What to See in Stratford - Top Sights and Attractions

Bridge in Milford, Connecticut. The Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge carries the limited-access Merritt Parkway over the Housatonic River, between Stratford and Milford, Connecticut.

The first bridge on the site, known as the Sikorsky Bridge, was completed in 1940, marking the completion of the Merritt Parkway and the starting point for construction of the adjoining Wilbur Cross Parkway, September 2, 1940. It featured two lanes in each direction, and open steel grid decking that saved cost to stay within budget and was unpopular with drivers. A toll plaza stood at the eastern end of the Sikorsky Bridge until Connecticut abolished tolls in 1988, and is now preserved in Stratford at the Boothe Memorial Park and Museum.

The Sikorsky Bridge was named after aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky, whose helicopter factory remains located north of the roadway, along the western riverfront, immediately north of the approach to the bridge (although visibility of the display of his name on that facility -- which in the 21st century operates as a component of United Aircraft Corporation -- has been downgraded.

After years of environmental studies, the Connecticut Department of Transportation awarded an $87 million contract to Balfour Beatty Construction to build the replacement bridge, the Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge, in 2000. The southern half of the Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge opened in 2003; the Sikorsky Bridge was demolished in 2004. In February 2004, the load unexpectedly shifted on a crane that was removing structural steel from the old bridge. The crane overturned and fell into the partially frozen Housatonic River, killing its operator.

The remaining half of the Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge was completed in 2006, two years behind schedule. The new bridge has a concrete deck, with an asphalt surface, three lanes in each direction, full left and right shoulders, a sidewalk for pedestrians, wrought-iron railing, and aesthetic lighting. The bridge also includes a system of concrete fenders that protects the bridge piers from ship collisions, a feature that was absent from the 1940 span.

In 2006, the new bridge was formally dedicated as the Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge.^[1]

Bascule bridge in Milford, Connecticut. The Washington Bridge, also known as the Devon Bridge, carries U.S. Route 1 over the Housatonic River in the U.S. state of Connecticut, connecting the city of Milford to the town of Stratford. Its geographic location is N 41.20037 by W −73.11039. It is considered architecturally notable by the National Register of Historic Places for its five 100-foot-long arches. It is designated Bridge No. 327 by the state Department of Transportation.

The Washington Bridge is the longest drawbridge on the Boston Post Road. It is a steel trunnion-bearing bascule drawbridge. 859 feet (262 m) in length by 43 feet (13 m) in width, featuring two lanes in each direction for automotive traffic and a sidewalk for pedestrians. The clear channel for shipping is 125 feet (38 m) wide. The bridge, which cost $1.5 million in 1921, was the largest and most expensive project of the state highway department up to the date of its construction.^[2]

The Captain David Judson House is a historic house at 967 Academy Hill in Stratford, Connecticut. It was built by David Judson ca. 1750. The new house was built on the stone foundation and incorporates the chimney of the original house built on the site in 1638 by Judson's great grandfather William. William left the house to his son Joseph Judson in November 1660 when he removed to New Haven. Nine generations of Judsons lived in the house until 1888.

The first floor, now the cellar, is above ground level and contains a massive central stone chimney which was built with lug poles. It is believed that the cellar was used as slave quarters in the early18th century. The new house, built ca. 1750, is designed in the style of Georgian architecture, or colonial Georgian, found throughout the American colonies during this time. The furnishings are entirely period pieces of Stratford origin, dating from the 18th century and includes a piano which belonged to William Samuel Johnson, framer of the United States Constitution, and also the second president of Columbia University. The piano has been on display at George Washington's plantation Mount Vernon. The house also has various other works of historical and artistic significance, displayed for the public. The Judson House broken scroll pediment entry is one of the finest in Connecticut. An architectural drawing was used on the cover of J. Frederick Kelly's Early Domestic Architecture of Connecticut published in 1924.

Captain David Judson House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 20, 1973. It is also included in the Stratford Center Historic District, which was listed on the NRHP in 1978.

