Stamford: Economy

Major Industries and Commercial Activity

Traditionally, Stamford has been known for its corporate headquarters, manufacturing, retail and research activities. In the 1980s and 1990s, however, southwestern Connecticut blossomed, its real estate growing ever more attractive as the cost of doing business in New York City skyrocketed. By 1990, most of the city's downtown had been demolished and replaced by corporate headquarters. Like many areas of the Northeast, Stamford experienced higher vacancy rates and a slowdown in construction early in the 1990s, but by the dawn of the new century it was experiencing a tight market with low vacancy rates.

Stamford boasts an extraordinarily diverse economic base, and serves as the business center of Fairfield County. Many major U.S. companies have located their corporate headquarters in Stamford. Midway through the 2000s, Stamford remains a top-five city in the U.S. in terms of concentration of Fortune 500 headquarters in the country, as firms moved to the city citing lower costs of doing business and a higher quality of life. The area continues to have relatively low unemployment and continued growth was expected as more and more companies continued to grow in and relocate to the city. Among the firms located in Stamford are General Electric Capital Corporation, Pitney Bowes, Clairol, Xerox Corporation, Champion International, Gartner Group, Omega Engineering, Cadbury Beverages, Circon/ACMI, General RE Corporation, Hyperion Software, and Diaggio/United Distillers. Stamford is also home to Warburg Dillon Read, a Swiss-based international investment bank.

Stamford remains the major retail center of Fairfield County; a sizable portion of its labor force is employed in wholesale and retail trade. Research and development activities center around industrial research in chemicals, the electrical and optical fields, electronics, and pharmaceuticals. In addition, precision manufacturing maintained a significant presence in Stamford.

As of 2005, Stamford had more than 15 million square feet of office space rented, with additional space planned for the near future.

Items and goods produced: chemicals, computer software and microprocessors, electrical and electronic equipment, drugs, cosmetics, machinery, aircraft, metals, die casting, and apparel and textile products

Incentive Programs—New and Existing Companies

Local programs

The Southwestern Area Commerce and Industry Association (SACIA) is the designated Small Business Development Center (SBDC) for Stamford, serving start-up and small businesses. SBDCs offer technical and management assistance, counseling, education, and training programs. Qualified companies can take advantage of Federal Enterprise Zone benefits in Stamford. In addition to Stamford's already advantageous tax structure and rents as much as 50 percent lower than Manhattan rates, firms can qualify for significant corporate tax abatements under the Enterprise Zone and the Urban Jobs Program. Stamford was also named a Brownfields Showcase Community to demonstrate the benefits of collaborative activity on developing lands contaminated by industrial activity.

State programs

The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development develops and implements strategies to attract and retain businesses and jobs, revitalize neighborhoods and communities, ensure quality housing and foster appropriate development in Connecticut's towns and cities. Programs and services include loans and loan guarantees to manufacturers and job-providers, loans to women- and minority-owned businesses, planning and development services for industrial parks programs, tax credits for investments in Connecticut insurance firms, small business assistance, export assistance, and more.

Job training programs

Both on- and off-site and on-thejob training assistance is available through the Connecticut Department of Labor. Seventeen community and technical colleges across the state offer job and specialized skill training. The Connecticut Development Authority offers prime rate loans for Connecticut manufacturers to become more competitive by enhancing their employees' skills through training and development. The CDA pays 25 percent of the amount borrowed from a participating lender to invest in training, up to a maximum of $25,000. The State Department of Economic & Community Development provides counseling, job training programs, technical information and financing to help start-up and growing companies.

Development Projects

Well underway by 2005, the Mill River Corridor Project involves the creation of approximately 19 acres of new parkland along both sides of the Rippowam River and extending into downtown. The park is just the first part of a planned re-development of downtown that is expected to bring an additional $5 million in extra tax revenue annually upon completion.

The Gateway District Project was created to assemble the site for the relocation of the North American headquarters of the company now known as UBS Warburg (Swiss Bank) to Stamford. In all 12 acres of land had to be acquired and more than 20 buildings demolished to accommodate the 560,000 square-foot headquarters, which covers four city blocks in the heart of downtown and employs approximately 4,000 people.

