Bridgeport’s vinyl history is on display in Fairfield
ONE OF THE BIGGEST PRODUCTIONS TO BE RECORDED WITH FAIRFIELD EXHIBIT
Finding our parents’ old record collections has become a sort of right of passage for many. From Frank Sinatra and Dave Brubeck to Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan, records from these artists are sprinkled throughout the endless number of record collections out there.
However, did you know that many of these albums were produced in Bridgeport?
From the late 1890s to 1964, the American Graphophone Company and its successor, Columbia Records, operated in Bridgeport with its factory in the West End section of the city. In that span of time, over 1,000 different albums were produced in the factory, according to record cataloguing site Discogs.
Located where the current Mongers’ Market is, the former Columbia factory was instrumental in helping create stereophonic sound, lateral-cut records and LPs.
In its seven-decade history, Bridgeport’s Columbia Record plant eventually became one of the biggest vinyl production factories in the country.
To document that history, the Fairfield Museum and History Center will be unveiling its “Topping the Charts: The Rise of Bridgeport’s Columbia Records” exhibit at the end of the month.
According to Karen Burke, library director for the museum, the idea for the exhibit floated around for the past two years.
The exhibit will focus on the manufacturing and production aspects behind Columbia Records as well as the historical importance of the factory in not only the realm of music, but also in the progress of workers’ rights and importance of immigrant workers.
Burke believes that vinyl records still serve a purpose, especially as the decades-old media is making a resurgence.
“There’s still many, many vinyl albums — original ones — that will probably never get digitized,” Burke said. “It’s a nostalgia-type thing too.”
“Topping the Charts: The Rise of Bridgeport’s Columbia Records” will be on display at the Fairfield Museum and History Center starting July 30.