Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Atlas Brassiere and Corset Corp. 1925-1929
• Bridgeport Chain & Mfg. Co. 1928-1954
• Bridgeport Chain Co. 1890-1928
• Exclusive Apparel, Inc. 1960s
• Heli Parts, Inc. 1960s
• Rotair Industries, Inc. Present (2016)
• Spear Products, Inc. 1960-ca. 1965

Use (Historic)

• Apparel & Accessories
• Fabricated Metal Products
• Transportation

Largest Documented Workforce

50-100 (1937).

Historic Narrative

The Bridgeport Chain Company was established in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1887. The firm specialized in the manufacture of weldless wire chain, which was formed through a process of twisting and bending rather than joining the links with solder. The company began with three primary products, its ‘Triumph,’ ‘Brown,’ and ‘Perfection’ lines, these mainly applied for use in plumbing or window sash applications. The business, begun by George C. Edwards, started out in space in Edwards' other business, the Holmes and Edwards Silver Company, at the corner of Crescent and Avenues. As the enterprise came into its own, a larger dedicated plant was erected at the corner of Crescent Avenue and Bunnell Street in 1890. During the 1890s, the company shared this plant with the Miller Wire Spring Company, which occupied the basement level. The Bridgeport Chain Company was the only chain manufacturer to be awarded a medal at the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893 and the firm expanded both its plant and catalog during the early 1900s. By the late 1910s, the company produced a wide range of chain-related goods including wire, kennel, post and coil, sash, and plumbers’ chains, in addition to wire specialties and furniture and machinery springs. By this time the business was led by George H. Edwards, its original founder, as president; G.S. Bryan, treasurer; George H. Edwards, vice-president; and A.B. Way, secretary. In 1928, the firm was reorganized as the Bridgeport Chain and Manufacturing Company as hoists and hoisting machinery had been added to the business’s catalog of weldless and welded chain. The plant was substantially expanded in 1929 after the mill built and formerly occupied by the Atlas Brassiere and Corset Company at 952 Crescent Avenue was acquired by Bridgeport Chain. The Atlas Brassiere and Corset Company was established in 1925 yet remained in business just four years. The Bridgeport Chain and Manufacturing Company, however, remained in business through the 1940s as the business benefitted greatly from orders related to naval and merchant marine production during the Second World War. The plant was eventually closed in 1954 after the Bridgeport Chain and Manufacturing Company was acquired by the Republic Steel Corporation of Cleveland, Ohio. The Bridgeport Chain and Manufacturing Company’s Crescent Avenue plant subsequently fell vacant until 1960, when it was acquired by Spear Products, Inc. of New York, New York, a manufacturer of children’s toys, namely radios and phonographs. Spear Products had departed Bridgeport by 1965, whereupon the factory was occupied by Exclusive Apparel, Inc., and Heli Parts, Inc., an aircraft parts manufacturer. The plant presently houses Rotair Industries, Inc., a specialty parts provider for rotary wing aircraft.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly six (6) blocks.

Dates of Construction

1890, ca. 1910, 1925, ca. 1939.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill
• Powerhouse

Architectural Description

The former Bridgeport Chain Company plant is comprised of roughly six adjoining and freestanding primary blocks located on the south side of Crescent Avenue, at the southwest corner of Crescent Avenue’s intersection with Bunnell Street. The mill’s three original blocks were erected in 1890. The most notable is the main manufacturing building, which is a two-and-a-half-story, 46’ x 295’ red brick block with a low-pitch front-facing gable roof. The building has a raised basement level, this with rectangular window openings framed by stone sills and lintels. The second-story windows are set in segmental-arched openings with stone sills, while those on the third-floor are rectangular and have stone sills and lintels. The majority of the fenestration has been replaced, however, several surviving original windows suggest that those on the basement and third floors consisted of six-over-six double-hung wood sash, and those on the second floor were nine-over-nine double-hung wood sash. The recessed full-height window bays on all elevations have corbelled headers and the brick piers flanking the bays are topped by corbelled red brick caps. The building’s roofline is decorated with a simple molded wood cornice. A three-story red brick stair tower with a pyramidal roof is centered on the block’s west (side) elevation. This is original to the plant, however, the two-story red brick stair tower adjoining the façade (north elevation) was erected during the late 1930s. The other two blocks dating to the plant’s original construction stand 28’ south of the western stairtower and roughly 15’ west of the main manufacturing building. They consist of a one-story, 45’ x 28’ red brick boiler plant, and one-story, 70’ x 26’ japanning and plating building. Both have side-gabled roofs and they stand to the north and south, respectively of a rectangular red brick chimney. A one-story, 103’ x 42’ red brick tumbling room was erected adjoining the south elevation of the japanning and plating building and west elevation of the main manufacturing block around 1939. This addition also adjoins the north elevation of a two-and-a-half-story, 107’ x 45’ red brick manufacturing ell built ca. 1910. The details of the ell mimic those of the original manufacturing block and a three-story red brick stairtower is located at the northwest corner of the intersection of the two buildings. The final primarily block of note was erected for the Atlas Brassiere and Corset Company in 1925. The building stands approximately 28’ west of the original Bridgeport Chain Company plant and was acquired by the chain manufacturer in 1929. The mill is a two-and-a-half-story, 42’ x 144’ red brick block with recessed full-height window bays topped by denticulated red brick headers, large rectangular window openings with concrete sills, multipane metal sash with pivot-style openings, tile coping, and a flat roof.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The complex is in fair condition. The exteriors of all of the blocks are in need of cleaning and many of the original windows throughout the plant have been replaced, however, overall, the facility appears to be well maintained and structurally sound.

Specific Location

One 1.33-acre parcel (964 Crescent Avenue) located on the south side of Crescent Avenue, at the southwest corner of Crescent Avenue’s intersection with Bunnell Street.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads
• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 43/749/16. / Link →

Acreage

1.33

Use (Present)

• Industrial

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

01/22/2016

Bibliography

1. List of Connecticut Manufacturers, 1922, 1924, 1930, 1932.
2. Directory of Connecticut State Manufacturers, 1936, 1939.
3. Industrial Directory of Connecticut, 1947.
4. Register of War Production Facilities in Connecticut, 1951.
5. Map of Fairfield County; Baker, William A., 1854.
6. Atlas of the City of Bridgeport; J.B. Beers & Co., 1876.
7. Atlas of the City and Town of Bridgeport; G.M. Hopkins & Co., 1888, 1917.
8. Atlas of Bridgeport; Kershaw, William H., 1910.
9. Sanborn Map Company, 1884, 1888, 1898, 1904, 1913, 1939, 1950.
10. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1951, 1965, 1970, 1985.
11. Bridgeport City Directory, Various editions.
12. Hartford Courant, 1929, 1919, 1942, 1946.
13. Bridgeport Post, 1954.
14. A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport; Orcutt, Samuel, 1886.
15. History of Bridgeport and Vicinity; S.J. Clarke Publishing, 1917.