In 2004 Stamford became one of the first major urban centers to lure a major retail store, in this case Target, to a five-story downtown location. If the store thrives the move could entice other traditionally-suburban retailers to try a downtown location, much to the surprise of industry insiders. Other downtown retail developments include a 126,000 square foot Burlington Coat Factory, and another 150,000 square feet of retail space at the Grayrock Place housing development.

Other housing projects are well underway downtown. In 2004 Stamford-based Stillwater Corp. broke ground on a 92-unit condominium project called Riverhouse with a planned occupancy date of June 2005, which was when ground was broken for another 83-unit luxury condominium development called High Grove.

Economic Development Information: Stamford Office of Economic Development, 9th Floor, Government Center, Stamford, CT; telephone (203)977-5089. Southwestern Area Commerce and Industry Association (SACIA), Ste. 230, One Landmark Square, Stamford, CT 06901-2679; telephone (203)359-3220. State Department of Economic and Community Development, 505 Hudson Street, Hartford, Connecticut 06106-7107; telephone (888)860-4628; Connecticut Development Authority, (860)258-7800

Commercial Shipping

Stamford is served by Conrail and a vast trucking fleet which makes use of the many federal and state highways that crisscross the city. Freight arrives by air at the New York City airports and is trucked into Stamford. All of the major national and international freight and shipping companies operate in the area.

Labor Force and Employment Outlook

Stamford citizens are highly educated; the city had the highest percentage of college graduates in the metropolitan area comprised of Connecticut's Fairfield County and parts of New York and New Jersey. The city's public school system turns out well-educated graduates; in fact, "Ladies Home Journal" ranked Stamford's public school system fourth among the nation's top 200 cities. Stamford's unemployment rate typically remains well below national averages. Employment gains tend to be centered in the services sector. The work force tends to be well trained and educated, which is not surprising given the technical nature of the products manufactured and the demands of the service sector. Stamford employers benefit from proximity to Yale University and other schools that provide consultation as well as education.

The following is a summary of data regarding the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk NECTA metropolitan area labor force based on 2004 annual averages.

Size of nonagricultural labor force: 409,700

Number of workers employed in . . .

construction and mining: 14,400

manufacturing: 41,800

trade, transportation, and utilities: 74,900

information: 12,100

financial activities: 41,700

business and professional services: 69,600

educational and health services: 59,500

leisure and hospitality: 32,500

other services: 16,800

government: 46,400

Average hourly earnings of production workers employed in manufacturing: $19.08 (April, 2005)

Unemployment rate: 4.9% (March 2005)

Cost of Living

Housing costs and other cost of living factors are high in Stamford and in its surrounding metropolitan area.

The following is a summary of data regarding several key cost of living factors for the Stamford area.

2004 (3rd Quarter) ACCRA Average House Price: $614,691

2004 (3rd Quarter) ACCRA Cost of Living Index: 153.2 (U.S. average = 100.0)

State income tax rate: 4.5% (corporate business tax rate: 7.5%)

State sales tax rate: 6.0%

Local income tax rate: None

Local sales tax rate: None

Property tax rate: $29.16 per $1,000 of assessed value (2005)

Economic Information: Stamford Department of Economic Development, 9th Floor, Government Center, Stamford, CT; telephone (203)977-5089

