Bridgeport, Connecticut - Vatican Gardens Knockoff

I used to live a few blocks away. St. Margaret's is a mixture of statues, gardens, ponds, and streams and can be beautiful although slightly creepy. Mass is still held at the tiny Catholic Church on site. There was a tiny nativity building that burned down -- every Christmas season the Nativity play was performed.There are old stairways that lead to nowhere and some pathways are treacherous. Some buildings are locked or boarded up but look interesting and creepy. People light Novena candles still. Every summer the Italian American community holds the gigantic Feast of St. Anthony there. The most mysterious building is a large one with a plaza built on top. Some say there is a priest buried under there in the locked doors. [Tim Foley, 02/09/2002]

[RA: Update - photo added June 2004.]

St. Margaret's Shrine - Bridgeport's own version of the Vatican gardens...built in the 1940's as a peace monument, the Shrine contains copies of statues in grottos containing mosaics, and replicas of famous pieces like Michaelangelos' Pieta. Actually it is kitschy and beautiful at the same time! [Mary Witkowski, 09/23/2000]