South Main and Washington Streets Historic District

Established in c. 1655, the East Norwalk Historical Cemetery is Norwalk's oldest cemetery, and many of the area's first settlers are buried there. The cemetery is owned and maintained by the Third Taxing District, formally known as the East Norwalk Fire District of the Town of Norwalk, and before that it was known as the Down Town School District. Triangle shaped and surrounded clockwise by Gregory Boulevard, Cemetery Street and East Avenue it is situated in the neighborhood of East Norwalk. At the north entrance of the grounds stands the First Settlers of Norwalk Memorial, inscribed with the following names of 31 settlers who founded Norwalk in 1649: George Abbitt, Robert Beacham, Stephen Beckwith, John Bowton, Matthew Campfield, Nathaniel Eli, Thomas Fitch, John Griggorie, Samuel Hales, Thomas Hales, Walter Haite, Nathaniel Haies, Rev. Thomas Hanford, Richard Homes, Ralph Keiler, Daniel Kellogge, Thomas Lupton, Matthew Marvin, Sr., Matthew Marvin, Jr., Isacke More, Jonathan Marsh, Widow Morgan, Richard Olmsted, Nathaniel Richards, John Ruskoe, Matthias Sention, Sr., Matthias Sention, Jr., Matthew Sention, Thomas Seamer, Richard Webb, and Walter Keiler. Many graves are unmarked by headstones as remains were deposited before stones were available, and of which no mark or tradition is known. In 1843, the Down Town Cemetery Association was founded to maintain and conduct the business of the cemetery. In 1933, the name was changed to the East Norwalk Cemetery Association. In 1941, the Norwalk Third Taxing District entered into an agreement to supplement the association's perpetual care fund, due to a dwindling amount of donations. In 1966, the district took the deed to the land, so as to secure better insurance. Today, the district provides for the perpetual care of the grounds, while cemetery business is conducted by volunteers of the association.

East Norwalk is a neighborhood of Norwalk, Connecticut, located mostly in Norwalk's third taxing district with segments of its northernmost area within the first and fifth taxing districts. As one of the earliest settlements of Norwalk, it was so marked with a block of 'suitably inscribed' 'native granite' formally located on the corner of Fitch Street and East Avenue.

East Norwalk station is a commuter rail station on the Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line, located in the East Norwalk neighborhood of Norwalk, Connecticut. The station building was constructed by Metro-North in the 1980s.The Founder's Stone Monument, which formerly located at East Avenue and Fitch Street, is adjacent to the station. It marks the earliest Norwalk settlement and adjacent first Meeting House (seat of government), which were located at its former site.

St. Thomas the Apostle is a Roman Catholic church in Norwalk, Connecticut, part of the Diocese of Bridgeport. The Parish of St. Thomas the Apostle was established in 1935.

Norwalk Harbor is a recreational and commercial harbor and seaport at the estuary of the Norwalk River where it flows into Long Island Sound in Norwalk, Connecticut, United States. The last portion of the Norwalk River from the head of navigation near Wall Street in Central Norwalk to the Long Island Sound forms Norwalk Harbor. It is a federal navigation channel of the "recreational and small commercial harbor" variety.In and around the harbor there are 15 marinas, 13 private clubs with boating facilities, and 5 commercial port facilities. There are more than 1800 berthing spaces and more than 500 harbor mooring locations. About 800 boats may be launched from storage racks at marinas and clubs as well as via the city maintained launching ramp in Veterans Park. More than 2700 commercial vessel trips to and from the harbor occur each year. The main harbor channel is small enough to restrict the size of vessels that could attempt to use it. In 2001 waterborne commerce in the harbor totaled 512,000 short tons (464,000 t). Typical freight included fuel oil, sand, gravel, stone, and shellfish (particularly oysters and lobsters).

The Norwalk River is a river in southwestern Connecticut, United States, approximately 21 miles (34 km) long. The word "Norwalk" comes from the Algonquian word "noyank" meaning "point of land".

The Norwalk rail accident occurred on May 6, 1853, in Norwalk, Connecticut, and was the first major U.S. railroad bridge disaster; 48 were killed when a train travelling at 50 mph plunged into the Norwalk Harbor off of an open draw (swing) bridge.The accident occurred on the New York and New Haven Railroad where it crosses a small inlet of Long Island Sound via a swing bridge. The approach from New York is around a sharp curve, so there was a signal indicating if the bridge was passable by trains: a red ball mounted upon a tall pole. At 08:00 that morning, the Boston express left New York with 200 passengers driven by a substitute driver for whom this was the third transit of the route. The train consisted of two baggage and five passenger cars. On approaching the bridge, the driver neglected to check the signal and only became aware that the bridge was open when within 400 feet (120 m) of it. The bridge had been opened for the passage of the steamship Pacific, which had just passed through. The driver applied the brakes and reversed the engine, but was unable to stop in time. He and the fireman leapt clear before the bridge and escaped serious injury. The engine itself flew across the 60-foot (18 m) gap, striking the opposite abutment some 8 feet (2.4 m) below the level of the track and sinking into 12 feet (3.7 m) of water. The baggage cars came to rest atop the locomotive; the front of the first passenger car was crushed against the baggage cars and then submerged as the second passenger car came to rest on top of it. The third passenger car broke in two; the front half hanging down over the edge of the abutment; the rear remaining on the track. Most of the 48 dead and 30 injured were in the first passenger car. A further eight people were reported missing. Many doctors were travelling on the train, returning from the Sixth Annual Meeting of the American Medical Association in New York; seven of them were killed. Amongst the unhurt was Dr. Gurdon Wadsworth Russell, who wrote an account of the accident for the Hartford Courant in which he says that the dead "presented all the symptoms of asphyxia from drowning, and were probably drowned at once, being confined and pressed by broken cars. Oh, what a melancholy scene that!" As a result of the public panic and indignation caused by the accident, the Connecticut Legislature imposed a law requiring every train in the state to come to a dead halt before crossing any opening bridge. The engineer was charged with gross negligence and held primarily responsible for the disaster. A similar accident occurred eleven years later in Canada with even greater loss of life, the St-Hilaire train disaster.

