Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Meriden Curtain Fixture Co. ca. 1895-1908
• Minetto-Meriden Shade Co. 1908-1914

Use (Historic)

• Consumer Products, Small Appliances
• Textiles

Largest Documented Workforce

500 (1906).

Historic Narrative

The Meriden Curtain Fixture Company was originally established by S.L. Sawyer and Chauncey Buckley in 1869. The firm operated as Sawyer and Buckley up until 1879, whereupon Meriden industrialist Charles Parker acquired control of the company and reorganized it as the Meriden Curtain Fixture Company. The company initially occupied a production space within a former Methodist Church on Broad Street, however, a dedicated plant was built between High and Broad Streets, just north of Charles Street, in 1891. This facility was enlarged and an additional plant was built east of Broad Street along Charles Street by 1895. Expansion along Charles Street reduced the importance of the High/Broad Street facility and a portion of it was occupied by the Charles Parker Company’s piano stool department. Before 1891, the Meriden Curtain Fixture Company manufactured a single product: a line of rollers for window shades. Expansion allowed the firm to broaden the scope of its offerings, which soon also included shade fringes and cloth. In 1904, the firm was acquired by a holding company, the Quaker Company of New York, New York, which was the manufacturing branch of a combine of curtain companies known as the Columbia Shade Cloth Company. The Meriden Curtain Fixture Company continued to operate as a semi-independent entity until 1908, at which time it merged with the Minetto Shade Cloth Company of Minetto, New York, to form the Minetto-Meriden Shade Company. The Meriden plant employed over 500 workers at this time, many of these employed in a new massive five-story factory erected on the company’s Charles Street property. Production at the Meriden Shade Company continued until 1914 when the firm was purchased by the Columbia Shade Cloth Company. Columbia Shade closed the Meriden plant and shifted all of its resources to the Minetto plant. The Meriden factories were subsequently leased to a variety of tenants. Those occupying the High Street buildings by the 1950s included a ribbon manufacturer, a woodworking firm, and an auto body shop. The large complex on Charles Street was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, however, the High Street buildings were not accounted for. The latter currently house a mix of office and commercial tenants, although they are not fully occupied.

Number of Existing Buildings

Six (6) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

ca. 1890, ca. 1895, ca. 1900, ca. 1915, ca. 1930, late-19th century.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill

Architectural Description

The former Meriden Curtain Fixture Company’s High Street property is the site of approximately six primary adjoining and freestanding blocks located on the east side of High Street, roughly 225’ north of High Street’s intersection with Charles Street. Only two of the six blocks were associated with the firm. These consist of the two red brick buildings, a four-story block erected ca. 1895, and a three-story block built ca. 1915. The remaining buildings include two frame buildings built as stables for the Charles Parker Company ca. 1890 and ca. 1900, a concrete block building erected by an unknown owner ca. 1930, and another concrete block structure erected for an unknown occupant during the late-19th century. The manufacturing block built by the Meriden Curtain Fixture Company ca. 1895 consists of a four-story, 52’ x 72’ red brick building with segmental-arched window openings, stone windowsills, a denticulated and corbelled cornice with cornice returns, and a low-pitch front-facing gable roof. The building is six bays wide and seven bays deep and there is a five-story brick stair tower at its southeast corner. The second building formerly occupied by the Meriden Curtain Fixture Company is a three-story, 61’ x 100’ red brick block erected ca. 1915. Like the earlier building, it has segmental-arched window openings, stone windowsills, a denticulated and corbelled cornice with cornice returns, and a low-pitch front-facing gable roof. The building’s primary entry is located along High Street, where a brick and concrete staircase leads to a frame door flanked by sidelights set in a segmental-arched opening. All of the building’s window have been removed and the majority of the openings have been infilled with glass blocks.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Concrete Block
• Wood

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof Form

• Gable
• Shed

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The buildings are in overall fair condition. The former factory blocks appear to be structurally sound, however, many of the exterior walls are heavily stained and/or in need of repointing and the original windows have been replaced or infilled.

Specific Location

Two legal parcels (34 & 50 High St.) totaling 1.33 acres located on the east side of High Street, roughly 225’ north of High Street’s intersection with Charles Street.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 0216-0106-004B-004C / Link →
• 0216-0106-004D-007A / Link →

Acreage

1.33

Use (Present)

• Commercial

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

05/22/2015

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 New Haven County, H & C.T. Smith, 1856.
6. Atlas of New Haven County, Beers, Ellis & Soule, 1868.
7. Birdseye View of Meriden, Connecticut, O.H. Bailey & Co., 1875.
8. Birdseye View of Meriden, Connecticut, Hughes and Bailey, 1918.
9. Sanborn Map Company, 1884, 1891, 1896, 1901, 1950, 1953.
10. Hartford Courant, 1904.
11. An Historic Record and Pictorial Description of the Town of Meriden, Connecticut; Gillespie, C. Bancroft, ed., 1906.
12. A Modern History of New Haven and Eastern New Haven County; Hill, Everett G., 1918.
13. History of New Haven County, Connecticut; Rockey, John L., 1892.