Bridgeport, city in southwestern Connecticut, in Fairfield County. It is located at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Island Sound. Bridgeport is a manufacturing city, although its industrial base, focused on production of military hardware, declined as government orders decreased in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The city is also an important banking center. Bridgeport has extensive transportation connections with nearby metropolitan regions and is situated on a deepwater port. Ferry service connects the city with Port Jefferson, New York, on Long Island. Air transportation is through Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport.
The city is the seat of the University of Bridgeport (1927) and a community and technical college. Nearby are Bridgeport Engineering Institute (1924) and Sacred Heart University (1963). Cultural institutions include the Discovery Museum, with interactive art and science exhibits; the Housatonic Museum of Art; and a zoo. Notable is the Barnum Museum, honoring showman and onetime Bridgeport mayor P. T. Barnum and entertainer Charles S. Stratton (known as Tom Thumb), who was born in the city.
