Elizabeth Van Tuyl

Silent home movie documenting the blizzard of 1934 in what was originally thought to be Bridgeport, but now looks to be in neighboring Fairfield. While the original film maker is unknown, the film features not only edited clips, but opens with a title card that reads “Member Amateur Cinema League.” It includes the ACL logo before jumping into the film itself.

The film begins with footage of two different Christmas trees in a home bedecked with tinsel, along with a set table in advance of a feast. This footage was likely taken prior to the blizzard.

From there the film moves on to depict the snow as it was coming down, illustrating the high winds that were responsible for massive drifts. Following that, the bulk of the footage shows the film maker’s family playing in the snow, shoveling it, waving to family members inside the house, and even getting their car out and showing how tall the snow banks are in comparison to the car itself.

From the 6:21-7:22 time stamp, the footage shifts and focuses instead on street scenes. The large snow bank at 6:36 that is piled under the sign of Bonney Electric Co. suggests that the street footage shows downtown Fairfield. Bonney Electric Co. resided at 733 Post Road. Upon careful review, the building shown at 6:20 may be the Chase Bank that now resides at 1401 Post Road in Fairfield. The more easily identifiable Randall’s Drugs resided at the historical address of 644 Post Road, which likewise seems to be in the modern 1410 area. The Bridgeport History Center is trying to determine the occupants and exact address of what is likely now the Chase Bank. The train tracks at 6:40 also look similar to Fairfield’s train station in the present. Actual trains can be seen at 6:50-7:00. (more…)

History Center Head Emeritus Mary K. Witkowski wrote over 450 articles for the Bridgeport News during her tenure at the BHC.  From the Historical Collections articles explore many facets of Bridgeport history –people, places, and things– from the renowned to the quirky, and will take readers on a delightful journey through the City’s past.

Bridgeport:  A Closer Look  is a marketing film produced in 1990 on Bridgeport, Connecticut, by the Lynmark Group and the City of Bridgeport.

This 1986 film from Cablevision of Connecticut visits different neighborhoods and community leaders throughout the city. Highlights include an African American choir at the Full Gospel Pentecostal Church, Puerto Rican education and civil rights advocate Cesar Batalla, Ozzie’s Shoe Repair in the Hollow, Greek dancing, and a discussion with historic preservationist Bob Woodrow on the city’s South End.

This 1951 film was produced by the Bullard Company, the famous inventor and manufacturer of the vertical lathe. The film contains extensive instructions on how to operate the Man Au Trol machine (Manual or Automatic Control), with instructions for specific tasks. The beginning of the film shows images of the Bridgeport plant and some of its employees. This is an early industrial marketing and instruction film captured on 35mm film before video cameras and digital video were available.

Director: R.C. Bullard
Producer: Leroy G. Phelps
Original Music: Emil Velazco
Narration: James Clemenger

Local public access cable channel star Dolly Curtis interviews History Center Head Emeritus Mary K. Witkowski. They discuss Bridgeport’s history as well as the nature of the Center’s collections and mission and department activities and projects. 2001.

• Make a Family Tree
  Making a family tree is a great way to help children understand how they are related to the individuals that are referred to as “family.”
• 5 Exciting Activities to Teach Your Kids About Their Family History
  Exploring your family’s heritage not only gives children a connection to the past, but it can also guide your child’s future.
• AncestryK12
  AncestryK12® offers a no-cost program for K12 schools that includes access to content from Fold3, Newspapers.com and the U.S. collection of Ancestry
• Genealogy in the Classroom
  Victoria Genealogy Society – fun projects and resources for students and teachers

Maisa Tisdale, President of the Mary and Eliza Freeman Center for History and Community, and Keith Stokes, Vice President of the 1696 Heritage Group, are interviewed by Lucy Nalpathanchil about Bridgeport’s Little Liberia, a community that was settled by African and Native Americans in the early 19th Century on Bridgeport’s South End.

This 1930’s era silent, black and white film shows locations around the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut, where infrastructure improvements are being implemented under the aegis of the Mayor Jasper McLevy administration. Scenes include: Park Avenue; Seaside Park; Bridgeport Harbor (including lighthouse); State Street; North Avenue and the Wheeler Memorial Fountain; trolley tracks; and Bridgeport Firefighters.  Jasper McLevy was Mayor of Bridgeport from 1933-1957.

Video created by community members opposing City of Bridgeport’s management of Mount “Trashmore,” a large, illegal dumpsite located on the City’s East End in the early 1990s.

 We Are Artists Every One:  The Art Center in Action, 1970-1986

The Art Center was far more than a place to learn visual arts, literary arts and music.  The Art Center was a place to improve reading skills, get a meal, and gain exposure to burgeoning cultural, artistic, social, and political ideas.  By the time of its closing in 1986, the Art Center had offered thousands of hours of art, photography, music and culinary instruction to city youth, adults, and senior citizens. Curator Michelle Black Smith

click here to visit the exhibit

The BHC has one of the best newspaper clippings collections in the state.  Here is an initial offering of some popular topics.

Many items from the P.T. Barnum Research Collection are now available online! Thanks to generous funding from the NEH, researchers may access items from the History Center and Barnum Museum collections: Over a thousand items — advertisements, books, magazines, manuscripts, newspapers, photographs, prints, programs, records, sheet music, and souvenirs — all available through the Connecticut Digital Archives!

CLICK for COLLECTIONS

This film commemorates the Hungarian community in Bridgeport and the immigrant experience, particularly the people of Hungary and other countries who made America their home. The film depicts the fortunes of an Hungarian immigrant family in Bridgeport, Connecticut, during the first half of the Twentieth Century and offers coverage of Hungarian festivals there along with interviews, stills, dramatizations, and historic footage. Scarcely a trace of the once bustling immigrant community exists there today. A production of Sacred Heart University, Media Studies Department. Producer and director, Steven John Ross. Co-producer and sound recordist, Donald Coonley. Cinematographer, Larry McConkey. Narrated by Ralph Corrigan.