Stamford: Recreation

Sightseeing

Among Stamford's perennial premier attractions is the Bartlett Arboretum, a 63-acre nature area maintained by the University of Connecticut. Its highlights include a swamp walk, natural woodlands, cultivated gardens, ecology trails, a horticultural library, and display greenhouse. The 118-acre Stamford Museum and Nature Center, a nineteenth century park, contains a working farm, complete with farm animals and early American furniture and tools. The Center also has a planetarium, country store, nature trails, and galleries of art, natural history, and Native American items. The Champion Greenhouse presents horticulture exhibits that change with the season. The Hoyt-Barnum House, a restored blacksmith home which was built in 1699 and refurbished in 1738, represents three centuries of Stamford life. The nearby Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk attracts 525,000 visitors a year and is one of the largest attractions in Connecticut. To support the growing number of visitors and educational programs, The Maritime Aquarium recently completed its first major expansion project. Opened in April 2001, the new $9.5 million Environmental Education Center (funded through corporate, private, and state contributions) boasts new classrooms and high-tech educational equipment, plus a new main entrance, larger gift shop, and 180-seat food-service area. The move from the old gift shop also allowed for the addition of loggerhead sea turtles to the Aquarium's growing animal collection.

United House Wrecking Company's 30,000 square feet of floor space displays memorabilia such as furniture, marine salvage, antiques, musical items, and country store offerings. First Presbyterian Church, built in the shape of a fish to commemorate the early Christian symbol for Christ, was designed by Wallace K. Harrison in 1958. It features stained glass windows by Gabriel Loire of France, a Christian Memorial Walkway of flagstones, the Stamford Historical Wall tracing the city's history, and carillon concerts played by the fifty-six bells in the Maguire Memorial Tower. Many of Stamford's corporate headquarters offer tours of their facilities.

Arts and Culture

The Stamford Center for the Arts provides two homes for the performing arts in the city, and hosts more than 250 performances annually. The wonderfully restored 1927 Palace Theatre is home to the Stamford Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Connecticut Grand Opera, and the New England Lyric Operetta. The 1,580-seat facility also offers nationally renowned artists in live drama, music, dance, and opera performances. A recently completed multi-phase Palace Improvement Project has provided the Palace Theatre with an enlarged stage, new dressing rooms and other technical-support facilities, and improved services. The Rich Forum, with its 757-seat Truglia Theater, Mercede Promenade exhibition and gallery area, and "black box" Leonhardt Studio performing venue, brings live Broadway-quality productions to the city. Stamford Theatre Works, a resident professional theater company, offers productions at the Sacred Heart Academy Performing Arts Center. Connecticut Ballet stages several annual productions in Stamford, as does the city's resident City Ballet, often accompanied by dancers from the New York City Ballet. Canterbury Concerts is a series of baroque and classical choral and orchestral music performed at St. John's Episcopal Church, also the site of four annual programs presented by the Pro Arte Singers. Free summer concerts in Cove Island Park are performed by the National Chorale.

The Stamford Historical Society Museum presents permanent and changing exhibits of local history, and has research facilities. The Whitney Museum of American Art at Champion Plaza, a branch of the internationally-renowned New York City institution, offers five exhibitions annually (including works from Whitney's permanent collection), public education programs, special events, and docent-led gallery tours.

Festivals and Holidays

Stamford's annual festivals center around nature, and art and music. The coming of spring is heralded by the April's two-day Treetops Daffodil Festival and May's Azalea & Rhododendron Walk at Bartlett Arboretum. Spring on the Farm at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center Farm allows spectators to view plowing, sheepdog herding, and shearing. The Pink Tent Festival of the Arts is celebrated at Mill River Park in June. Music fills the July air with the sounds of the Long Island Sound Wave concerts. Ongoing mid-summer events include the annual Art in Public Places exhibition, the new French Market on Columbus Park (Tuesdays and Saturdays, July to November), and the five-concert Alive @ Five series of free outdoor performances in Columbus Park. September events include Arts, Crafts, and Blues on Bedford, the Harvest Fair at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center, Stamford Historical Society's three-day Quilt Show, and Kids' Day, which is sponsored by the Stamford Business Society. The two-day Gem and Mineral Show and Astronomy Day at Stamford Museum and Nature Center brightens November's days. Early December brings the city's Heights and Lights holiday extravaganza on Landmark Square, complete with a daredevil Santa rappelling down 22 stories from Stamford's tallest building and ending with the lighting of the city's tree. The glories of winter are celebrated at January's Winterfest at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center, and at February's Winterbloom two-day festival at Bartlett Arboretum.

