Little Italy (Bridgeport)

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

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

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

1. 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. "Bridgeport's 'Little Italy' not the same". Connecticut Post. July 6, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2020.

See also

• Connecticut portal

• History of Bridgeport, Connecticut