Discover 20 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Stamford (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Stamford Center for the Arts, Cove Island Park, and Stamford Museum & Nature Center. Also, be sure to include Old Town Hall in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Stamford (Connecticut).
Table of Contents
Stamford Center for the Arts
Theatre in Stamford, Connecticut. The Palace Theatre in downtown Stamford, Connecticut, United States, comprises two facilities on Atlantic Street: the restored Palace Theatre, and the Rich Forum, both within four blocks of each other:[1]
Address: Stamford, 61 Atlantic Street, 307 Atlantic Street
Cove Island Park
Park in Stamford, Connecticut. Cove Island Park is an 83-acre park, beach and recreation area in the Cove section of Stamford, Connecticut, located on Long Island Sound.
Access to the park requires a parking pass. The city's Park Commission charges Stamford residents with valid Stamford car registrations can buy a season pass for $25 at Government Center, the non-resident fee is $225.[2]
Address: Cove Rd, 06902 Stamford (Cove - East Side - Shippan)
Stamford Museum & Nature Center
The Stamford Museum & Nature Center, located in Stamford, Connecticut, is an art, history, nature, and agricultural sciences museum. The property covers 118 acres beginning about half a mile north of the Merritt Parkway. It was originally a private estate.
Located in the woods of North Stamford, Connecticut, the 118-acre museum property is home to a 10-acre working farm, a Tudor-style museum and gallery which hosts exhibitions, an interactive nature center, 80 acres of outdoor trails, a large planetarium, a 4-story observatory with a research telescope, an otter pond, and a large playground designed for children to experience animals' perspective on nature.
In addition to the facilities, the SM&NC offers seasonal family-oriented exhibits and weekend festivals, year-round childhood educational programming, camps, and volunteer opportunities.[3]
Address: 39 Scofieldtown Rd, 06903 Stamford (North Stamford)
Old Town Hall
City or town hall in Stamford, Connecticut. The Old Town Hall is located in the Downtown section of Stamford, Connecticut. It is located at the southwest corner of Main and Atlantic Streets, occupying a portion of a triangular block bounded on the south by Bank Street. The rest of the block is occupied by the modern portion of Stamford's city hall. The building is an elegant Beaux Arts structure, designed by the New York City firm of Mellon and Jossely and built in 1905.
In the 1960s, city officials began to leave it for larger buildings. In the 1980s it was said to be abandoned, and left so for approximately 20 years. In 2001, with the help of state grants, the city began a renovation. In recent years, it has been rented to businesses as an office space.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 2, 1972.[4]
Address: 175 Atlantic St, 06901 Stamford
Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens
Arboretum in Stamford, Connecticut. The Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens in Stamford, Connecticut, contains 93 acres of parkland, gardens, landscapes, and hiking trails that focus on the regional plants, ecology and character of Southwestern New England. The Arboretum is open and accessible to the public every day of the year and is located at 151 Brookdale Road.
The herbarium of the Bartlett Arboretum is a collection of over 3500 specimens. While most specimens are from the Northeastern United States, the collection also houses material from the Southeastern United States and Adjacent Mexico (200), the Caribbean (100), Amazonian Peru (150), the former Soviet Union (200),and Africa (100). This collection includes approximately 2,500 species of vascular plants, and 1,000 species of bryophyte. The collection currently houses one type specimen.[5]
Fish Church
Presbyterian church in Stamford, Connecticut. The First Presbyterian Church of Stamford is a church in Stamford, Connecticut designed by architect Wallace K. Harrison. Nicknamed the Fish Church for its unusual shape, it is a unique example of modernist architecture, and an architectural landmark. Its 260-foot-tall Maguire Memorial Tower holds a 56-bell carillon. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark for its architecture in 2021.[6]
Address: 1101 Bedford St, 06905 Stamford
Our Lady Star of the Sea Church
Catholic church in Stamford, Connecticut. Our Lady Star of the Sea is a Roman Catholic church in Stamford, Connecticut, part of the Diocese of Bridgeport.[7]
Address: 1200 Shippan Ave, Stamford (Cove - East Side - Shippan)
Basilica of Saint John the Evangelist
Catholic church in Stamford, Connecticut. The Basilica of Saint John the Evangelist is a Catholic parish church and minor basilica in Stamford, Connecticut, USA. It was founded in the 1850s and the current church was built in 1868 to meet the increasing needs of the congregation. It serves a multi-lingual congregation, including descendants of the original congregation.[8]
Address: 279 Atlantic St, 06901 Stamford
Fort Stamford Site
Park in Stamford, Connecticut. The Fort Stamford Site, site of Fort Stamford, is a public park at 900 Westover Road in the Westover neighborhood of Stamford, Connecticut. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. It is the site of the archaeological remnants of a military earthworks erected during the American Revolutionary War. The fort's location gave a clear view of the Mianus River and Long Island Sound.[9]
Stamford Cone
Artwork. The Stamford Cone is a 14-metre-high stained glass pavilion, commissioned from the artist Brian Clarke as a site-specific artwork for the headquarters of UBS AG and landmark feature for the city of Stamford, Connecticut. Designed and fabricated over three years, it was completed in 1999 at a cost of over $1 million. The realisation of the design was executed jointly by Clarke, architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and engineered by Goldreich Engineering and Dewhurst MacFarlane & Partners. The work was fabricated under Clarke's supervision in Munich, Germany, by the Mayer'sche Hofkunstanstalt. At the time of its completion, the artwork was the largest free-standing glass structure ever made.[10]
Holy Name of Jesus Parish
Catholic church in Stamford, Connecticut. Holy Name of Jesus Parish is a church in Stamford, Connecticut, United States, founded on July 19, 1903. It is one of the Polish-American Roman Catholic parishes in New England in the Diocese of Bridgeport. Holy Name of Jesus Church is the second oldest Catholic Church in Stamford.[11]
Address: 4 Pulaski St, Stamford (West Side - Waterside - South End)
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
Episcopal church in Stamford, Connecticut. St. Andrew's Episcopal Church is a historic church at 1231 Washington Boulevard in Stamford, Connecticut. Built in 1860 and consecrated on May 8, 1861, Saint Andrew's Church was originally a mission of St. John's Church Stamford until its incorporation as a parish on June 12, 1865. Saint Andrew's was the first free church in the diocese where parishioners did not have to pay a pew rental fee. St. Andrew's was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 as St. Andrew's Protestant Episcopal Church. Its church and parish hall are fine examples of Gothic architecture designed by Henry Hudson Holly.[12]
Address: 1231 Washington Blvd, 06902-2402 Stamford
Zion Lutheran Church
Church building in Stamford, Connecticut. The Zion Lutheran Church is a historic Lutheran church building at 132 Glenbrook Road in Stamford, Connecticut. The red brick Gothic Revival structure was built in 1925 by a German immigrant congregation founded in 1897. It is the city's only red brick church. The main facade is dominated by a square tower on the right, which rises only to the height of the roof gable on the left. The gable stands above a large quadruple window set in a slightly pointed arch, which stands above the main entrance, which is recessed in an arched opening.
