Bridgeport is the most populous city in Connecticut, notable for its links to circus impresario PT Barnum, being the home of Beardsley Zoo, and as the birthplace of the Subway restaurant chain and the Frisbie Pie Company.
Phileas T Barnum was elected as mayor of Bridgeport in 1875, overseeing a period of improvements in city infrastructure and services, including the opening of Bridgeport Hospital in 1878, where he was its first president. He is buried at Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport, which he himself helped establish.
The first Subway restaurant opened in the city’s North End in 1965, when it was known as Pete’s Super Submarines, later expanding to become a global fast food franchise.
Once an important whaling seaport, Bridgeport became a hive of industrial and manufacturing activity in the 19th century with the arrival of the railroad, but experienced a long period of economic decline after World War II. Since the beginning of the 21 century, efforts at urban regeneration have been made to revitalize downtown Bridgeport and other neighborhoods.
