Bridgeport house a real attention getter

Tag: Hair Mannequins BRIDGEPORT — Tony Gonsalves used to remodel houses for a living.Now he spends his retirement decorating his Victorian home on Seaview Avenue in most unusual ways.The place at 454 Seaview Avenue is decked rooftop to lawn with mannequins, figurines, statues and bric-a-brac."I'd like to open an antique shop here, maybe in a year," Gonsalves said outside his home, where he was working to replace the art objects that had toppled in the stormy night.When your yard is full of figurines and department store mannequins, the wind that blows in off Bridgeport Harbor is a little worrisome."I use different kinds of glue," Gonsalves said, explaining how he keeps his display from entirely blowing away.American flags are everywhere and they are rippling in the wind. It's a good morning for sailing, maybe, but not so good for a 69-year-old man with a penchant for collecting statues and figurines."Look at this, this is an old Galliano bottle," he said, pointing to a liquor dispenser from the 1950s, perhaps, in the form of an elaborately uniformed guardsman.Next to his living room window, there is a huge statue of a woman at a ship's wheel, that looks every bit like it came from the bow of an old sailing ship, perhaps."She's supposed to be on a boat," he said. Then he points to a smaller figure beside her, more like a giant Barbie doll with long blonde hair."That's her daughter," he said, laughing.There are angels aplenty, in reclining poses mostly. There are lions, eagles, more than a few roosters because Gonsalves is Portuguese - the rooster is a symbol of Portuguese culture - and more than a few cigar store Indians.Look close and you will see figures from American history : General Robert E. Lee, perhaps.And from the windows, there are collectibles that he wouldn't want outside in the cold rain and snow - a miniature sewing machine from the 1800s, for example."And look at these old newspapers. This is the Bridgeport Post, from 1945," he said, flipping through the pages of a hardbound collection of vintage newspapers.He loves the attention his yard-full of statues gets him."My neighbors are always taking pictures," he said. "They love it."Mayor Bill Finch doesn't know Gonsalves personally, but said it's wonderful when residents take a lot of pride in their properties."When even one person in a neighborhood works to make Bridgeport more beautiful, we all win," Finch said in a statement, before throwing in a pitch for alternate side of the street parking, beginning in May."It's so our street sweepers can access the areas they need to clean and we can make Bridgeport the cleanest city it can be," Finch said.Gonsalves has been making his property look grand for some time. He began the collection 10 years ago, when he moved to the house. He had been divorced, and had time on his hands, having retired from his work as a home remodeler after suffering a stroke."I started to collect this stuff everywhere I could find it," he said.He spends lots of times at flea markets and tag sales."Yes, a lot of tag sales," he said.Asked whether the collection has any meaning, or he is trying to make a statement, he just shrugs his shoulders."Maybe someday I'll make a castle and I'll be a king," he said with a laugh. Tony Spinelli, who covers the region for ConnPost.com, can be reached at 330-6361.