Stamford, city in Fairfield County, southwestern Connecticut, on Long Island Sound. For much of the 20th century, Stamford was principally known as a residential suburb of the city of New York, yet the city has a long industrial history and today contains a dense concentration of major corporate headquarters.
Bais Binyomin Academy (1976) is in the city, as are branch campuses of the University of Connecticut, University of Bridgeport, and Sacred Heart University. Cultural institutions include the Stamford Center for the Arts, which stages productions in the historic Palace Theatre (built in 1929) and modern Rich Forum (1992); the Stamford Museum and Nature Center, featuring a 19th-century farm; a branch (opened 1981) of the Whitney Museum of American Art; and the Bartlett Arboretum. A city landmark is the First Presbyterian Church, built in 1959 in a contemporary style inspired by the traditional Christian symbol of a fish.