Sports for the Spectator

Nearby Bridgeport has professional minor league sports with Bluefish baseball in the Atlantic League and Sound Tigers hockey, top affiliate for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League. Local fans are also within an easy drive of several storied New York sports franchises, including the New York Yankees and Knickerbockers. The Department of Parks and Recreation annually schedules hundreds of baseball games at Cubeta Stadium, which hosts regional tournaments for league players of all ages.

Sports for the Participant

Golf and fishing are the activities of choice in Stamford, which maintains two public 18-hole courses. October's Stamford Classic Half-Marathon provides fast course loops through foliage, both downtown and at the coastline. Salt-water fishing is available aboard several charter vessels that dock in Stamford. The city's 40 parks cover more than 650 acres and include beaches, a marina, a boat basin, bridle paths, gardens, skating rinks, ball fields, basketball and tennis courts, and playgrounds. Several of the parks and yacht clubs are found along the shoreline. Cove Island Park is an 83-acre waterfront facility with a beach and the Terry Connors Rink, which has youth hockey and figure skating programs throughout the year. Scalzi Park and Cubeta Stadium has 48 acres of fields for baseball, soccer, Little League, tennis, bocce, and roller hockey. The Mianus River Park and Glen offers walking, hiking, biking and fishing in a 183-acre preserve. Indoor rock climbing classes for adults and teens are available at Go Vertical!.

Shopping and Dining

Stamford's major shopping facility is the Stamford Town Center, an enclosed mall with more than one hundred stores anchored by several noted department stores, including Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue. Other prime shopping sites are the Bedford Street/High Ridge Fashion Plaza area, the Ridgeway Plaza, and the United House Wrecking, the state's largest antiques emporium. The nearby Norwalk Factory Outlet Center, with more than 50 stores, offers bargains on housewares, clothing, and shoes. Throughout Fairfield County, antique dealers sell furniture and house furnishings.

While seafood and New England chowders are mainstays on many menus, Stamford restaurants offer a range of culinary delights. Favorites among locals include Il Falco Ristorante (Italian), La Bretagne and Chez Jean-Pierre (French), Kujaku (Japanese and sushi), Ocean 211 (fine seafood), and Giovanni's Steak House (American).

Visitor Information: Coastal Fairfield County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 297 West Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06850; telephone (800)866-7925. State of Connecticut Tourism Division, 865 Brook St., Rocky Hill, CT 06067-3405; toll-free (800)CT-BOUND

Stamford: History

Religious Refuge Becomes Textile Center

In pre-colonial days, the Siwanoys, a subnation of the Wappinger tribe, lived on the land—which they called "Rippowam"—that now constitutes the site of modern Stamford. In 1640 the Siwanoys sold the land to Nathaniel Turner, an agent for the New Haven Colony, who was looking for arable land. A year later, twenty-eight families belonging to the Congregational Church fled a church dispute in Wethersfield, Connecticut, and arrived in Rippowam to form a permanent settlement. They called their town Stamford, after its English counterpart. In 1644, Stamford lost a third of its settlers when they moved to Long Island. Stamford, in turn, was absorbed into the Connecticut Colony.

Stamford, a minor port on Long Island Sound, had channels suitable only for small craft and barge traffic. The young community relied on subsistence agriculture and some crafts and only minimally on its trade with the West Indies. By the time of the Revolutionary War, Stamford, with 3,800 citizens, could boast that it was a major population center between New York City and New Haven.

Stamford continued to rely on its small industries until the founding of the Stamford Manufacturing Company in 1844. The new concern set up in the Cove Mills and began producing dyewood and licorice extracts, both crucial to the New England textile industry. In 1848, the railroad arrived, making Stamford one of the stops on the New York City-New Haven run. Soon European immigrants arrived by the trainload to work in Stamford's new mills. The Irish arrived in the 1840s, settling in the Kerrytown and Dublin sections of the city and forming Stamford's first ethnic minority.

