Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Westport (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Earthplace, Westport Country Playhouse, and Saugatuck River Bridge. Also, be sure to include Unitarian Church in Westport in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Westport (Connecticut).
Table of Contents
Earthplace
Non-profit organization. Earthplace Earthplace is a donor supported, non-profit organization committed to building passion and respect for the natural world and a more sustainable future for our community; located in Westport, Connecticut. Earthplace blends science, nature conservation, and education into pathways for experiencing and learning about the natural world.[1]
Address: 10 Woodside Ln, 06880-2322 Westport
Westport Country Playhouse
Theater in Westport, Connecticut. Westport Country Playhouse, is a not-for-profit regional theater in Westport, Connecticut.
It was founded in 1931 by Lawrence Langner, a New York theater producer. Langner remodeled an 1830s tannery with a Broadway-quality stage.[2]
Address: Westport, 25 Powers Court
Saugatuck River Bridge
Swing bridge in Westport, Connecticut. The Saugatuck River Bridge is a bridge in Connecticut carrying Route 136 over the Saugatuck River in Westport. The bridge, built in 1884, is the oldest surviving movable bridge in Connecticut and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The total length of the bridge is 87.5 metres with a deck width of 6.1 metres and a minimum vertical clearance of 2.1 metres above the river. The bridge carries an average of about 16,000 vehicles per day. In 2007, the bridge was named the William F. Cribari Memorial Bridge.[3]
Address: 5 Riverside Ave, 06880 Westport
Unitarian Church in Westport
Church in Westport, Connecticut. The Unitarian Church in Westport is a large active Unitarian-Universalist congregation in lower Fairfield that is a member of the Unitarian-Universalist Association. Its dramatic building in Westport, Connecticut was designed by modernist architect Victor A. Lundy and completed in 1965. It won an award from Architect magazine. The congregation was founded in 1949 as "The First Unitarian Fellowship of Fairfield County" and changed its name to "The Unitarian Church in Westport" in 1964. The building has been compared to E. Fay Jones' Thorncrown Chapel and to the wooden tent Lundy designed for the interior of his Unitarian Meeting House in Hartford, Connecticut. It's nickname New Ship Church is a reference to the Old Ship Church built in 1681 in Hingham, Massachusetts.[4]
Address: 10 Lyons Plains Rd, Westport
Our Lady of the Assumption Church
Catholic church in Westport, Connecticut. Our Lady of the Assumption Church is a Roman Catholic church in Westport, Connecticut, part of the Diocese of Bridgeport.[5]
Address: 98 Riverside Ave, 06880 Westport
Bradley–Wheeler House
The Bradley–Wheeler House, also known as the Charles B. Wheeler House, is a historic house museum located at 25 Avery Place in Westport, Connecticut. Built about 1795 and restyled in the Italianate mode about 1867, it is one of the oldest surviving houses in Westport center. It was home to a procession of prominent local businessmen in the 19th century, and also includes a distinctive cobblestone barn that is the only known example of its type in the state. On July 5, 1984, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.[6]
Rolnick Observatory
Astronomical observatory. The Westport Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Westport, Connecticut, operated by the Westport Astronomical Society and formerly known as the Rolnick Observatory. The observatory is located at the highest elevation in the town. It was built upon the former BR-73 Nike missile site in the mid-1960s and has undergone several upgrades and refurbishments since then.[7]
Address: 182 Bayberry Ln, 06880-2802 Westport
The Westport Library
Public library. The Westport Library is a public library in the town of Westport, Connecticut, established on February 4, 1886, by members of the Westport Reading-Room and Library Association.
Morris Ketchum Jesup, born in 1830 to a country doctor, amassed a fortune in the railroad business and became the benefactor of the library, donating the land and $5,000 for the building. In April 1908, the Westport Public Library was completed at a cost of $75,000 and dedicated to the custody of the Westport Library Association by Jesup's wife, following the wishes of her husband who died four months earlier.
In June 1984, plans were announced to build a new library on a site adjacent to Jesup Green on the Saugatuck River. Considerable discussion took place about how to raise the money for the new library and the proposed site, a former landfill. After a referendum was approved, the new library was built for $4.6 million and opened on Labor Day of 1986.
As popularity of the library increased, another renovation and expansion was completed in 1998. The improvements included an innovative project called the "River of Names," a wall of small handmade tiles, paid for individually by donors, depicting local history.
By the year 2000, the library was the second busiest in the state in terms of circulation per capita, averaging 1,200 visitors a day.
Embracing a trend in expanding the role of libraries, the library opened a makerspace in 2012, a structure with 3D printers and other tools for people to create inventions and learn about new technology. The name of the library was changed to The Westport Library.
In 2013, the library received a $246,545 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services for the enhancement of the makerspace. In 2014, the library became the first library in the nation to use humanoid robots for the purpose of teaching computer programming.
On September 2017, ground was broken on a renovation project for the library, dubbed the "Transformation Project." The renovation lasted two years, and the library was reopened on June 23, 2019.
As a "forum for civic engagement and an incubator of new ideas," the Library provides many books and resources geared to fundraising, social entrepreneurship, and non-profit organizations. An example of a book about social entrepreneurship is the memoir, "Start Something that Matters" by Blake Mycoskie, the founder of the global footwear giant, Toms Shoes. The Library has the distinction of being a Funding Information Network partner of the Foundation Center, the nation's leading authority on organized philanthropy. A Grants Center section provides additional guides and manuals for becoming effective fundraisers for causes of all types and sizes.[8]
Address: 20 Jesup Rd, 06880-4309 Westport
Winslow Dog Park
Park, Relax in park
Address: North Compo Road and Post Rd East, Westport
Temple Israel
Synagogue in Westport, Connecticut. Temple Israel is a reform Jewish synagogue located in Westport, Connecticut. It was established in 1948. Currently, about 700 families are members of the community.[9]
Address: 14 Coleytown Rd, 06880 Westport
Saugatuck River Railroad Bridge
Bascule bridge in Westport, Connecticut. The Saugatuck River Railroad Bridge, also known as Saugatuck River Bridge, is a railroad bridge carrying trackage of Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line over the Saugatuck River in Westport, Connecticut. It is one of eight moveable bridges on the Amtrak Northeast Corridor route through Connecticut. It was built in 1905 for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.
The bridge design is a single leaf Scherzer rolling lift bascule bridge.
The bridge was surveyed in a multiple-property historic study in 1986. The eight bridges from west to east are: Mianus River Railroad Bridge at Cos Cob, built in 1904; Norwalk River Railroad Bridge at Norwalk, 1896; Saugatuck River Railroad Bridge at Westport, 1905; Pequonnock River Railroad Bridge at Bridgeport, 1902; Housatonic River Railroad Bridge, at Devon, 1905; Connecticut River Railroad Bridge, Old Saybrook-Old Lyme, 1907; Niantic River Bridge, East Lyme-Waterford, 1907; and Thames River Bridge, Groton, built in 1919.[10]