Greenwich
The Crown Jewel of Connecticut’s Gold Coast
by LIZ LEAMY
Greenwich is largely reputed to be the crown jewel of Connecticut’s storied Gold Coast corridor and with good reason.
This storied Manhattan suburb, situated at the New York border, is home to approximately 60,000-plus residents and a place with all of the characteristics synonymous with that of a highly desirable U.S. city suburb.
Aside from being in close proximity to Manhattan (just 30 miles away) and some other major U.S. cities including Boston, Providence and Hartford, Greenwich is a place with a personality, style and spirit unto itself.
First settled by its founders back in 1640, Greenwich had originally served as a main stopover for some of the country’s founding fathers during the Revolutionary War period. (It has even been said that George Washington had left a cryptic note for some of his Continental Army officers in a large tree located right in front of North Mianus Elementary School in Riverside, one of the town’s nearly dozen neighborhoods, outlining strategic military directives.)
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Over the centuries, it has continued to play a vital role in the growth and impact of the U.S. East Coast region, particularly in the Manhattan area and evolved into a main home base for many prominent bankers and businesspeople, particularly during the incredible trajectory of the economy during the first half of the 20th century, otherwise known as the Industrial Age.
Today, Greenwich’s signature reputation as a primary residential and business destination for people from all walks of life and from all over the world is as stellar as ever.
Being both a historic and state of the art destination, Greenwich has built its reputation upon hundreds of years of strong tradition, values, hard work, family ideals, religion and education, and truly is as desirable a locale as it is remarkable.
Perhaps more than anything, however, Greenwich seems to possess that indescribable ‘it’ factor that makes it unique unto itself and emanates a constant energy that seems to fuel and inspire its people.
Greenwich, interestingly, is also comprised of numerous neighborhoods or communities that seem to make it a town of many facets and offerings.
There is central Greenwich, where the heart of the town lies. There, one can find everything from fine shopping and dining on Greenwich Avenue, a movie theatre, the Greenwich Town Hall, the Police Department, the railroad station and many other things.
There is Old Greenwich, centered around a picturesque main road artery, Sound Beach Avenue, that has shops, restaurants, a fire house and big beautiful Colonial-type homes that leads to the Tod’s Point, a spectacular beach and sailing area located on Long Island Sound.
Backcountry Greenwich, meanwhile, is a site unto itself as it is defined by rolling hills and greenery with homes on picturesque four-acre lots.
There of course is Cos Cob, the lively ‘hub’ of the town situated between the center of town and Riverside, which is always a fun place to check out.
Cos Cob, like its ‘neighbor’ Riverside, which is situated next to Old Greenwich, area family-driven communities that always seem to be bursting with activity.
At the same time, Byram, Glenville are other communities in town that also are what make Greenwich such a great and interesting place to be and are defined by terrific energy and personality.
In the end, Greenwich is a golden place that not only lives up to its reputation, but also embraces it in every sense of the word and is in a real league of its own.