Research and Development From Industrial Base

Aside from the arrival of the railroad, 1848 was an important year for Stamford for another reason: Linus Yale invented the first cylinder lock, revolutionizing lock design and launching an American industry. From 1868 until 1959, the Yale and Towne Company was the single largest employer in Stamford. Between 1869 and 1892 alone, the payroll grew from 30 to 31,000 employees. In the meantime, the west end of the city near the Mill River saw the opening of mills and foundries. In the business section, new banks, utilities, and factories opened. The population in 1868 stood at 9,700 people; that year a second railroad line opened, this time connecting the city with New Canaan.

By 1893, Stamford's population had swollen to almost 16,000 people; by the end of the century, the count stood at 19,000, which included a large number of Polish immigrants. Business boomed, much of it based upon the inventions of another Stamford genius, Simon Ingersoll. Ingersoll masterminded the friction clutch, the spring scale, and a steam-driven wagon, the precursor of the modern automobile.

When New York City became the East Coast industrial mecca of the late nineteenth century, Stamford developed into a residential suburb of the larger city. Following World War II, Stamford became the site of a number of research and development concerns, which added greatly to the local economy. Stamford incorporated as a city late by East Coast standards: in 1949, the city absorbed the surrounding communities to become the city of Stamford. By the 1960s, Stamford had attracted so many corporate headquarters that more commuters were traveling into Stamford each day than were commuting to New York City jobs. Much of the city's success in attracting those companies rested on its appeal as a suburb. To make way for them, most of the downtown was demolished and replaced by a boulevard of fortress-like corporate headquarters and a mall. The recession of the early 1990s saw the end of the office boom; new buildings stood empty as new businesses sought space in office parks elsewhere. Stamford found itself with a surfeit of office buildings and no downtown to go with them. But by the end of 1997, the situation had reversed, and Stamford had experienced a "mini-boom" with the occurrence of more than three million square feet of new, expanded or renovated construction.

By the year 2000, Stamford had increased its rental apartments by 1,000 units, and was planning for 1,000 more. In addition, the city had experienced a 27 percent decrease in the crime rate over the preceding four years. In 2005, Mayor Dannel P. Malloy said of his city: "Stamford is a community which is economically soaring, with major economic development projects currently underway. The Stamford office market is vibrant, unemployment remains at all time lows, and our economy is well diversified. The City continues to be one of the premier business locations in the metropolitan New York market, and the residential sector in Stamford is growing with the addition of hundreds of downtown rental units. Stamford continues to be a people-oriented community with a vibrant and active arts and cultural presence."

Historical Information: Stamford Historical Society, 1508 High Ridge Road, Stamford, CT 06903-4107; telephone (203)329-1183

Stamford: Education and Research

Elementary and Secondary Schools

Stamford's public school system offers several special programs, including bilingual and special education. Considered one of the finest systems in Connecticut, Stamford's enjoys one of the state's lowest student/teacher ratios. Teachers consistently earn national recognition for their innovative programs and are invited to share their expertise with their peers at conferences across the country. Stamford has had more Presidential Scholars than any other public schools system in Connecticut. Five schools offer magnet programs, each with a unique academic focus. Students are selected for the magnet programs via a lottery system.

The following is a summary of data regarding Stamford public schools as of the 2002–2003 school year.

Total enrollment: 15,231

Number of facilities

elementary schools: 12

junior high/middle schools: 4

senior high schools: 2

Student/teacher ratio: 12.3:1

Teacher salaries (2005)

average: $41,431

Funding per pupil: $13,337

The Stamford Catholic Regional School System and other parochial, private, and technical schools supplement Stamford's public school system.

Public Schools Information: Stamford Public Schools, PO Box 9310, Stamford, CT 06902; telephone (203)977-4105

Colleges and Universities

The University of Bridgeport's Stamford Campus offers graduate programs in Business (M.B.A.), Computer Science, Education, Counseling, Human Resource Development and Education Management and an undergraduate degree program, called IDEAL, for working adults. The University of Connecticut's Department of Plant Science maintains the 63-acre Bartlett Arboretum in Stamford. The university offers a master's of business administration program at the Stamford campus, as well as B.S. or B.A. degrees in American Studies, family studies, economics, English, history, political science, psychology, sociology, and general studies. A teacher certification program for college graduates is offered by the Neag School of Education. The J. M. Wright Regional Vocational Technical School provides programs in more than 25 trades and technical areas, and Stamford Hospital's School of Radiologic Technology has an allied medical program. The Westlawn Institute of Marine technology offers correspondence programs.