The Yankee Doodle Bridge carries Interstate 95 (Connecticut Turnpike) over the Norwalk River in Norwalk in the U.S. state of Connecticut.

The Norwalk River Railroad Bridge (also known as the Walk Bridge) is a swing bridge built in 1896 for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. It currently carries Amtrak and Metro-North Railroad trains over the Norwalk River. The current swing bridge is located at the same site where, in 1853, a train from New York City plummeted into the river while the previous swing bridge was open, resulting in dozens of deaths. In 1896, the New Haven Railroad built the bridge and widened its route to four tracks, as it simultaneously built its South Norwalk Railroad Bridge over the intersection of Washington Street with North Main and South Main streets. The 562-foot (171 m) span, with a rotating swing span 202 feet (62 m) long was provided by the Berlin Iron Bridge Co. This type of swing bridge is one of just two on the Northeast Corridor. The swing span has a rim-bearing system of 96 rollers, allowing tall vessels to pass by. The span is one of only 13 of the company's bridges (and one of only two railroad bridges) that survive in the state as of August 2001. In 1907 the rail line was electrified with overhead catenary wires, which form a prominent feature of the bridge today. It is or was also known as Norwalk River Bridge. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.It is one of eight moveable bridges on the Amtrak route through Connecticut surveyed in one multiple property study in 1986. The eight bridges from west to east are: Mianus River Railroad Bridge at Cos Cob, built in 1904; the Norwalk River Railroad Bridge at Norwalk, 1896; Saugatuck River Railroad Bridge at Westport, 1905; Pequonnock River Railroad Bridge at Bridgeport, 1902; Housatonic River Railroad Bridge, at Devon, 1905; Connecticut River Railroad Bridge, Old Saybrook-Old Lyme, 1907; Niantic River Bridge, East Lyme-Waterford, 1907; and Thames River Bridge (Amtrak), Groton, built in 1919. As a single movable span with aging mechanical mechanisms, the Norwalk River Bridge represents a frequent point of failure for Amtrak and Metro-North service and has been targeted for replacement with dual movable spans. The final design approved for the new Walk Bridge calls for a dual-span vertical-lift bridge.

The Norwalk Oyster Festival is an annual fair in the city of Norwalk, Connecticut, United States, held on the first weekend after Labor Day in Veterans Park, near Long Island Sound. Funds raised by the festival help the Norwalk Seaport Association maintain the Sheffield Island Lighthouse as well as develop science education classes. The festival is also used as a fundraiser by more than 20 other local non-profit organizations. The festival has been run by the Norwalk Seaport Association, a non profit organization, since its inception in 1978. Average annual attendance exceeds 90,000. Each year, the Oyster Festival contributes over $5 million to the local economy.It features various food, vendors, and entertainment, and celebrates the history of the oyster industry based in Norwalk. In the past, featured performers have included the Village People, Kansas, Charlie Daniels Band, Joe Walsh, Willie Nelson, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Tito Puente, Cheap Trick, Little Feat, The Monkees, Judy Collins, Up with People, and Little Richard.

Dooney & Bourke is an American luxury leather goods brand founded in 1975 by designer Peter Dooney and entrepreneur Frederic Bourke in Norwalk, Connecticut. Originally a men's supplier of belts, suspenders, and ties, the company now specializes in handbags and small accessories. Peter Dooney has maintained his role as designer at the company throughout the brand's history. Dooney's competitors include Coach and Kate Spade.

The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk (formerly Maritime Center) is an aquarium located in the South Norwalk (or "SoNo") section of Norwalk, Connecticut. The aquarium features harbor seals, river otters, sharks, jellyfish, loggerhead turtles, and hundreds of other animals living in re-creations of their natural Long Island Sound habitats. Three touch-tanks feature stingrays, nurse sharks, crabs, sea stars, moon jellyfish and other coastal creatures. In addition to its exhibits, The Maritime Aquarium offers educational programs, year-round cruises on its 64-foot research vessel R/V Spirit of the Sound, special events and camps.