Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Danbury (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Danbury Museum & Historical Society, Western Connecticut State University, and Tarrywile Park. Also, be sure to include The Summit at Danbury in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Danbury (Connecticut).
Table of Contents
Danbury Museum & Historical Society
The Danbury Museum and Historical Society is a private museum located in Danbury, Connecticut, the purpose of which is to acquire, preserve, exhibit, and interpret the heritage of the greater Danbury area for education, information, and research. The main campus of the museum is located on 43 Main Street. It is home to five historic buildings: Huntington Hall, the 1785 Rider House, the 1790 John Dodd Hat Shop, the Little Red Schoolhouse, and the Marian Anderson Studio. The Museum also owned and maintained a sixth building: the Charles Ives Birthplace, located on Mountainville Avenue. The Ives birthplace was sold to a private bidder in 2012. Its legal name is the Danbury Scott Fanton Museum and Historical Society, Inc.[1]
Address: 43 Main St, 06810 Danbury
Western Connecticut State University
Public university in Danbury, Connecticut. Western Connecticut State University is a public university in Danbury, Connecticut. It was founded in 1903 as a teacher’s college and is part of the Connecticut State University System.
WCSU consists of four schools: the Ancell School of Business, the Macricostas School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Professional Studies, and the School of Visual and Performing Arts. The university offers 38 Bachelor's and one Associate degree programs, 15 Master's degree programs, and two doctoral programs. WCSU is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).
WCSU is home to the Jane Goodall Center for Excellence in Environmental Studies, which is the result of a partnership between WCSU and the Jane Goodall Institute (a private non-profit organization that promotes research, education and wildlife conservation). The university's Westside campus houses the Ives Concert Park, one of the premier performance venues in the area.
Western Connecticut State University is part of the Little East Conference and Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference in NCAA Division III. WCSU has 14 varsity sports
Students from New York and New Jersey residents pay in-state tuition; students from New England pay reduced rates because of WCSU's participation in the New England Board of Higher Education's Regional Student Program.[2]
Address: 181 White St, Danbury
Tarrywile Park
Park in Danbury, Connecticut. Tarrywile Park is a large municipal park in the city of Danbury, Connecticut. The park consists of 722 acres of rolling hills with woodlands, fields, and ponds. It also includes the Tarrywile Mansion, probably the finest Shingle Style house in the city. The house and its 11-acre property, including a gatehouse, carriagehouse, and greenhouse, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The park also includes Hearthstone Castle, an 1895 castle-like summer house that is in poor condition.
The park has a variety of trails, and is open for hiking, picnicking, and other outdoor activities. The mansion can be toured by appointment, and is rentable for private functions.[3]
The Summit at Danbury
Corporate campus in Danbury, Connecticut. The Summit at Danbury, formerly known as the Matrix Corporate Center and before that as the Union Carbide Corporate Center, is an architecturally unique building in Danbury, Connecticut. It was constructed in 1982 as the headquarters of the Union Carbide chemical company, it is known for its unusual style and floorplan layout. The complex was designed by the late famous architect Kevin Roche who also designed other famous corporate headquarters.[4]
Scott Fanton Museum
Museum
Charles Ives House
Museum in Danbury, Connecticut. The Charles Ives House, also known as Charles Ives Birthplace, is located on Mountainville Avenue in Danbury, Connecticut, United States. It is a wooden frame structure built in 1780 and expanded on since. Over the course of the 19th century it was the residence of several generations of Iveses, a family important in the city's history. In 1874 it was the birthplace of Charles Ives, who became an internationally recognized composer in the early 20th century.
It was originally on Main Street, but was moved twice when two local banks needed to expand. The second move took it to near the current location, west of Rogers Park. It was moved a third time to allow for the construction of a nearby school. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Today it is owned by the Danbury Museum and Historical Society, which is seeking to restore it and reopen it as a museum.[5]
John Rider House
Museum in Danbury, Connecticut. The John Rider House is located on Main Street in Danbury, Connecticut, United States. It is a wooden frame house dating to the late 18th century.
