Edinburgh Crescent, at 431-449 Washington Avenue in Bridgeport, is a row house block built in 1889. The Richardsonian Romanesque building was constructed by developers Edwin G. Sanford and Mrs. Lucien W. Shephers and was designed by architects Longstaff & Hurd, who also designed the building which is now the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport. In the 1990s, the dilapidated Edinburgh Crescent was converted to serve as low income housing.
The house at 850 Clinton Avenue in Bridgeport was built in 1906 for F. Merton Hammond, superintendent (and later treasurer and then president) of the Thomas P. Taylor Company. According to an article in the Bridgeport Telegram of Monday, October 3, 1927, the Hammond residence was entered by burglars sometime during the preceding weekend, while the family was away. The burglars gained entry by forcing open a window in the pantry at the rear of the house and stole a quantity of jewelry, which included a diamond ring.
The Queen Anne House at 2148 North Avenue in Bridgeport was built in 1888 for Isaac Fowler, a rent collector.
The house at 820 Clinton Avenue in Bridgeport was built in 1911 for Angus H. MacKenzie. The house has a basic American Foursquare form with Mission Revival-style roof and stucco siding. The house is now owned by the Sisters of The Company of The Savior. Angus H. MacKenzie (the original owner) and his brother are described as follows in the History of Bridgeport and Vicinity, Vol. II (1917):
Angus H. and Roderick J. MacKenzie are the owners of the Bridgeport Public Market, in which connection they have built up a large and substantial business which is continually growing. They established this market on the 9th of December, 1897, on Bank street, where they are still located. The start, however, was small compared with their present business. In the early days they employed twenty-five people, and something of the growth of their trade is indicated in the fact that they now employ from one hundred and sixty to two hundred people. They conduct entirely a retail and jobbing business and their deliveries are made with both horses and motors.
About twelve years ago they established a branch of the Bridgeport Public Market on East Main street, where they employ about twenty people. Their original building has been rebuilt and has a frontage of one hundred and thirty feet on State street and of one hundred and twelve feet on Bank Street. They occupy the entire building, which they have splendidly equipped with refrigerators, carriers and everything necessary to facilitate the business. They have made an alley through the building in order to keep the teams off the street while loading for delivery. This is a covered alley extending from street to street and was put through at a great deal of expense; but it indicates the public spirit of the men who were behind the project.
The brothers, Angus H. and Roderick J. MacKenzie, were formerly residents of Massachussetts and of New York. Believing that there was opportunity for a successful business, however, in Bridgeport, they removed to this city and great credit is due them for the fine market which they have developed. It is always clean and sanitary and their business methods of dealing with customers will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny. They have ever recognized the fact that satisfied patrons are the best advertisement and they have put forth every legitimate effort to win the approval of their customers.
James Dunn was manager of the paper box department of the Warner Brothers Corset Company. He was the first resident, in 1914, of the Colonial Revival house at 457 Beechwood Avenue in Bridgeport.
The Colonial Revival-style house at 2333 North Avenue in Bridgeport was built in 1909 for Edgar W. Hurlock, an employee of the Prudential Insurance Company. According to The Spectator, Vol. LXXXIII, No. 10 (Thursday, September 9, 1909):
The Bridgeport staff of the Prudential held a celebration on August 21 for Superintendent Edgar W. Hurlock, who has been with the company for twenty-five years.
William Hunt Perry (1820-1899) was secretary and treasurer of the Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Company, which produced sewing machines. He was also president of Bridgeport’s parks commission and his will left money for the erection of the Perry Memorial Arch, which serves as a gateway to Seaside Park. William H. Parry’s 1857 Italianate house is at 335 Noble Avenue in East Bridgeport, where he was one of the initial property owners with P.T. Barnum. The two men gave to the city the land for Washington Park.
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