Libraries and Research Centers

Stamford's Ferguson Public Library system consists of a main library, three branches, and a bookmobile. The collection includes nearly 500,000 books and 1,200 periodicals. In 2004 there were 965,000 visitors to the library, and nearly 100,000 visitors to the library's website, which was named the top online library access in Connecticut. A $17,000 federal "No Child Left Out" grant helped the library's innovative Special Needs Center, which provides videos, books, and other materials to help parents of children with disabilities. Multimedia and electronic resources, art works, and Internet access are available to the public. The library is a depository for United States government and Connecticut State documents, and maintains extensive material on industries, business and management, genealogy, and local history.

Special libraries include those of the Xerox Corporation Legal Department, Clairol, Inc., CYTEC Industries, and GE Investments.

IRI Research Institute studies international agriculture and the University of Connecticut at Stamford conducts botanical research.

Public Library Information: Ferguson Library, One Public Library Plaza, Stamford, CT 06904; telephone (203)964-1000; fax (203)357-9098

Stamford: Population Profile

Metropolitan Area Residents (PMSA)

1990: 329,935

2000: 353,556

Percent change, 1990–2000: 7.1%

U.S. rank in 1990: 1st (Greater New York, NY CMSA)

U.S. rank in 2000: 1st (CMSA)

City Residents

1980: 102,466

1990: 108,056

2000: 117,083

2003 estimate: 120,107

Percent change, 1990–2000: 8.3%

U.S. rank in 1980: 161st

U.S. rank in 1990: 177th (State rank: 5th)

U.S. rank in 2000: 209th

Density: 3,354 people per square mile (2000)

Racial and ethnic characteristics (2000)

White: 81,718

Black or African American: 18,019

American Indian and Alaska Native: 243

Asian: 5,856

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander: 46

Hispanic or Latino (may be of any race): 19,635

Other: 7,608

Percent of residents born in state: 37.6%

Age characteristics (2000)

Population under 5 years old: 8,108

Population 5 to 14 years old: 7,452

Population 15 to 19 years old: 6,704

Population 20 to 24 years old: 5,669

Population 25 to 34 years old: 20,802

Population 35 to 44 years old: 20,202

Population 45 to 54 years old: 15,142

Population 55 to 59 years old: 5,665

Population 60 to 64 years old: 4,547

Population 65 to 74 years old: 8,271

Population 75 to 84 years old: 5,663

Population 85 years and over: 2,241

Median age: 36.4 years

Births (2001, Fairfield County)

Total number: 12,184

Deaths (2001, Fairfield County)

Total number: 7,025 (of which 63 were infants under the age of 1 year)

Money income (1999)

Per capita income: $34,987

Median household income: $60,556

Total number of households: 45,454

Number of households with income of . . .

less than $10,000: 3,277

$10,000 to $14,999: 2,045

$15,000 to $24,999: 3,780

$25,000 to $34,999: 4,010

$35,000 to $49,999: 5,961

$50,000 to $74,999: 8,232

$75,000 to $99,999: 5,494

$100,000 to $149,999: 6,216

$150,000 to $199,999: 2,565

$200,000 or more: 3,873

Percent of families below poverty level: 5.4% (26.8% of which were female householder families with related children under 5 years)

2002 FBI Crime Index Total: 2,398

Stamford: Communications

Newspapers and Magazines

Stamford's daily, The Advocate, is published on Monday through Sunday. Other newspapers published locally are Current Events and Know Your World Extra, both newspapers for middle- and high-school students, and The Sower, a Ukranian-Catholic publication. Magazines published in Stamford include Catalog Age, Current Science, Motorcycle Tour & Cruiser, The Sower, and Vegetarian Times. Stamford is also within the circulation area of all of the major New York media providers, including the New York Times.

