Fairfield County, Connecticut members of the Danbury church on January 1, 1802, in which he stated that the First Amendment to the United States Constitution provided "a wall of separation between church and State" that protected them. Although it is often viewed as an extension of metro-New York City, Fairfield County has had much industry in its own right. Bridgeport Machines, Inc., a milling machine manufacturer, was founded in Bridgeport in 1938. From the early to mid-20th century Bridgeport was in the top 50 largest cities by population. Stamford, Connecticut is an example of edge city urbanization, with many large and important companies
Bridgeport, Connecticut welcomed international soloists Beverly Sills, Midori, Benny Goodman, Itzhak Perlman with other links to legends like Leonard Bernstein, Jose Iturbi. Through its annual Carlson-Horn Competition for Young Instrumentalist created many new bright professional soloists including Andrew Armstrong, Alexander Markov, and Anita Chen. Bridgeport has a number of museums, ranging from the science-oriented to fine arts and historical, as well as the state's largest zoo. A list of films shot or partially filmed in the city: Webster Bank Arena serves as the city's sports and hospitality center. Seating 10,000, the Arena serves as the home rink of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers