General Overview
The Unitarian-Universalist Congregation of Danbury is located at 24 Clapboard Ridge Road in the City of Danbury, Fairfield County, Connecticut. Danbury is the hub of the Greater Danbury area, located in western Connecticut, near the New York state border. The city itself is surrounded by a number of leafy, manicured suburbs, such as Ridgefield, Newtown, Bethel, Brookfield, New Milford and New Fairfield, CT., North and South Salem, in Westchester, N.Y. as well as Putnam County, N.Y. One of the greatest attributes of the Danbury area is its location. It is 60 miles north of New York City, which is conveniently reachable by car or railroad. It is a three-hour drive from Boston. Hartford, the capital, is a 45-minute ride away. New Haven, with Yale University and many theatres and museums, is even closer.
Danbury proper has a population of approximately 77,000. The median income of city residents, according to 2007 data, was $63,000. It was once the home of the hat industry, now gone, but the name Hat City remains.
Danbury is a polyglot city. Many residents trace their heritage back to Italy and Portugal. More recently, waves of immigrants from South and Central America, especially from Brazil and Ecuador, and from Southeast Asia have come to call Danbury home. It is said that 56 different languages are spoken at Danbury High School. This makes Danbury a very cosmopolitan place, with restaurants serving food from many nations.
Danbury boasts a fine and growing university, Western Connecticut State. With two campuses, one downtown and one on the Westside, the school has an enrollment of over 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The West Side Campus is located on land purchased in the 1970s on the outskirts of Danbury. This 439-acre lot is home to the Ancell School of Business, a nature center, amphitheater, and three dormitories. The West Side also houses the athletic facilities, including the O'Neill Center. The Danbury Mall, located on the grounds of the old Danbury Fair, is the second largest in the state. It has over 200 stores and eateries. The large stores include Macy’s, J.C. Penney, Lord & Taylor and Sears. It is a destination for people from all over western Connecticut and New York. In addition to the Mall, there are a wealth of great shopping opportunities in the area, including the famed Stew Leonard food complex, which has to be seen to be believed.
Performing arts in Danbury can be found in numerous places, including the Ives Concert Park, where many rock legends have performed. The Connecticut Choral Society is an ensemble comprised of singers from more than 20 Connecticut towns who have appeared at Carnegie Hall, toured internationally and performed on network television. The Connecticut Master Chorale is a premier vocal ensemble which presents three large annual concerts. The Danbury Music Centre, housed in a beautifully restored 19th century building, is the prime site in the city for performances of classical and modern musical compositions. Movie buffs enjoy a multi-plex cinema as well as an art house in Bethel which features independent films. An annual film festival takes place in the spring. Hockey fans enjoy their own minor league team which plays at the recently constructed Danbury Ice Arena, which also features wonderful skating facilities for the entire family. Danbury has many beautiful parks, including Tarrywile, a 717 acre park with hiking trails, community center, castle, farm house, carriage house, dairy barns, gate house and Montessori school. We also have Richter Park, a 230 acre park with an 18 hole golf course, pro shop, hiking trails, west lake reservoir for fishing, tennis courts and winter recreation. The cafe on the green offers fine dinning and patio seating with a grill area. Richter Park is also the home of a full summer season of outdoor theatre. Rogers Park is a 58 acre park with 8 tennis courts, 10 ball fields, concession stand, handball-paddleball courts, soccer fields, volleyball and tennis courts and pond. The War Memorial building is also located nearby, providing facilities for numerous activities and a fully equipped fitness center.
Danbury has wonderful medical facilities, first and foremost of which is the renowned Danbury Hospital. As the primary provider for a population of 350,000, this 371-bed regional medical center and community teaching hospital, affiliated with NY Medical College, maintains centers of excellence and specialized programs for emergency and trauma care, surgery, cancer, cardiovascular services, digestive disorders, radiology, laboratory medicine, maternity, neonatal and pediatric medicine, sleep disorders, asthma management, diabetes, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and behavioral health care.
Some of the area’s major employers are the Danbury Hospital, Boehringer Ingelheim, a German pharmaceutical corporation, the Duracell/Gillette Corporation and Pitney-Bowes Corporation.
The towns surrounding Danbury have their own unique character and history. All four seasons are much in evidence. The autumn is especially spectacular, with colors that draw visitors from all over during foliage season. Summer is time for lake swimming or a trip to the Long Island Sound shore in nearby Westport or Fairfield, CT. A spectacular summer locale is Candlewood Lake. This giant, man-made lake draws vacationers from New York City and beyond. Candlewood is a man-made lake created in 1929 by Connecticut Light & Power Company. It is Connecticut’s largest lake, with over 60 miles of shoreline and covering over 30 square miles in area. Its average depth is 30 feet and it reaches over 85 feet at its deepest point. Four towns, Brookfield, New Fairfield, New Milford and Sherman, and the city of Danbury border the lake. During the summer, many cultural activities can be found at Caramoor, in nearby Katonah, NY, which features concerts and recitals by world-renowned musicians, the famous Tanglewood Music Festival and Jacob’s Pillow Dance programs are found nearby in the Berkshire Mountains. Greater Danbury is a great place to live, work and play.
Danbury Travel & Vacation Website
Danbury Real Estate & Profile Website