The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.[13]
Address: 132 Glenbrook Rd, Stamford (Springdale - Glenbrook - Belltown)
Holy Name of Jesus Parish
Church. Holy Name of Jesus Parish is a church in Stamford, Connecticut, United States, founded on July 19, 1903. It is one of the Polish-American Roman Catholic parishes in New England in the Diocese of Bridgeport. Holy Name of Jesus Church is the second oldest Catholic Church in Stamford.[14]
Park Tower Stamford
Building. Park Tower Stamford is a 36-story condominium property located at 1 Broad Street in Stamford, Connecticut. Real estate developers Thomas Rich and Louis R. Cappelli began planning the project as Park Tower in February 2006; it was renamed as Trump Parc Stamford later that year, after Donald Trump joined the project, and again renamed Park Tower Stamford following the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol.
Trump Parc was initially rejected by the city, as it was considered too large for its 0.5-acre (0.20 ha) site. A revised, smaller version of the project was approved in November 2006, and a groundbreaking ceremony was held in May 2007. Construction was delayed twice in 2008, after several construction incidents. The building finally opened in September 2009 as the tallest building in Stamford.
In 2015, during Trump's presidential campaign, Muslim groups in Stamford launched an unsuccessful attempt to have his name removed from the building after he proposed a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States. However, the condo board ultimately declined to renew their contract with The Trump Organization after it expired in December 2020, and they renamed the building the following year.[15]
Address: Stamford, 1 Broad Street
Agudath Sholem Synagogue
Synagogue in Stamford, Connecticut. Congregation Agudath Sholom is a historic Jewish synagogue in Stamford, Connecticut. The original synagogue building was later converted into a Christian church building, the Faith Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church.
It's one of multiple synagogues considered in a study of NRHP eligibility.[16]
St. Luke's Chapel
Building in Stamford, Connecticut. St. Luke's Chapel is a historic building at 714 Pacific Street in Stamford, Connecticut. The chapel was built in 1891 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.[17]
Unitarian Universalist Church
Unitarian universalist church in Stamford, Connecticut. The Unitarian Universalist Church is a historic church at 20 Forest Street in Stamford, Connecticut. It is a modestly-sized Gothic Revival structure, built out of fieldstone, brick, and granite, in 1870 to a design by Stamford architect Gage Inslee. While most of its exterior windows are stenciled in imitation of stained glass, it has two genuine stained glass windows in the choir loft that are between 400 and 700 years old, and were brought over parishioner Thomas Crane. The church rectory, built 1880, is a handsome Victorian Gothic structure with early elements of Queen Anne styling.
The church complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.[18]
Address: Forest St, Stamford, CT 06901, 06901 Stamford
Turn-of-River Bridge
Truss bridge in Stamford, Connecticut. The Turn-of-River Bridge, also known as Old North Stamford Road Bridge, is a single-span lenticular pony truss bridge built by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company in 1892. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. It formerly brought the Old Stamford Road across the Rippowam River, but is now open only to pedestrian traffic, as the road ends shortly before the bridge.
The bridge uses the design patented by William O. Douglas in 1878 for a lens-type truss bridge, and is built out of wrought and cast iron, with pin connections, and has a concrete deck. It rests on stone abutments, and has a total span of 53 feet (16 m). It is one of only about twenty lenticular truss bridges remaining in the state. It is now open only to pedestrian traffic.[19]
Address: 268 Turn of River Rd, 06905 Stamford (North Stamford)
St. Mary's Church
Catholic church in Stamford, Connecticut. St. Mary's is a cathedral-style church located at 566 Elm Street in Stamford, Connecticut. The church is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport. The main building is a Gothic Revival structure, designed by Francis L. S. Mayers and completed about 1928. It is an elegant example of French Gothic architecture, notable for the large rose window in the front-facing gable end. The rectory is a c. 1860 Italianate villa, originally built for a member of the locally prominent Wardwell family.
The complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.[20]