Our Riverside logo carries the Connecticut oyster over “Connecticut · Est. 1636,” the founding era of the colony — the shared emblem of every Merlin Classics Connecticut town. Printed in clean retro black-and-white that reads like an old oyster-crate label, the oyster stands for the whole Long Island Sound shellfish coast; what makes this one Riverside is everything behind it — Mianus Neck and the Mianus River, the cast-iron bridge, the 1888 yacht club, and the leafy Greenwich shore.
The water that fed the oystermen now carries sailboats. In May 1888 a retired Civil War captain named George I. Tyson built a clubhouse on his own waterfront on the eastern shore of Cos Cob Harbor, at the mouth of the Mianus, and founded the Riverside Yacht Club — the second-oldest yacht club in Connecticut and among the oldest in the United States. Its Victorian clubhouse went up the next year, and the club has been racing on Long Island Sound ever since. Sailcloth, brass, and harbor-grey: this is Riverside’s prevailing weather.
Why People Visit Riverside
Riverside rewards visitors who like the quiet, watery side of the Gold Coast: sailboats on the Mianus, shaded streets, and a handful of real landmarks close together. Add the Sound-side parks and the easy ride to the city, and the genteel calm makes its own case.
