Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Bridgeport Metal Goods Mfg. Co. 1916-2001

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products

Largest Documented Workforce

600 (1917).

Historic Narrative

The Bridgeport Metal Goods Manufacturing Company was organized in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1909. The firm was established by Anker S. Lyhne, an immigrant from Denmark who arrived in the United States in 1879 at the age of 13. Lyhne attended school in Brooklyn, New York for two years before taking a job at the New Haven, Connecticut hardware manufacturer Sargent and Company. During his ten years with Sargent, Lyhne rose through the ranks of management and eventually served as the head of the cost and estimating department. The firm was the first in New England to maintain such a department and Lyhne is credited with having been its primary promoter and organizational mind. In 1901, Lyhne left Sargent and Company to take a job as assistant superintendant of the Bridgeport Brass Company, where he led the firm’s estimating department. Lyhne remained with the company for eight years, having terminated his relationship upon establishing the Bridgeport Metal Goods Manufacturing Company along with Frank W. Harmon of New York, New York, who served as vice-president of the business; and Herman K. Beach of Bridgeport, who was its treasurer and secretary. Lyhne held the role of president. The Bridgeport Metal Goods Manufacturing Company turned out a wide range of metal wares, these produced from sheet, rod, wire, and cast stock. The firm specialized in the manufacture of flashlights and cosmetic cases and began operations in a factory at 35 Spruce Street shared with the Hawthorne Manufacturing Company and R.P.K. Metal Company. The Bridgeport Metal Goods Manufacturing Company remained at this location for just seven years before the firm’s growth necessitated larger quarters. A new plant was erected on Cherry Street, just east of its intersection with Pine Street, in 1916, and the company occupied this factory in 1917. By the late 1910s, the Bridgeport Metal Goods Manufacturing Company employed roughly 600 hands, including between 40-50 highly skilled toolmakers who worked in the plant’s machine shop. The firm also controlled the business of the Usona Manufacturing Company of New York, New York, which also had branches in Toledo, Ohio and San Francisco, California. The Bridgeport Metal Goods Manufacturing Company significantly expanded its Bridgeport plant throughout the 1920s, and continued to make incremental improvements throughout the mid-20th century. The company continued to turn out high-quality metal flashlights and cosmetic cases into the late-20th century, yet was acquired by the Hipwell Manufacturing Company of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, a producer of metal and plastic flashlights, in 2001. Hipwell subsequently moved all of the former Bridgeport Metal Goods Manufacturing Company’s operations to Pittsburg and closed the Bridgeport factory. As of June 2016, portions of factory complex are being rehabbed by U-Haul.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly ten (10) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1916, ca. 1920, ca. 1935, ca. 1940, 1960.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill
• Powerhouse
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Bridgeport Metal Goods Manufacturing Company plant consists of nine adjoining and freestanding primary blocks located on the south side of Cherry Street, at the southeast corner of Cherry Street’s intersection with Pine Street. The original portion of the factory was erected in 1916 and is located at the core of the complex. This consists of three red brick blocks, including two manufacturing buildings and one boiler plant. The former consist of a four-story, 58’ x 160’ block with frontage on Cherry Street; and a one-story, 58’ x 155’ block adjoining the four-story building’s south elevation and extending south to Pine Street. The boiler house stands roughly 26’ west of the latter block and is a one-story, 62’ x 70’ building. All of the 1916 blocks are of a similar design. They have concrete foundations, brick piers with concrete caps, large rectangular window openings with concrete sills and multipane metal sash with pivot-style windows, corbelled and denticulated brick cornices, tile coping, and flat roofs. Substantial additions to the Bridgeport Metal Goods Manufacturing Company factory were completed ca. 1920. The most notable component of this expansion was a two-story, 60’ x 228’ red brick manufacturing building located 14’ west of the 1916 manufacturing blocks. The building is identical in design to the 1916 construction and fronts on Cherry Street. Another substantial addition completed ca. 1920 is a one-story, 60’ x 152’ wood-frame warehouse that stands 105’ west of the ca. 1920 manufacturing block. The warehouse has vinyl siding and a low-pitch, front-facing gable roof. It was linked with the ca. 1920 manufacturing block ca. 1960, when a two-story, 130’ x 110’ warehouse was erected between the two buildings. The ca. 1960 building has a concrete block first story and an upper floor that is clad with corrugated metal siding. The block has a flat roof. Three additional blocks of note were built adjoining the east side of the 1916 manufacturing buildings ca. 1920, ca. 1940, and ca. 1960. These are all of red brick construction and consist of a one-story, 68’ x 98’ warehouse; a two-story, 80’ x 62’ manufacturing block; and a one-story, 104’ x 35’ warehouse, respectively. All have concrete foundations, large rectangular window openings with concrete sills, multipane metal sash with pivot-style windows, concrete coping, and flat roofs. A one-story, 90’ x 40’ red brick block with a flat roof adjoins the southeast corner of the plant, yet stands on a separate parcel. It was occupied by Lynge’s, Incorporated, a cleaning and dyeing firm throughout the middle of the 20th century and it is unclear if the building was associated with the Bridgeport Metal Goods Manufacturing Company during the late 20th century. It has since been connected to the one-story 1916 manufacturing building via a narrow passageway.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Concrete Block
• Steel

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Structural Steel or Iron
• Wood Frame

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The plant is in fair condition. The exterior walls are in need of repairs and many of the original windows are damaged or missing, however, overall, the plant appears structurally sound.

Specific Location

One 2.12-acre parcel (365 Cherry Street) located on the south side of Cherry Street, at the southeast corner of Cherry Street’s intersection with Pine Street.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 19/ 306/ 2/A / Link →

Acreage

2.12

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Vacant

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, 1909. 1976.
13. A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport; Orcutt, Samuel, 1886.
14. History of Bridgeport and Vicinity; S.J. Clarke Publishing, 1917.