Upper Fairfield County is the home to the only American painting national park in the U.S.

STREET, YOU WILL FIND TWO STORIED DINERS. BUT FOR BREAKFAST, THREE BROTHERS GOT THE NOD. IT’S A REAL FAMILY OWNED PLACE. BEEN AROUND FOR ABOUT 80 YEARS. WE’VE BEEN HERE ABOUT 50. WE AS IN THE CASE OF RUSS’S FAMILY, STARTING WITH DAD NICHOLAS, MOM, THERESA AND SON STANLEY, WHO RUNS THINGS HERE TODAY, HAVING CERTAINLY WORKED HIS WAY UP, I THINK I WAS ON THE CASH REGISTER WHEN I WAS 9 OR 10. I DON’T THINK IT WAS MUCH LATER THAN THAT, TO BE HONEST. ALTHOUGH A DINER HAS STOOD ON THIS SPOT SINCE THE 1940S, THE STYLES HAVE EVOLVED WITH THE DECADES AND THE GEOGRAPHY WE HAVE THAT GRAVITY THAT WE PULL TOWARDS LIKE THE LOWER TRI-STATE AREA. WHAT NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK DINERS KIND OF ARE SUPPOSED TO BE. BIT DIFFERENT, BIT BIGGER STILL A TRUE DINERS COMMUNITY CLIENTELE THOUGH IT’S A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYBODY. THEY ALL JUST HAVE THEIR OWN LIKE TIMES, YOU KNOW, FOR THESE REGULARS, IT’S EVERY WEDNESDAY MORNING, IT’S NICE AND CLEAN. YEAH. GOOD FOOD. FOOD IS GOOD. THE WAITRESS IS EXCELLENT. LISA, NO SENSITIVITY ABOUT AGE WITH THIS GROUP WHO ARE ALL OLDER THAN THE ORIGINAL DINER. DURKIN’S WHERE ALL OF THEM WERE ALSO CUSTOMERS. IT’S 97, 97, 91, 91. AND YOUR FRIEND IS 93. 93. OH, 95. OH, MY GOSH. WOW. THAT’S WHAT I SAID. YEAH. JEEZ, I’M THE YOUNG ONE THERE. CAUSE AS WITH ANY DINER, THE ONLY DETAIL THAT REALLY MATTERS IS THE FOOD. ALL HOMEMADE. HERE WE BAKE OUR OWN FRENCH TOAST BREAD. IT’S REALLY FABULOUS. AS WAS MY WESTERN OMELET WITH A SIDE OF HASH. OH, AND IF YOU’RE CURIOUS ABOUT THE NAME, THE ANSWER IS YES. THERE ARE THREE BROTHERS. ACTUALLY, WE GET TO ASK THAT A LOT. BUT THAT’S A REAL THING. YEAH, THERE’S MYSELF AND MY TWO OTHER BROTHERS FROM DANBURY. WE DROVE 30 MINUTES DUE SOUTH TO WILTON, CONNECTICUT, CURIOUS ABOUT A TRULY ONE OF A KIND PLACE OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE. THE ONLY NATIONAL PARK DEDICATED TO AMERICAN PAINTING OUT OF OVER 400 PARKS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. IT IS. WE’RE FARM FORMER HOME AND STUDIO OF JULIAN ALDEN. WE’RE A PROMINENT PAINTER AND FOUNDING FIGURE OF THE AMERICAN IMPRESSIONISM MOVEMENT, WHO WORKED AND LIVED HERE FROM 1882 UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1919. YOU CAN SEE HIS MASTERPIECES IN MUSEUMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY TODAY. HE WAS A VERY IMPORTANT FIGURE IN AMERICAN ART, AND THAT’S PART OF THE REASON WE’RE HERE. VISITORS TODAY ARE ABLE TO STAND OVER WE’RE SHOULDER, AS IT WERE, WHERE HE SAT AT HIS EASEL. THIS IS A REPRODUCTION OF UPLAND PASTURE. IT HANGS IN THE SMITHSONIAN, AN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM IN WASHINGTON, DC. NOW ORIGINAL PALETTE AND EASEL. YES, AND THESE ARE SOME OF THE PIGMENTS, SOME OF THE COLORS THAT HE USED TO MAKE, SOME OF HIS PAINTS TO PAINT THESE MASTERPIECES WITH WHERE WAS OFTEN VISITED HERE BY PROMINENT COLLEAGUES LIKE JOHN SINGER, SERGEANT ALL DRAWN TO THE SIMPLE BUT STUNNINGLY VIBRANT NATURAL LANDSCAPE. THERE’S THIS BEAUTIFUL, PAINTERLY LIGHT AND THE LANDSCAPE HAS BEEN SO WELL PRESERVED TODAY, ARTISTS OF ALL KINDS CONTINUE TO COME AND PAINT HERE. EVEN WOULD BE ARTISTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PICK UP A FREE BRUSH AND TRY THEIR HAND. IT’S NOT LIKE A HISTORIC STORY THAT ENDED IT STILL HAPPENING TODAY. AND I THINK THAT THE ARTISTS THAT COME HERE ARE REALLY EXCITED TO BE PART OF THAT LEGACY. ONLY MINUTES FROM WHERE FARM WE STOPPED BY A SLIVER OF OUTDOORS, WHICH MANY HOPE WILL BECOME A NEW LEGACY. IT COULD HAVE BECOME A HIGHWAY SUPER SEVEN, AS IT WOULD HAVE BEEN CALLED, WOULD HAVE DIRECTLY CONNECTED NORWALK AND DANBURY. THIS ROLLING RIBBON OF WOODS WOULD HAVE BEEN A 20 MILE EYESORE OF ASPHALT. PORTIONS OF SUPER SEVEN HAVE BEEN BUILT MOSTLY DOWN IN NORWALK, BUT AS THE ROAD WAS UNFOLDED, THERE WERE COMMUNITIES THAT DIDN’T WANT THIS SUPERHIGHWAY THROUGH THEIR AREA. IN 2010, THE STATE INSTEAD APPROVED THE NOW ONGOING CREATION OF THE NORWALK RIVER VALLEY TRAIL, WHICH WILL INDEED CONNECT NORWALK AND DANBURY, BUT BY A RECREATIONAL GEM, A NEARLY 38 MILE MULTI-USE TRAIL, THE LONGEST IN FAIRFIELD COUNTY, THE NORWALK RIVER VALLEY TRAIL, ALLOWS ME TO BE IN THE WOODS ON MY BIKE AND BE SAFE, BUT ALSO NOT JUST A CYCLIST, BUT HIKERS. WALK OTHERS FAMILIES. THIS IS MY CHARIOT. THAT’S YOUR CHARIOT. TRAIL BOARD MEMBER MITCH ANCONA HELPED GET US ON TO THE FINISHED MILE OF TRAIL IN REDDING, CONNECTICUT. THE OTHER THING I LIKE ABOUT THIS SECTION TWO, IT’S A LITTLE BIT MORE UNDULATING. IT’S A LITTLE UP AND DOWN, A LITTLE BIT MORE WINDY AND TWISTY, WHICH IS NICE WITH THAT, OUR MILE OF FINISHED TRAIL WAS UP AND WE WERE BACK OUT ON THE ROAD IN REDDING. BUT EVENTUALLY ALL THE MILES, ALL THE TOWNS WILL BE CONNECTED. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE ABOUT 30% BUILT OUT. WE HAVE ANOTHER 10% IN THE PIPELINE. WE’RE VERY EXCITED AND TO THINK IT COULD HAVE AL

