Stamford, Connecticut

Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to 2007 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 118,475,^[1] making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England. Stamford is in the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk Metro area which is a part of the Greater New York metropolitan area.

History

Stamford was known as Rippowam by the Native American inhabitants to the region, and the very first European settlers to the area also referred to it as such. The name was later changed to Stamford after a town in Lincolnshire, England. The deed to Stamford was signed on July 1, 1640 between Captain Turner of the New Haven Colony and Chief Ponus. By the Eighteenth century, one of the primary industries of the town was merchandising by water, which was possible due to Stamford's proximity to New York.

In 1692, Stamford was home to a less famous witch trial than the well-known Salem witch trial, which also occurred in 1692. The accusations were less fanatical and smaller-scale but also grew to prominence through gossip and hysterics.^[2]

Starting in the late 19th century, New York residents built summer homes on the shoreline, and even back then there were some who moved to Stamford permanently and started commuting to Manhattan by train, although the practice became more popular later. Stamford incorporated as a city in 1893.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Fairfield's commercial real estate boomed as corporations relocated from New York City to peripheral areas.^[3] A massive urban redevelopment campaign during that time resulted in a downtown with many tall office buildings. The F.D. Rich Co. was the city-designated urban renewal developer of the downtown in an ongoing redevelopment project that was contentious, beginning in the 1960s and continuing through the 1970s. The company put up what was the city's tallest structure, One Landmark Square, at 21 floors high, and the GTE building (now One Stamford Forum), along with the Marriott Hotel, the Stamford Town Center and many of the other downtown office buildings. One Landmark Square has since been dwarfed by the new 35-story Trump Parc condominium tower(topped out), and soon by the 400-foot 39 story Ritz Carlton Hotel and Residences development, another project by the Rich Company in partnership with Cappelli Enterprises.^[4] Over the years, other developers have joined in building up the downtown, a process that continued, with breaks during downturns in the economy, through the 1980s, 1990s and into the new century.

Geography

Stamford is situated near the southwestern point of Connecticut. It is bordered on the north by Pound Ridge, New York, to the south by Long Island Sound, by Greenwich to the west, and both Darien and New Canaan to the east.

Climate

Stamford experiences a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa). The average high temperature annually is . The average low temperature annually is . The highest recorded temperature was in 2001. The lowest recorded temperature was in 1982. The average warmest month is July. January is the average coolest month. The maximum average precipitation occurs in May. The average precipitation from November to March is . During the winter months, it is not uncommon for snowfall to occur in the northern part of the city, while remaining rain in the downtown and coastal areas of the city. This is mainly due to the tempering effects of Long Island Sound on climate.