Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Laminated Shim Co. Inc. c.1915-c.1973

Use (Historic)

• Apparel & Accessories
• Fabricated Metal Products
• Transportation

Largest Documented Workforce

n/a

Historic Narrative

The Laminated Shim Co., Inc. building is closely associated with local industrial development as one of several established New York concerns that relocated to Stamford between the World Wars. Of these, it is also significant as one of two manufacturers of parts related to the automobile industry to locate in the Glenbrook. The building’s head-house is architecturally significant as a well-preserved example of mid-century modern design -- one of the best in the city -- carefully detailed to fit in with an established residential neighborhood. Laminated Shim was organized in 1913 by Yonkers native Carlton N. Aborn (1874-1946), a graduate of Yale’s Sheffield Scientific School. Aborn and his associates recognized a market for standardized automotive rod shims used by mechanics to maintain wheel alignment in the early automobile era. Beginning in a loft on Canal Street in Manhattan with a small workforce, Laminated’s rod shims quickly came to be used in 90% of automobile production before World War I. During the war, the company also produced specialized shims for military trucks, submarine diesels, and boilers in steamships. In 1921 the company relocated to Long Island City, diversifying production to include shims and other small parts for industrial applications. With the company’s successful development of a self-contained, all metallic lock nut, Laminated Shim needed more space and built a new factory and office building in the Glenbrook section of Stamford. Following the precedent set by Norma-Hoffman also in Stamford, Laminated Shim’s new production facilities are utilitarian in appearance along the railroad track but intentionally architecturally distinctive where it faces the street. It was described in a contemporary account as '…the last word in modern industrial plant structures' featuring '...glass brick in the main entrance, a simple but striking treatment that enlivens the severe lines of the building’s layout.' (Advocate, 1941) Laminated Shim continued to manufacture at the plant into the early 1970s. During the Vietnam War it provided metal inner soles for combat troop boots. Laminated Shim was acquired by Miniature Precision Bearings Co. of Keene, NH, in 1970. Product line in the 1970s included inner soles with shims for sneakers, firemen boots and work for aircraft and plastic industries.

Number of Existing Buildings

Two (2) primary blocks with modern warehouse additions.

Dates of Construction

1940, c.1955

Architect

Leo F. Caproni (1940)

Builder

Vuono Construction (1940)

Building Type

• Administration
• Loft
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Laminated Shim factory is comprised of two adjoining blocks located at the intersection of Union Street and Kirkham Place, and bordered to its east by the New Canaan branch rail line. The total building encloses approximately 86,500 square feet. The original block of the factory was erected in 1940, consisting of a head-house facing residential properties across Union Street and a long deep one-story production shed interspersed with two-story production sheds to the north along the rail line. A large windowless one-story warehouse block added after 1951 extends northward from the rear of the production shed. A second warehouse block appears to date from the 1970s. The building is massed asymmetrically below flat roofs. The two-story head-house is composed with a projecting center portion flanked by the main entrance to the west and a loading dock to the east. The entrance is sheltered by a cantilevered porch enclosed below by a recessed, glazed curtain wall with metal mullions. The loading dock is sheltered by an open canopy roof. Asymmetrical fenestration features horizontal ribbon windows with steel sash that wrap the corners and two vertical wall expanses of translucent glass block, including one that wraps a prominent corner. The production shed behind the head-house has brick-clad steel columns serving as mullions for massive daylight factory walls with large openings above low spandrels. East openings facing the tracks retain most of their original steel frame sash, while most west facing openings have been infilled and equipped with smaller sash. Production lofts are divided by the outer edges of the second floor slab which reads as a buff belt course carrying through the brick-clad columns which serve as buttresses. Windows in the production lofts are grouped in pairs with concrete sills.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Glass

Structural System(s)

• Concrete Slab
• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Flat

Roof Material

• EPDM

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The building is partially occupied and appears to be structurally sound and largely weathertight but maintenance has been neglected. It has a high degree of integrity, retaining original steel windows and glass block.

Specific Location

One legal parcel in condominium ownership at the intersection of Union Street and Kirkham Place, along the west side of the New Canaan branch railroad.

Adjacent To

• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 003/ 4785/ / 3 / Link →
• 003/ 4784/ / 2 / Link →
• 003/ 4786/ / 4 / Link →
• 004/ 0578/ /1A also1 B, 1C / Link →
• 003/ 4787/ / 5 / Link →

Acreage

n/a

Use (Present)

• Mixed-Use

Form Completed By

Wes Haynes

Date

September 2016

Bibliography

1. Sanborn Map Co., 1951.
2. Connecticut Sunday Herald, March 4, 1973.
3. 'Laminated Shim Has 28 Years of Solid Background,' Stamford Advocate Tercentenary Edition, June 7, 1941, 54.
4. 'Carlon N. Aborn, Founder of Shim Company, 72, Formerly a Leader at Yale [Obituary],' New York Times, March 4, 1946.
5. Price & Lee’s Stamford (Fairfield County, Conn.) City Directory, New Haven, 1971.
6. Caproni, Leo F., ‘Industrial Buildings’ (1942 booklet)
7. Information, historic photographs and sources for Leo Caproni courtesy Gregg Bateman (2018).