45°
Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch made the announced Wednesday, which was Earth Day.
Pleasure Beach will reopen at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 23. Through the month of May, the barrier island will be open only on weekends. Beginning in June, it will be open seven days a week.
“It’s free of charge to the public to come here to Pleasure Beach and enjoy the beauties of nature, enjoy the swimming in Long Island Sound, and having a great time with your families," Finch said. "It’s like a little piece of Nantucket right here in Bridgeport.”
“We’re excited that summer is coming. Many of the Bridgeport parks, including Pleasure Beach, have seen improvements. We have much to show the public when it comes to parks in the Park City," said Bridgeport Parks Director Charles Carroll.
Bridgeport’s Public Facilities Director Jorge Garcia also praised the park.
“As a young father, I was at Seaside Park when the bridge burned nearly two decades ago,” said Garcia. “Last year, to be part of the team that helped bring Pleasure Beach back was a great experience. I want to tip my hat to the team and all of the people out there who supported the cause by coming out to visit last year. We would love to see thousands of more visitors come out to Pleasure Beach this summer.”
In 2014, after decades of neglect, Pleasure Beach reopened and became accessible via free water taxi.
“Last year, thousands of people came out here to enjoy Mother Nature and the beautiful environment of Bridgeport,” said Finch. “This year we expect even more people to come because they’re going to see a historic walking tour that chronicles the exciting history of Pleasure Beach. From the 1800s, to the 1900s, through to today.
"It’s a history of presidential visits, of professional baseball teams, and more that will be chronicled on illustrated panels that the public can walk by and educate themselves about this treasure.”
More than 25,000 people visited Pleasure Beach last year in the less than three months it was open. This year, the city expects even more.
Bridgeport annexed Pleasure Beach, a barrier island, in 1892. In the early 1900s, it was home to a nationally recognized amusement park owned by George Tilyou, best known for Coney Island’s amusement park.
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, with its amusement park and world-class ballroom, Pleasure Beach hosted a variety of famous people, including President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932, Duke Ellington in 1940, and Frank Sinatra in 1941. But the latter part of the 20th century saw a steep decline in visitors to the amusement park, and it officially closed in 1966.
From 1967 to 1996, it served as home to the Polka Dot Playhouse Theatre and a city-owned park. But in 1996, the bridge burned down, and public access to the barrier island ended.
Rebuilding the bride was estimated to cost $30 million. The public did not have access to the barrier island for 18 years, from 1996 until last year. But due to a federal grant, the city purchased water taxis to transport people to and from Pleasure Beach.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is investing $2 million in repairing breakwaters off the shoreline of Pleasure Beach. Read about that project here on the Daily Voice.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Bridgeport and receive free news updates.
