Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Connecticut Spring Corp. 1953-late-20th c.
• Fenn Mfg. Co. 1917-1953

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products
• Machine Tools, Machinery

Largest Documented Workforce

60 (1921).

Historic Narrative

The earliest manifestation of the Fenn Manufacturing Company was organized in Hartford, Connecticut by Wilson L. Fenn in 1900. Fenn was a native of Plainville, Connecticut, whose first manufacturing job was with Hartford’s Pratt and Whitney Company. Fenn went on to hold a position of superintendent of the machine shops at the Elmira Reformatory in Elmira, New York, before he returned to Hartford to take a job as superintendent of the Woodward and Rogers Company. In 1900, Fenn organized his own shop under the name of the Fenn Machinery Company, which merged with the Phoenix Iron Works to form the Taylor and Fenn Company in 1907. Fenn served as general manager of the latter firm until 1914, whereupon he partnered with his son, Wilson A. Fenn, to form the Fenn Manufacturing Company. This was organized in Hartford on January 1, 1915 and initially occupied a plant at the corner of Spruce and Asylum Street. The firm grew rapidly and by March 1917 work on a new plant on Broad Street had begun. This was occupied and the production of special machinery and machine tools initiated by June 1917. The company employed roughly 60 hands during the 1920s, however, this undoubtedly grew after significant additions to the plant were completed during the 1930s and 1940s. In 1939 the Fenn Manufacturing Company began manufacturing rotorcraft parts for the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. This led to further contracts with the aviation industry and around 1945 the firm established an aircraft and manufacturing division with a separate plant on Stanley Street in New Britain, Connecticut. Business increased significantly following the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, particularly in the rotorcraft and metal forming divisions, and in 1953 the special machinery division moved from Hartford into a new plant in Newington, Connecticut. The two divisions operated under unified management until 2014, when parent company, SPX Corporation, divided and sold the two businesses. The machine tools divisions, which is still known as the Fenn Company, was moved to East Berlin, Connecticut, while the aerospace division, which is now owned and operated by Texas company PCX Aerostructures, retained the Newington plant. The Hartford factory vacated by the Fenn Manufacturing Company was subsequently occupied by the Connecticut Spring Corporation.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly five (5) adjoining primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1917, ca. 1930, ca. 1946.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill

Architectural Description

The former Fenn Manufacturing Company plant is comprised of roughly five adjoining blocks located on the west side of Broad Street, and at the northwest corner of Broad Street’s intersection with Mountford Street. The original portion of the complex is comprised of two red brick blocks that form an L-shaped footprint at the northeast corner of the plant, with a third block housing a boiler house on their interior (southwest) side. These were erected as a one-story factory in 1917, while a second-story addition was erected above the northeast corner of the plant ca. 1930. One of the manufacturing blocks extends along Broad Street and measures roughly 178’ x 50’. The second manufacturing block adjoins the northern end of its west (rear) elevation and extends to the west away from Broad Street. This measures 50’ x 145’. The second-story addition measures 50’ x 58’, while the boiler house measures roughly 66’ x 24’. The four blocks share similar detailing, including red brick walls with corbelled brick piers and window bays, concrete wall accents, rectangular window openings with concrete sills, stepped brick parapets with concrete details and copings, and flat roofs. Sawtooth monitors are located southwest of the second-story addition and above the boiler house. A one-story, 98’ x 74’ red brick addition was erected adjoining the southern end of the plant ca. 1930. This mimics many of the details of the original construction yet is of a somewhat more restrained design as it lacks the brick corbelling and stepped parapets found elsewhere. A single sawtooth monitor is located on its roof. A further addition to the factory was completed in 1946. This consisted of a pair of one-story red brick blocks found at the rear of the plant. One is an irregularly-shaped structure that links the ca. 1930 addition with the boiler house and northernmost of the two 1917 blocks. The second is located adjoining the west elevation of the irregularly-shaped block and south elevation of the northwest 1917 block. It measures 55’ x 91’.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Flat
• Sawtooth

Roof Material

• EPDM
• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Good

Condition Notes

The complex is in good condition. Semi-recent renovations involved infilling or reducing the window openings and replacing most of the original sash, however, overall the plant appears well maintained and structurally sound.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (1841 Broad Street) totaling 1.41 acres located on the west side of Broad Street, and at the northwest corner of Broad Street’s intersection with Mountford Street.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 208/644/205 (for record, use link and type in address or parcel number) / Link →

Acreage

1.41

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Other: For sale 3/2022 as 185 unit multi-family development site in addition to existing building

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

09/01/2015

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 Hartford County, H & C.T. Smith, 1855.
6. Atlas of Hartford County, Beers, Baker & Tilden, 1869.
7. Sanborn Map Company, 1885, 1900, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1950.
8. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1965.
9. Hartford City Directories, Various editions.
10. The Hartford Courant, 1921, 2015.