Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Bellamore Armoured & Equipment Car Co. 1912-1913
• Blue Ribbon Auto and Carriage Co. 1913-1930
• Bridgeport Vehicle Co. 1909-1912

Use (Historic)

• Transportation

Largest Documented Workforce

Unknown.

Historic Narrative

The Bridgeport Vehicle Company was organized in Bridgeport, Connecticut on February 14, 1906. The firm was founded by Harry D. Miller, a native of New York, New York, and Herman F. Brandes, a German immigrant who had arrived in the United States at the age of nine in 1873. The business began operations primarily as an automobile garage and parts manufacturer, however, following a substantial fire and subsequent closure of the carriage works operated by Bridgeport’s Hincks and Johnson Company, the Bridgeport Vehicle Company assumed many of the former firm’s recently unemployed workers and began producing automobile bodies. The Bridgeport Vehicle Company manufactured a full line of high quality Limousines, Landaulets, Victorias, and Touring bodies in both wood and aluminum. The firm also produced auto accessories such as tops, windshields, slip covers, lamp covers, tool boxes, fenders, hoods, etc. The company’s largest client was Bridgeport’s Locomobile Company and many of its early contracts were unfulfilled arrangements between that firm and the Hincks and Johnson Company. This business helped the Bridgeport Vehicle Company expand rapidly during its first few years in operation and the firm quickly outgrew its original plant located at the corner of Water Street and South Avenue. A new substantial plant was erected on the west side of Fairfield Avenue and north side of Holland Avenue in 1909, this allowing the company to double its workforce of 70 hands. The new factory housed manufacturing space, an automobile elevator, offices, and a six-car showroom. Despite early success and expansion, the Bridgeport Vehicle Company slipped into financial difficulties during the summer of 1910. By March 1911, production had ceased and the company was placed in receivership. In January 1912, the firm’s Fairfield Avenue factory was purchased by the Bellamore Armoured and Equipment Car Company of New York, New York (organized in July 1910), which specialized in the manufacture of armored and burglar-proof automobile bodies used by banks and other financial institutions to transport valuables. The Bellamore Armoured and Equipment Car Company similarly experienced initial success yet also fell into receivership and ceased operation by April 1913. The Fairfield Avenue factory was in turn acquired by the Blue Ribbon Auto and Carriage Company, a Bridgeport concern originally established as the Blue Ribbon Horse and Carriage Company in 1902. The business was founded by Edward A. Godfrey and George H. Woods and began operations near the intersection of Cannon Street and Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport where it manufactured horse carriages and hearses, as well as harnesses and other tack. The company began producing automobile bodies around 1907, whereupon the name of the firm was changed in an effort to better reflect the focus of its business. The former Bridgeport Vehicle Company plant was occupied in July 1913, where the Blue Ribbon Auto and Carriage Company manufactured coach and hearse bodies for such firms as the Locomobile Company, Bartlett Electric Company, and American and British Manufacturing Company. The failure of the Locomobile Company in 1921 struck a serious blow to the Blue Ribbon Auto and Carriage Company, however, the latter firm limped along until 1930 when the manufacturing side of the business was closed. Its auto garage branch continued to operate in the original Cannon Street plant, however, the former Bridgeport Vehicle Company factory was soon occupied by a variety of small manufacturers and commercial tenants.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly six (6) adjoining primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1909, ca. 1913, ca. 1915, ca. 1965.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Bridgeport Vehicle Company plant consists of roughly six adjoining primary blocks located on the west side of Fairfield Avenue, at the northwest corner of Fairfield Avenue’s intersection with Holland Avenue. The original factory consists of two adjoining three-story blocks forming an L-shaped footprint with 132’ of frontage along Fairfield Avenue and 158’ of frontage along Holland Avenue. Both blocks are 46’ deep and of brick pier construction. They have concrete foundations, red brick walls (these painted white), segmental-arched window openings with concrete sills, corbelled and denticulated window bay headers, and flat roofs. A non-original concrete façade was applied to the six bays at the southern end of the factory’s east (façade) elevation, likely during the early 1920s as evidenced by its Art Deco styling. The façade frames large window openings flanking an entrance topped by a concrete panels bearing the building’s address. A window on the second floor is framed by fluted and stepped concretework with a molded concrete flagpole holder located above the opening. A three-story red brick boiler plant and stairtower built concurrent to the original manufacturing building adjoin the north (interior) elevation of the block extending along Holland Avenue. The Holland Avenue block was enlarged around 1913. This consisted of extending the building roughly 98’ to the west. The design of the addition is nearly identical to the original construction, however, the block is 54’ rather than 46’ deep. A three-story stairtower is roughly centered on its north (interior) elevation. A second addition was built adjoining the west elevation of the block extending along Fairfield Avenue ca. 1915. This is a three-story, 88’ x 56’ manufacturing building with a low-pitch front-facing gable roof. The block has large rectangular window openings with concrete sills and multipane metal sash with pivot-style openings, substantial red brick corbels, a denticulated and corbelled red brick cornice, and flat roof. The two final blocks associated with the factory were erected adjoining its western end ca. 1965. These consist of a one-story, roughly 244’ x 118’ red brick block, and a one- and two-story, 42’ x 160’ red brick building. Both are painted white, have rectangular window openings with concrete sills, and flat roofs.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The plant is in fair condition. A majority of the original windows have been replaced or the openings infilled or reduced in size, however, overall, the factory appears structurally sound and well maintained.

Specific Location

One 1.77-acre parcel (1720 Fairfield Avenue) located on the west side of Fairfield Avenue, at the northwest corner of Fairfield Avenue’s intersection with Holland Avenue.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 19/ 1218/ 5 / Link →

Acreage

1.77

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• 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. A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport; Orcutt, Samuel, 1886.
13. History of Bridgeport and Vicinity; S.J. Clarke Publishing, 1917.
14. Encyclopedia of American Coachbuilders & Coachbuilding website.