Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Bilton Machine Tool Co. 1917-1928
• Producto Machine Co. 1928-2004
• Standard Mfg. Co. 1905-1917

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products
• Machine Tools, Machinery

Largest Documented Workforce

100-199 (1937).

Historic Narrative

The Standard Manufacturing Company was organized in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1905. The business was founded by Clarence E. Bilton, who served as the company’s first president, treasurer, and general manager. The firm manufactured a variety of products, including telephones, electrical supplies, light machinery, and machine tools. Its first shop was located at 268 Noble Avenue in Bridgeport, however, a brisk demand for the company’s products soon resulted in the need for a new, larger plant, erected at 990 Housatonic Avenue in 1906. In 1915, Bilton purchased control of the R.E. Parsons Company, an iron foundry established by Robert E. Parsons and several associates in 1873. The R.E. Parsons Company was located immediately to the southeast of the Standard Manufacturing Company and its acquisition secured a steady supply of raw materials for Bilton’s firm. The business was reorganized as the Parsons Foundry Company, and it operated as such until 1917 when the two companies were merged under the umbrella of a new firm, the Bilton Machine Tool Company. The Bilton Machine Tool Company largely continued the work of the two firms comprising the business, however, the manufacture of consumer goods such as telephones and electrical products was abandoned in favor of a larger focus on machine tools. The Bilton Machine Tool Company remained in business through the mid-1920s, yet had fallen into receivership by around 1925. Regardless of Bilton’s attempts to retain control of the company, a judge ordered that the firm and all its assets be put up for sale in 1928. The business and its factory were eventually purchased by Newman Marsilius, a Norwegian immigrant and MIT graduate, who reorganized the firm as the Producto Machine Company. Marsilius focused the efforts of the Producto Machine Company on the manufacture of machine tools, including special automatic machinery, die sets, and die makers’ accessories. The business remains in operation as the PMT Group, Incorporated, and continues to be led by the Marsilius family. The company vacated its Housatonic Avenue plant during the early 2000s, and is presently headquartered in the former Moore Tool Company factory at 800-810 Union Avenue in Bridgeport, the business and plant having been acquired by the Producto Machine Company in 1994.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly ten (10) adjoining primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1906, ca. 1912, 1915, ca. 1915, ca. 1920, ca. 1960.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration
• Mill
• Powerhouse
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Standard Manufacturing Company plant is comprised of ten adjoining primary blocks located on the east side of Housatonic Avenue, opposite Housatonic Avenue’s intersection with Remer Street. The original factory was erected in 1906 and consists of a two-story, 30’ x 140’ red brick block located at the center of the existing plant’s western end. The building is of brick pier construction and has large segmental-arched window openings with stone sills on the façade (west elevation), segmental-arched windows with stone sills on the first story of the south (side) elevation, rectangular window openings with stone sills on the second story of the south (side) elevation, and a low-pitch front-facing gable roof. A one-story, 18’ x 22’ red brick block with a triangular footprint adjoins the west elevation of the 1906 building. It also adjoins the south elevation of a two-story, 16’ x 84’ red brick block erected as a machine shop and storage building ca. 1912. The addition has a concrete foundation, rectangular window openings with stone sills and lintels, a corbelled red brick cornice, stepped red brick façade (west elevation) parapet, concrete coping, and a flat roof with a single clerestory monitor. The primary entrance to the plant is centered on the block’s three-bay façade and consists of a heavy stone surround bearing carved lettering above the entry that reads, ‘THE/PRODUCTO/MACHINE CO.’ A two-and-a-half-story, 48’ x 87’ red brick addition was erected adjoining the north elevation of the ca. 1912 block in 1915. The addition is of brick pier construction and has a raised basement level, segmental-arched window openings with concrete sills, a corbelled red brick cornice, stepped red brick façade (west elevation) parapet, tile coping, and a low-pitch front-facing gable roof. The 1915 block was enlarged around 1920, when a three-and-a-half-story, 48’ x 122’ red brick extension was erected adjoining its east elevation. The ca. 1920 building is nearly identical to the 1915 building yet lacks a parapet. Around the same time that the 1915 block was enlarged, a one-story, 30’ x 343’ machine shop was built on the south side of the factory. The machine shop is of steel-frame construction with concrete apron walls, multipane metal sash, and a flat roof. The building was linked with the 1906 block via an underground passageway at its western end, and it connected the factory with the former Parsons Foundry Company plant, which was located to the east yet was eventually demolished during the mid-2000s. The exterior of the machine shop is presently sheathed with corrugated metal siding, which obscures the original details. Significant additions to the plant were erected around 1960. Such include a one-story, roughly 50’ x 96’ red brick shipping block built between the ca. 1920 machine shop and 1905 factory, and three two-story steel-frame manufacturing blocks built adjoining the east side of the plant. The latter have a combined footprint of roughly 125’ x 254’. All of the ca. 1960 blocks have flat roofs. A large freestanding building stands on the eastern side of the parcel yet was built in 2008 and is not associated with the property’s former manufacturing use.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Concrete
• Steel

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The complex is in fair condition. The majority of the original windows have been replaced, however, overall, the various blocks appear well maintained and structurally sound.

Specific Location

One 8.7-acre parcel (990 Housatonic Avenue) located on the east side of Housatonic Avenue, opposite Housatonic Avenue’s intersection with Remer Street.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 47/1519/10/K / Link →

Acreage

8.7

Use (Present)

• Other: Municipal: Bridgeport Public Facilities, Sanitary & Recycling

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

01/19/2016

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. Hartford Courant, 1916, 1924, 1925, 1928.
13. The Day, 1994.
14. A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport; Orcutt, Samuel, 1886.
15. History of Bridgeport and Vicinity; S.J. Clarke Publishing, 1917.