Television and Radio

No radio or television stations broadcast directly from Stamford, though many broadcasts from nearby cities are accessible to residents. Connecticut Radio Information Service, headquartered in Wethersfield, broadcasts readings from daily newspapers and magazines for the benefit of state residents who are blind or cannot hold or turn pages.

Media Information: The Advocate, 75 Tresser Building, Stamford, CT 06904; telephone (203)964-2200

Stamford Online

City of Stamford. Available www.ci.stamford.ct.us

Coastal Fairfield County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Available www.coastalct.com

Connecticut Development Authority. Available www.ctcda.com

Connecticut Economic Resource Center. Available www.cerc.com

Connecticut Innovations. Available www.ctinnovations.com

Ferguson Library. Available www.ferglib.org/ferg

Stamford Historical Society. Available www.stamfordhistory.org

The Stamford Hospital. Available www.stamhealth.org

Stamford Public Schools. Available www.stamford.k12.ct.us

State Department of Economic & Community Development. Available www.ct.gov/ecd

Selected Bibliography

Huntington, E. B. History of Stamford, Connecticut: From Its Settlement in 1641, to the Present Time, Including Darien, Which Was One of its Parishes Until 1820 (Stamford: The author, 1868)

Sherwood, Herbert Francis. The Story of Stamford (New York: The States History Company, 1930)

Stamford: Health Care

The Stamford Hospital is a not-for-profit, community teaching hospital serving Stamford and surrounding communities. It has 305 inpatient beds in medicine, surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, psychiatry, and medical and surgical intensive care units. Among its medical specialty areas are: cardiology, oncology, infectious diseases, neurology, and pulmonary medicine. The hospital also has several psychiatric services programs and is the site of a bone marrow transplant center, a Level II Trauma Center, the Jaffe MRI Center, a Day Surgery Center and Ambulatory Care Clinics; its critical care unit was recognized as one of the nation's best by the National Coalition on Healthcare. Stamford Hospital maintains an educational partnership with Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons for its teaching programs in internal medicine, family practice, psychiatry, obstetrics/gynecology, and surgery.

The Tulley Health Center, now affiliated with Stamford Hospital as part of the Stamford Health System, has replaced what was formerly St. Joseph Medical Center, which closed in 1998. The centrally located Tulley campus on Strawberry Hill provides convenient access to a wide range of outpatient services including the largest free-standing day surgery center in Fairfield County, the new Health & Fitness Institute, an innovative wellness facility focused on reducing health risks, their symptoms and effects; and an expanded Immediate Care Center for non-life threatening injuries and illnesses.

Health Care Information: The Stamford Hospital, PO Box 9317, Stamford, CT 06904; telephone (203)325-7000

Stamford

The City in Brief

Founded: 1641 (incorporated, 1949)

Head Official: Mayor Dannel P. Malloy (D) (since 1995)

City Population

1980: 102,466

1990: 108,056

2000: 117,083

2003 estimate: 120,107

Percent change, 1990–2000: 8.3%

U.S. rank in 1980: 161st

U.S. rank in 1990: 177th (State rank: 5th)

U.S. rank in 2000: 209th

Metropolitan Area Population (PMSA) 1990: 329,935

2000: 353,556

Percent change, 1990–2000: 7.1%

U.S. rank in 1990: 1st (Greater New York, NY CMSA)

U.S. rank in 2000: 1st (CMSA)

Area: 38 square miles (2000)

Elevation: 34 feet above sea level

Average Annual Temperature: 51.9° F

Average Annual Precipitation: 49.46 inches

Major Economic Sectors: Manufacturing, trade, services

Unemployment Rate: 4.9% (March 2005)

Per Capita Income: $34,987 (1999)

2002 FBI Crime Index Total: 2,398

Major Colleges and Universities: St. Basil's College; branches of the University of Connecticut and Bridgeport Engineering Institute

