Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Bristol Brass Company, Noble & Westbrook Division 1963-1980
• Noble & Westbrook Manufacturing Co. 1913-1963

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products
• Machine Tools, Machinery
• Paper & Wood Products
• Rubber & Chemicals

Largest Documented Workforce

50 (1921)

Historic Narrative

The Noble and Westbrook Manufacturing Company was established as a partnership between Richard Noble and George Westbrook in 1902. The firm initially operated as the Noble and Westbrook Company, producing a limited line of stamps and marking devices in a shop housed at 177 Asylum Street in Hartford, Connecticut. The company was incorporated as the Noble and Westbrook Manufacturing Company in 1913 and the firm immediately moved to erect a larger plant on Westbrook Street in East Hartford. Noble and Westbrook quickly outgrew its new factory and began constructing an additional two-story block in 1915. The plant was again enlarged around 1920, allowing the firm to increase its workforce to around 50 employees. By 1921, the company was producing a diverse line of stamping and marking devices and machinery ranging from rubber stamps and stencils to a 1,600 pound machine that used hand engraved steel dies to mark metal items. One of the firm’s most notable contracts was that to produce all of the State of Connecticut’s dog license tags, a work order they were awarded every year from the program’s initial conception in 1908, through the early 1920s when about 70,000 tags were purchased annually. The Noble and Westbrook Manufacturing Company continued to operate on Westbrook Street until 1963. That year it was purchased by the Bristol Brass Corporation, which ran it as a divisional plant into the 1980s.

Number of Existing Buildings

Four (4) blocks.

Dates of Construction

1913, 1915, ca. 1920, ca. 1940

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration
• Mill

Architectural Description

The former Noble and Westbrook Manufacturing Company plant consists of four adjoining blocks located on the east side of Westbrook Street north of its intersection with Burnside Avenue and south of Tolland Street. The oldest building associated with the factory is a one-and-a-half-story red brick manufacturing block erected in 1913. Originally built to house a blacksmith and machine shops, this measures 46’ x 34’ and has an ashlar brownstone block foundation, segmental-arched window openings with brick sills and lintels, modern double-hung sash, and a side-gabled roof. South of this there is a two-and-a-half-story brick block with stone facing that was erected around 1920. This housed manufacturing uses in its basement and on the first floor, and offices on the second story. The Neoclassical style building measures 36’ x 32’ and has an ashlar brownstone block foundation, full-height corner pilasters, rectangular window openings with modern double-hung sash, a broad denticulated and modillioned cornice, roofline parapet, and flat roof. A one-story portico with fluted columns and a highly detailed entablature shelters the entry, this flanked by sidelights and with a five-light transom above. A third block is located to the east of the office building. This was constructed in 1915 and originally housed manufacturing uses on all levels. The two-and-a-half-story red brick building measures 35’ x 60’ and has an ashlar brownstone block foundation, rectangular window openings with brownstone sills, modern double-hung sash, roofline parapet with tile coping, and a flat roof. A fourth block, this built ca. 1940, is located adjoining the northeast corner of the 1915 building. It measures 46’ x 30 and stands two-and-a-half-stories tall. The building has a concrete foundation, rectangular window openings with concrete sills and replacement double-hung sash, roofline parapet with tile coping, and a flat roof. It is connected to the 1913 block by a two-and-a-half-story tall glass enclosure running parallel to the northern elevation of the 1915 block.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Stone

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• EPDM

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Good

Condition Notes

The factory complex is in excellent condition, however, the original windows have been replaced with modern materials.

Specific Location

Two legal parcels (18 & 20 Westbrook Street) totaling 0.86 acres on the east side of Westbrook Street.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 25-145 (14593) / Link →
• 25-146 (14592) / Link →

Acreage

0.25; 0.86

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Other: For sale 1/2023 as multi-family redev opportunity.
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

12/15/2014

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. Sanborn Map Company, 1919, 1920, 1927, 1949.
6. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1965.
7. The Hartford Courant, 1913, 1915, 1919, 1921, 1928, 1938, 1963, 1980.