Shippan is a neighborhood the city of
Stamford,
Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
, located along the
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...
.
History
Prior to the late 19th century, the area of present-day Shippan was largely agricultural.
Starting around that time,
Shippan Point
Shippan Point (or Shippan) is the southernmost neighborhood in Stamford, Connecticut, United States, located on a peninsula in Long Island Sound. Street names such as Ocean Drive West and Lighthouse Way reflect the neighborhood's shoreline lo ...
(a section of Shippan) became a popular summer retreat for affluent
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
residents.
Sailing became popular among this demographic, and two
yacht club
A yacht club is a boat club specifically related to yachting.
Description
Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mar ...
s were established by these people: the Stamford Yacht Club, and the Halloween Yacht Club.
Geography
As a neighborhood with no administrative function, Shippan's boundaries are ambiguous. In a 2019 demographic report, the city of Stamford defined Shippan as largely confined to the peninsula of
Shippan Point
Shippan Point (or Shippan) is the southernmost neighborhood in Stamford, Connecticut, United States, located on a peninsula in Long Island Sound. Street names such as Ocean Drive West and Lighthouse Way reflect the neighborhood's shoreline lo ...
, which juts into the
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...
,
and a 2005 profile of the neighborhood used Shippan and Shippan Point interchangeably.
However, some residents and local reporters also constitute areas north of Shippan Point as Shippan.
To the west of Shippan is the
South End, to the north is
Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...
, to the northeast is the
East Side, and to the east is
The Cove. The area south of the intersection of Shippan Avenue and Magee Avenue is considered the
Shippan Point
Shippan Point (or Shippan) is the southernmost neighborhood in Stamford, Connecticut, United States, located on a peninsula in Long Island Sound. Street names such as Ocean Drive West and Lighthouse Way reflect the neighborhood's shoreline lo ...
neighborhood. To the north, the
Metro-North
The Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company , also branded as MTA Metro-North Railroad and commonly called simply Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of ...
train tracks and
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
separate Shippan from
Downtown Stamford.
Virtually all of Shippan Point is zoned for single-family and two-family residential buildings.
Major streets in Shippan include Shippan Avenue
and Elm Street.
Demographics
Shippan is a demographically diverse neighborhood, although it varies from section to section. While the neighborhood is home to many
working class
The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...
people,
the
Shippan Point
Shippan Point (or Shippan) is the southernmost neighborhood in Stamford, Connecticut, United States, located on a peninsula in Long Island Sound. Street names such as Ocean Drive West and Lighthouse Way reflect the neighborhood's shoreline lo ...
area is notably more wealthy and homogenous.
Economy
Shippan is dome to various types of ethnic businesses, including Asian
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Associated with India
* of or related to India
** Indian people
** Indian diaspora
** Languages of India
** Indian English, a dialect of the English language
** Indian cuisine
Associated with indigenous peoples o ...
stores and
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
pizzerias on Cove Road, and
European
European, or Europeans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...
delis
A delicatessen or deli is a grocery that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessens originated in Germany (contemporary spelling: ) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the mid-19th centur ...
on Elm Street.
The neighborhood includes
Cummings Park public beach,
St. Mary Roman Catholic Church, and
St. Benedict Roman Catholic Church. The neighborhood also hosts a supermarket, and many restaurants and small retail businesses.
A
Clairol
Clairol is the American personal care-product division of company Wella, specializing in hair coloring and hair care. Clairol was founded in 1931 by Americans Joan Gelb and her husband Lawrence M. Gelb, with business partner and lifelong frien ...
factory is located where the Shippan meets the Cove section on Cove Avenue. In 2008, Clairol Corporation announced plans to sell the facility. In 2011, the Clariol factory (which had been abandoned) was demolished and replaced with an NBC Sports studio and the Chelsea Piers Stamford athletic and aquatic club.
Sewage treatment plant
Shippan is home to the Water Pollution Control Authority, a
sewage treatment plant
Sewage treatment is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable to discharge to the surrounding environment or an intended reuse application, thereby preventing water p ...
.
The plant, which also serves
Darien, is located on Magee Avenue by the East Branch of Stamford Harbor. Originally built in 1974 with a capacity of per day, the plant was upgraded in 2005 for $105 million, increasing its capacity to per day and a maximum peak flow capacity of per day. The city began treating sewage to remove
nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...
in 1988, and the 2005 upgrade increased the amount of nitrogen removed from sewage from 65 percent to 90 percent. The upgrade also included three odor-control machines at a total cost of $6 million. The machines use massive fans to suck odiferous fumes into chambers where chemicals are used to remove 99.9 percent of the
hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is toxic, corrosive, and flammable. Trace amounts in ambient atmosphere have a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. Swedish chemist ...
that causes the odor. An
ultraviolet light
Ultraviolet radiation, also known as simply UV, is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths of 10–400 nanometers, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight and constitutes about 10% of th ...
disinfectant machine sterilizes the water in the plant and eliminates the need to use and store large amounts of
chlorine
Chlorine is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between ...
.
[Dalena, Doug, "City sewer plant upgrade completed", '']The Advocate
An advocate is a professional in the field of law.
The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to:
Magazines
* The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States
* ''The Harvard Advocate' ...
'' of Stamford, October 20, 2005
The plant is a major landmark in the neighborhood,
and many residents have previously complained about the smell that emanates from it.
Notes
External links
City of StamfordStamford Historical Society
{{authority control
Geography of Stamford, Connecticut
Neighborhoods in Connecticut