What to See in Fairfield - Top Sights and Attractions

Museum in Fairfield. The Connecticut Audubon Society Birdcraft Museum and Sanctuary, also known as Birdcraft Museum & Sanctuary or simply Birdcraft Sanctuary, in Fairfield, Connecticut is the oldest private songbird sanctuary in the United States. It was established in 1914 by Mabel Osgood Wright.

The 6-acre (2.4 ha) site was originally planted as a refuge to attract, harbor and feed migratory and resident birds. The Connecticut Audubon Society has documented sightings of more than 120 species of birds at this site, and the organization has operated a bird banding station here since 1979. The natural history museum contains mounted preserved animals displayed in dioramas depicting Connecticut's wildlife as it existed at the end of the 20th century, as well as the Frederick T. Bedford Collection of African Animals.

Structures at the sanctuary include a frame bungalow and a museum building, the former built as a caretaker's residence. Significant man-made or man-sculpted features of the sanctuary include a pond, gardens, and meadows, as well as a chimney constructed as a nesting spot for chimney swifts. Most of these structures were built in 1914, although the museum and bungalow have both been enlarged (substantially in the case of the museum) since then.

The Birdcraft Museum and Sanctuary was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993. Its establishment marked the revival of a bird conservation movement which had begun in the 1880s but languished and declined since then.

The property is one of five nature centers and 19 wildlife sanctuaries operated by Connecticut Audubon, which is not affiliated with the National Audubon Society.^[1]

Museum in Fairfield, Connecticut. Fairfield Museum and History Center is a museum and library located at 370 Beach Road in Fairfield, Connecticut. Established in 2007 by the 103-year-old Fairfield Historical Society, the Fairfield Museum’s vision is to use history to strengthen community and to shape its future. The 13,000 square-foot museum features exhibition galleries, a special collection research library and reading room, a family education center, an 80-seat theater overlooking Fairfield’s Town Green and a museum shop.

Art and history exhibitions have included the inaugural exhibit Landscape of Change, It’s a Hit! A Hometown View of Our National Pastime, Bravo! A Century of Theatre in Fairfield County, Exploring Our Cultural Heritage, the annual IMAGES juried photography exhibition and Creating Community: Exploring 375 Years of Our Past.

Programs and activities for families and youth include the Holiday Express Train Show, Family Days, Scavenger Hunts, Vacation Camps, the Halloween Spooky Stroll and walking tours exploring the Town Green campus.

The Meeting Hall overlooking the Town Green hosts lectures, panels and shared discussions led by scholars, university professors and historians that illuminate history through dialogue and debate with the larger community. The Special Collections Library and Reading Room includes genealogy and family papers that date back to 1639. The Museum Shop features a selection of Fairfield gifts and books.^[2]

Museum in Fairfield, Connecticut. The Fairfield University Art Museum, formerly the Bellarmine Museum of Art, is an art museum located on the renovated lower level of Bellarmine Hall on the campus of Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. The museum features Classical, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Celtic and Asian art and artifacts in three distinct galleries totaling 2,700 square feet of space. The museum hosts 2-3 special exhibitions each year in the Bellarmine Hall Galleries. The museum also includes the Walsh Gallery, in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Performing Arts, with 1800 square feet of exhibition space. The Walsh Gallery hosts 2-3 special exhibitions annually. CollegeRank.net ranks it the 37th Most Amazing College Museum in the United States noting that "with an incredibly rich and broad collection of paintings, sculpture, and plaster casts, the Bellarmine Museum of Art is a must-see for art enthusiasts."^[4]

Museum. The David Ogden House is a historic house at 1520 Bronson Road in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was built in 1750 as an integral saltbox. The house is an exceptional survivor of a typical mid 18th century Connecticut farmhouse. There is a massive central field stone chimney topped with brick. The house, which escaped the burning of Fairfield by the British forces that invaded during the American Revolution, provides a glimpse into the life of a typical family. The house was called the new house in a 1750 deed. It is believed that the house was built for David Ogden at the time of his marriage to Jane Sturges. For the next 125 years it was home for the Ogden family in this farming and coastal shipping town. The house fell into disrepair and was donated to the Fairfield Historical Society. Presently, the house serves as a museum for the Fairfield Historical Society, which also operates the Fairfield Museum and History Center.

At one time the Ogden House was owned by art and antiques dealer Mary Allis, who turned it into a showcase for eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century American folk paintings and furniture.^[7]

Theatre in Fairfield, Connecticut. The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts is the major center of theatre and the arts at Fairfield University located in Fairfield, Connecticut. The Center includes events such as popular and classical music, dance, theatre, and programs for young audiences. Westport Magazine recognized the Quick Center as the "cultural epicenter of Fairfield County."

The Quick Center was constructed and dedicated in 1990 with the generous support and leadership of Fairfield University benefactor, Leslie C. Quick Jr. and was named for his beloved wife, Regina. Mr. Quick was a member of the Fairfield University Board of Trustees, Chairman of the Board from 1982 through 1995 and received an Honorary Doctorate from the University in 1999.^[12]

The Black Rock Historic District is a predominantly residential historic district in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport, Connecticut. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. At that time it included 109 contributing buildings. The historic district surrounds at the upper reaches of Black Rock Harbor.

Black Rock was settled in 1644, and developed as a major shipping and trading center in the 1760s after a bridge over Ash Creek created a direct road connection to Fairfield Center. It was the third largest port in Connecticut at the time of the American Revolutionary War, and became the official Port of Entry for Fairfield County in 1790. The village was originally part of Fairfield before being annexed to Bridgeport in 1870. By that time the port had declined in importance. In subsequent years the once-rural village was gradually incorporated into the city's urban fabric. That portion of the district to the south of Bartram Avenue (88 buildings) is also a City of Bridgeport Local Historic District, where changes to a building's exterior that are visible from a public right-of-way must receive a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic District Commission.

The district includes the Thomas Wheeler Sr. House (1644–80), considered the fourth-oldest house in Connecticut, at 266 Brewster Street. Other important structures include the Gershom Sturges/Benjamin Penfield House (1803-1836) at 105 Beacon Street, an example of the Greek Revival style; the Wolcott Chauncey House at 150 Seabright Avenue (1769), an example of a Colonial "Cape" house and birthplace of Commodore Isaac Chauncey; the Captain William Hall House at 87 Ellsworth Street (1856), a Gothic-Italianate villa in the "Hudson River Bracketed" mode and home to a major shipyard owner; and the Gould Brothers House at 119-21 Seabright Avenue (1868), a double-house built in the French Second Empire style for two building contractors.^[13]