The house is open to the public and is operated as a historic house museum and research library by the Stratford Historical Society, and is located at 967 Academy Hill in Stratford.^[3]

Girder bridge in Milford, Connecticut. Moses Wheeler Bridge carries Interstate 95 over the Housatonic River between Stratford and the Devon section of Milford. The current bridge is a 14-span continuous girder and floorbeam structure that carries three lanes of traffic in each direction, with full inside and outside shoulders. The current bridge, completed in 2016, replaces a pre-existing structure that was completed as part of the original Connecticut Turnpike in 1958. The original bridge was a 34-span plate girder structure with a concrete deck with three 12-foot travel lanes in each direction and no shoulders. The central span of the original bridge over the river's navigation channel included a pin and hanger assembly, which are no longer used in bridge construction in the United States. Construction on the Moses Wheeler Bridge began in 1955 and opened on January 2, 1958.^[4]

Museum in Stratford, Connecticut. Boothe Memorial Park and Museum sits on a 32-acre site in the Putney section of Stratford, Connecticut. Built about 1840 and remodeled in 1914, it is said to be "The Oldest Homestead in America," since it sits on the foundations of a 1663 house, and has been continuously occupied. Circa 1914 two brothers, David Beach Boothe and Stephen Nichols Boothe, created the Boothe Memorial Museum which maintains a collection of twenty architecturally unique buildings. Some of the structures include a carriage house, Americana Museum, miniature lighthouse, windmill, a clock tower museum, trolley station, chapel, and a blacksmith shop. The property became a public park owned by the town of Stratford in 1949.

Boothe Memorial Park and Museum was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 1, 1985.^[6]

Museum in Stratford, Connecticut. The National Helicopter Museum is a non-profit museum focused on the history of the helicopter and aviation industry around Stratford, Connecticut in the United States.

The museum was founded in 1983 by Dr. Raymond Jankowich and Robert McCloud. The museum is housed in the eastbound railroad station building of the Stratford station of the Metro-North Railroad.

The National Helicopter Museum collects and exhibits images and objects related to the long history of the aviation and helicopter industry in Stratford, the home of Sikorsky Aircraft company. Sikorsky Aircraft built the experimental helicopters developed by inventor Igor Sikorsky.

The National Helicopter Museum traces the evolution of the rotary wing from early predecessors like the boomerang and Chinese tops to designs by Leonardo da Vinci and George Cayley to early motorized experiments to modern helicopters of today.

Igor Sikorsky's first helicopter success in Stratford on September 14, 1939 is documented as well as his subsequent productions.

Also displayed are the small gas turbine engines developed locally by Dr. Anselm Franz at Avco Lycoming which power such helicopters as the Bell Helicopter UH-1 Iroquois or Huey and the Boeing CH-47 Chinook.

Other exhibits include ones on tilt rotor development; current photos and models of aircraft by Bell, Boeing, Kaman Aircraft, Robinson Helicopter, and Sikorsky; and a working cockpit of the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter.^[7]

Community center in Stratford, Connecticut. Sterling House is a community center at 2283 Main Street in Stratford, Connecticut. It is located in a mansion that was built by John William Sterling in 1886. Sterling House is a Romanesque mansion on the property. In its early days it was the home of the Sterling family. The mansion was designed by architect Bruce Price of New York, who also designed Osborne Hall and Welch Hall at Yale University. Sterling's daughter, Cordelia, donated the house and its surrounding estate to the town as a park upon her death in 1931. Since 1932, Sterling House has been known as Sterling House Community Center, running a variety of events, functions, and public service programs for Stratford's community, ranging from day camps for children, to educational programs, sports events, addiction support programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous, and others.

The house is a contributing element in the Stratford Center Historic District.^[8]

The Sterling Homestead is a historic house at 2225 Main Street in Stratford, Connecticut. It is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, five bays wide, with a side-gable roof and two interior chimneys. A front-facing cross gable, decorated with a fan louver, stands centered above a Palladian window and the front entry, which is framed by sidelight windows and pilasters topped by an entablature. This house was probably built around 1790 for Abijah McEwen, and is most prominent for its association with John W. Sterling, a major local landowner and ship's captain engaged in the China trade, who purchased it in the mid-19th century. Sterling later built an elaborate mansion nearby, which now houses the Sterling House Community Center.

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.^[10]