It remained in the Rider family until 1925. In the 1940s it was saved from demolition and restored, the beginning of historic preservation efforts in the city. today it is home to the Danbury Museum and Historical Society. It is the oldest house in the city still in its original location.
In 1977 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Six years later, when the Main Street Historic District was designated and listed on the Register, it was considered a contributing property as the oldest building in the district.[6]
Ball and Roller Bearing Company
The Ball and Roller Bearing Company, also known as American Family Crafts and the Joseph Nutt House and Machine Shop, is a historic industrial complex at 20-22 Maple Avenue in Danbury, Connecticut. Developed mainly in the early 20th century, the factory is most notable as the location where Lewis Heim invented the modern grinding machine, which revolutionized the manufacture of machine parts. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 25, 1989. It now houses a church and social service agencies.[7]
Octagon House
Building in Danbury, Connecticut. The Octagon House is a historic octagon house at 21 Spring Street in Danbury, Connecticut, United States. It is considered the best octagon house of those that survive in Connecticut. In 1973 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places to avert its demolition in urban renewal.
It is west of downtown Danbury in a residential area approximately midway along Spring between Beaver and New streets. The house itself is set back further from the street than its neighbors. It is a three-story building of one-foot–thick (30.5 cm) concrete walls faced in stucco. An octagonal cupola rises from the center of the almost flat roof, with two brick chimneys rising from the exterior walls at the southwest and southeast facets.
Verandas with cast iron railings and supports run around the upper stories. The wide roof eaves, both on the main house and the cupola, have scroll brackets. The ornate ironwork of the verandas contrasts with the simple wooden door and window surrounds.
The house was built in 1852 by Daniel Starr. He was following closely the precepts of octagon houses laid out by Orson Squire Fowler in his book A Home for All, all the way to the use of concrete as the main structural material. At the time of its construction Spring Street did not exist, so it fronted on Elm Street to the north. It has been well-maintained and preserved throughout its existence, even after its partition into apartments.[8]
Meeker's Hardware
Historical place in Danbury, Connecticut. Meeker's Hardware is located at White Street and Patriot Drive in downtown Danbury, Connecticut, United States, near the city's train station and the Danbury Railway Museum, just outside the city's Main Street Historic District. It was built in 1883, opened in 1885 and remained in the Meeker family until 2013. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It was the only hardware store on the Register. The Classical Revival exterior features a brick face with seven bays and a frieze at the top boasting a central pediment above its cornice. The name of the store is painted on both outside walls and displayed prominently in the front between the two stories. It is complemented by an interior that remains much as it did in the late 19th century. A vintage cash register is still in use. Tools and supplies are stocked in wooden shelves and compartments with thick, unfinished hardwood flooring beneath and high ceilings above, with ceiling fans to cool the building in the summertime.
On the northeast wall of the building there is a large advertisement for ten-cent Pepsi drinks, using the old logo. This was not just a decorative touch; the drink was available in the store in three-US-ounce (90 mL) plastic cups for that price. Originally the sign advertised Coca-Cola for five cents, which the store sold starting in 1983; it was a landmark to most visitors arriving at the nearby train station. The store switched to Pepsi and raised the price to ten cents in 2006 after the local Coca-Cola bottler told them they would have to install newer fountain equipment that would make the drinks unprofitable.
In 2013, the hardware store closed. It remained vacant until Vazquez Soccerchamp Sports took over in 2016.[9]
P. Robinson Fur Cutting Company
The P. Robinson Fur Cutting Company is a historic industrial building on Oil Mill Road in Danbury, Connecticut. Also known as the Oil Mill Road building, it is a large multi-section 4+1⁄2-story brick structure set on the banks of the Still River. Built in stages over the last two decades of the 19th century, it is the last surviving industrial building associated with the fur-cutting and felt-making elements of the hatting industry which dominated Danbury's economy for many years.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 30, 1982.[10]