Danbury Redevelopment Background

In 1955, Danbury was devastated by two separate weather events. In a twenty-four hour period between August 18 and 19, Hurricane Diane dropped 5 inches of rain on the city, adding to the 10 inches that had already fallen that month, and causing over $3 million in damages to commercial, industrial  and residential property in the downtown area. Only two months later, between October 13 and 16, torrential rainfalls resulted in an additional 12 inches of rain and essentially cut the city in two. All bridges over the Still River were damaged. While more of the city was affected in the October storm, the areas hit hardest during the Hurricane Diane were again flooded. Main Street by Wooster Square, Elm and River Streets to the west, Franklin and Patch Streets to the north, and Delay and Chestnut Streets to the east all suffered significant damage once more. This time damages were estimated at $6 million.

Faced with both the task of recovery and the very real threat to the future economic life of the city from the potential loss of industrial base, the city determined to address the flood control issue by rechanneling the Still River.  After a 15-month engineering study, the Army Corps of Engineers recommended a $16 million project, which however would be ineligible for federal funding under certain provisions of the Flood Control Act of 1938.  Despite this setback, the U.S. Urban Renewal and Development Commission suggested that the Housing Acts of 1949 and 1954 could provide funds to replace substandard buildings with modern income-producing structures, improve traffic patterns and provide parking in urban zones. The commissioners felt that the federal Housing and Home Financing Agency would fund a project that addressed that Still River flood control issues as well as the revitalization of the flooded downtown area.

In June, 1956, Mayor John Devine appointed  businessman and democratic politician George O’Brien to chair a newly created Danbury Redevelopment Agency to apply for federal funding and manage the redevelopment process.

Source: Danbury’s Third Century: From Urban Status to Tri-Centennial  by William E. Devlin and Herbert F. Janick, Danbury, Connecticut: Western Connecticut State University, 2013