’d see them, we’d evaluate them, we’d sort them.
Bridgeport number 13
Bridgeport’s city hall is a true monolith. Constituents enter the front door by climbing a flight of stairs and passing between towering columns, making the whole affair of visiting city hall feel a lot grander than it may actually be.
I would be remiss if I didn’t note that Bridgeport’s City Hall kind of looks like the Philadelphia Museum of Art, my favorite building from my home city. – Patrick
Full report here
As City of Bridgeport Janitor, I’ve been all around 45 Lyon Terrace. Lennie, if you go up on the roof and touch the stones on the edges of the building, you’d be surprised to learn that they are made of FOAM. Yes, it’s fake but, the City of Bridgeport paid Million$ for it.