Central Norwalk facts for kids
The Central or Midtown area of Norwalk, Connecticut is a busy part of the city, located right in the middle. It's north of the South Norwalk neighborhood and the Connecticut Turnpike highway. Important streets here include Wall Street, West Avenue, and Belden Avenue. People sometimes call this area "Norwalk Center" or "Downtown Norwalk."
Central Norwalk is home to several important places. You'll find a state courthouse, the main Norwalk post office, the Norwalk YMCA, and the Norwalk Library here. The River View Mall is also in this area. On the north side of West Avenue, near Interstate 95, is Mathews Park. This park is special because it has the beautiful Lockwood-Mathews Mansion, the fun Stepping Stones Museum for Children, and The Center for Contemporary Printmaking. You can also find the old Norwalk police headquarters building and Pine Island Cemetery in this park. A local landmark is St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, a stunning building with a very tall steeple. This neighborhood has been growing with many new buildings recently. City leaders are even thinking about reopening the Wall Street train station on the Danbury Line.
In the summer of 2006, local businesses started the Main and Wall Street Festival. It began with 15 businesses and grew to 70 businesses by its second year in 2007. At the 2007 festival, developers showed off their exciting plans for the neighborhood's future.
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A Look Back: Central Norwalk's History
This part of Norwalk was once known as the Borough of Norwalk, starting in 1836. It became the first City of Norwalk in 1893. Later, in 1913, the separate cities of Norwalk and South Norwalk, along with other parts of the Town of Norwalk, all joined together. This created the City of Norwalk we know today. Central Norwalk is now known as the First Taxing District of the City.
Within this neighborhood, you'll find the "Norwalk Green Historic District." This special area has been recognized on the National Register of Historic Places since 1987. The historic district is bordered by Smith Street, Park Street, the Boston Post Road (Cross Street), East Avenue, and Morgan Avenue. It includes the Mill Hill Historic Park, which has the 1835 Norwalk Town House. It also features the Norwalk Green, surrounded by East Avenue, Park Street, and St. Paul's Place.
New Plans: Redevelopment Projects
Central Norwalk has been a major focus for several new building projects and ideas. These plans aim to improve and update different parts of the neighborhood.
River View Plaza Apartments
AvalonBay Communities built a large apartment complex with 312 homes where the River View Plaza used to be. Most of the old plaza buildings were taken down by the end of 2007 to make way for these new homes.
West Avenue Improvements
In March 2007, the Norwalk Common Council (the city's governing body) approved plans by Stanley M. Seligson Properties. Their goal was to rebuild a large area along West Avenue. The Council agreed, but with certain rules. They wanted to check if any old buildings were historically important and should be saved. They also wanted to approve the landscaping design and make sure any land purchases for the project were fair. This redevelopment plan stretches from Butler Street to Chapel Street along West Avenue. It includes plans for 350 homes and more than 600,000 square feet of office and retail space. Seligson first suggested redeveloping this area back in 1998. Other developers are also working on projects further north on West Avenue and on Wall Street.
Wall Street Place
On June 15, 2005, the city of Norwalk gave the Poko development company rights to a 6.3-acre site in Central Norwalk. The Poko company has shared plans to build condominiums and townhomes near the intersections of Wall Street, Belden Avenue, West Avenue, and Isaacs Street. This new development will be called "Wall Street Place." The first homes were expected to be ready for people to move into by 2009.
Norwalk Town Green
Central Norwalk has several parks, including the Norwalk Town Green. It's also known as Norwalk Green or simply "the Green." This area was a shared public space until 1851. Now, it's a park owned and cared for by Norwalk's First Taxing District. The Green has a gazebo, which is like a small bandstand for outdoor concerts. There's also a historic cannon that was made in France in 1881 and used in a big battle called the Battle of Verdun in 1916. The French government later gave it to Norwalk. In 2018, a local veterans' group donated $20,000 to help take care of the cannon forever. Around the cannon's base, there are plaques with the names of local veterans.
The Green is the heart of the Norwalk Green Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
Irving Freese Park
Irving Freese Park is named after former mayor Irving Freese. It was created in the mid-1960s at the corner of Main and Wall Streets. This happened as part of the rebuilding work after a big flood in 1955. On the west side of the park, a fenced wall looks out over the Norwalk River. Park benches under shady trees also offer views of the river. The park has a monument to the Hungarian uprising of 1956, placed there by a Hungarian group in the city. There's also a plaque remembering when Nathan Hale left Norwalk Harbor in September 1776 for his important, but dangerous, spying mission.
A city report noted that "as Wall Street faced tough economic times, the park also suffered and didn't have a clear group of people using it." A main goal for the Wall Street area was to bring it back as a traditional community center. This included creating more homes downtown. To do this, the plan suggested improving parks and open spaces along the Norwalk River, with Freese Park being one of the key places.
In 2007, the Connecticut Light and Power Company helped pay $25,000 for park improvements. These included new lights, better landscaping, improved walking paths, a new railing along the river, and a watering system for the plants.
Pine Island Cemetery
Pine Island Cemetery is located behind Mathews Park, near the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum. It dates back to 1708 and has about 1,000 graves. The oldest known grave belongs to Elizabeth Bartlet, who was the wife of one of Norwalk's founders. She passed away in 1723 at the age of 38. Some burials in the cemetery happened as recently as the year 2000. In 2007, the Norwalk Historical Commission was worried that new building projects on West Avenue and Reed Putnam might harm the cemetery. They tried to get the cemetery listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which is a program run by the National Park Service. For example, making Crescent Street wider nearby would mean moving six graves. This cemetery was once the burial place for important people in the community, with fancy, expensive gravestones.
Images for kids
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Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, south side
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At Main and Wall streets after the October 1955 storm. There were three major storms that affected Norwalk in 1955: Hurricane Connie, Hurricane Diane, and an unnamed storm in October.
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Center for Contemporary Printmaking
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Examples of the many damaged gravestones at Pine Island Cemetery
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Former police headquarters, Mathews Park
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Norwalk Courthouse, Belden Avenue
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Wall Street, about 1905
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Union Park, about 1913
