A smokestack city known for its defense-related manufacturing activities and port facilities, Bridgeport, the largest city in Connecticut, was devastated in the early 1990s by the loss of its manufacturing base as a result of the end of the Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet Union, and actually declared itself bankrupt. Further degradation was handed to residents at the hands of their once-successful mayor, Joseph P. Ganim, who was removed from office in 2003 and convicted of municipal corruption. But at the turn of the twenty-first century, the city's bond rating was upgraded, the population was beginning to grow, jobs were slowly on the increase, a new baseball stadium and hockey arena stood along with other renovations on the city's waterfront which were beginning to draw tourists, and a feeling of optimism could be felt among the citizenry.