Daily Newspaper: The Advocate

Stamford: Convention Facilities

Four downtown hotels with 1,700 rooms form the core of Stamford's meeting facilities. Meeting and banquet rooms can accommodate up to 1,100 guests. The Marriott Hotel, with 18 meeting rooms, offers 16,500 square feet of space which can be configured into additional meeting rooms or used for exhibits. The Sheraton Stamford Hotel's 26,000 square feet of exhibit space is complemented by the hotel's 15 meeting rooms. The Holiday Inn Select offers 10 meeting rooms and more than 7,000 square feet of exhibit space. The Westin Hotel's two ballrooms provide 13,000 square feet of exhibit space, supplemented by the hotel's 15 meeting rooms. The Hyatt Regency in nearby Greenwich has an additional 30,000 square feet of meeting space, a 100-seat executive amphitheater, and an outdoor pavilion.

Convention Information: Coastal Fairfield County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 297 West Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06850; toll-free (800)866-7925

Stamford: Geography and Climate

Located in southwestern Connecticut, Stamford lies at the mouth of the Rippowam River on Long Island Sound. The city itself is built around a wide bay crossed by two tidal inlets. Stamford Harbor and Cove Harbor border a finger of land jutting into the bay. The city is situated on relatively flat land that is part of the Atlantic coastal plain. The serrated shoreline is connected by a series of bridges that carry automobile and rail traffic.

Stamford's New England weather is tempered by the city's proximity to Long Island Sound. Winters are milder, with less snow, than those of inland cities. Summers are warm, with moderate humidity.

Area: 38 square miles (2000)

Elevation: 34 feet above sea level

Average Temperatures: January, 29.3° F; July, 75.3° F; annual average, 51.9° F

Average Annual Precipitation: 49.46 inches

Stamford city (1990 pop. 108,056), Fairfield co., SW Conn., on Long Island Sound; settled 1641, inc. 1893 as a city within the town of Stamford (the two were consolidated in 1949). A variety of light industrial goods are produced there, such as machinery, fabricated metal products, and chemicals. Since the 1970s, Stamford has become home to numerous corporate headquarters that moved here from New York City. It is also a residential community for many New York City commuters. Cummings Park is on the sound. The sanctuary of the First Presbyterian Church was designed by Wallace K. Harrison and built (1958) in the shape of a whale. The Stamford Museum has a nature center and an observatory. A branch of the Univ. of Connecticut is in the city.

Stamford: Municipal Government

Stamford, located in Fairfield County, operates with a mayor and 40-member board of representatives system; each member is to serve a term of four years. The 40 representatives include two from each of twenty districts within the city.

Head Official: Mayor Dannel P. Malloy (D) (since 1995; current term expires 2005)

Total Number of City Employees: 2,980 (2005)

City Information: Mayor's Office, City of Stamford, 888 Washington Boulevard, Stamford, CT 06904-2152; telephone (203)977-4150; fax (203)977-5845

Stamford: Introduction

In the twentieth century, Stamford, the fifth largest city in Connecticut, progressed from a factory hub to its current position as a research center. By the end of the twentieth century, it had also become the nation's third largest corporate headquarters community. The city enjoys both urban and suburban facets, ranging from upscale housing areas, to a handsome corporate downtown center, to areas of beautiful shoreline with parks and beaches.

Stamford ♂ Transferred use of the surname, in origin a variant of Stanford. Use as a given name may in part have been influenced by the city of Stamford in Connecticut (established in 1642) and by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (1781–1826), British founder of Singapore.

Stamford, ‘stone ford’ or ‘stony ford’, OE stān + ford: Stamford Lincs. Steanford 10th cent., Stanford 1086 (DB). Stamford Bridge E. R. Yorks. Stanford brycg c.1075. The ford here was replaced by a bridge at an early date.

Stamford, Australia, UK, USA 1. UK (England): formerly Steanford ‘Stony Ford’ from stān and ford.2. USA (Connecticut): founded in 1641 and named after their home town in England by some of the early settlers.