Thursday, November 07, 2024
Architecture, Neighborhood: Downtown

Baldwin Plaza in 1974

Directly behind what was then the new state courthouse building, a plaza costing around $1million was built.  Dedicated at a ceremony on October 10, 1974, the plaza was named after former Connecticut governor Raymond E. Baldwin Sr.

The ceremony was held in the new plaza, with then mayor Nicholas Panuzzio giving former Governor Baldwin the keys to the city.  Also in attendance was Superior Court Judge Otto H. La Macchia and Bridgeport Bar Association President C. David Munich.Governor Baldwin was governor of Connecticut from 1939 to1941 and from 1943 to 1946.  Governor Baldwin, on the far left, was 81 years old at the time of this ceremony.  When working as a lawyer for Pullman Comley in 1924, Baldwin lived on Savoy Street in Bridgeport’s North End for a short time  He was a resident of  Stratford.

Raymond E Baldwin Sr.  died October 4, 1986.  He was buried in Middletown.

Photo: Baldwin Plaza Dedication ceremony, October 10, 1974

 

Mary Witkowski
Mary K. Witkowski is the former Bridgeport City Historian and the Department Head of the Bridgeport History Center, Emeritus. She is the author of Bridgeport at Work, and the co-author with Bruce Williams of Bridgeport on the Sound. Mary has had a newspaper column in the Bridgeport News, a blog for the Connecticut Post, and a weekly spot on WICC. She continues to be involved in many community based activities and initiatives on local history and historic preservation.