Connecticut’s home to the only national park in the U.S. dedicated to American painting

Also find a delicious diner and multi-use recreational trail in Upper Fairfield County

Updated: 8:10 PM EDT Jul 3, 2023

Three Brothers Diner is located on White Street in Danbury, Connecticut. Yes, there are three brothers involved – and the breakfasts are fabulous.Weir Farm National Historical Park is the only national park in the United States dedicated to American painting. It was the home and studio of J. Alden Weir, one of the founders of the American Impressionist movement in the 19th century. It is open to the public.Norwalk River Valley Trail is a proposed 38-mile multi-use recreational that will eventually run from Norwalk, Connecticut to Danbury. Some portions, including in Redding and Wilton, Connecticut, are already completed.

NEEDHAM, Mass. —

Three Brothers Diner is located on White Street in Danbury, Connecticut. Yes, there are three brothers involved – and the breakfasts are fabulous.

Weir Farm National Historical Park is the only national park in the United States dedicated to American painting. It was the home and studio of J. Alden Weir, one of the founders of the American Impressionist movement in the 19th century. It is open to the public.

Norwalk River Valley Trail is a proposed 38-mile multi-use recreational that will eventually run from Norwalk, Connecticut to Danbury. Some portions, including in Redding and Wilton, Connecticut, are already completed.