Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• United Aircraft Corp. (Sikorsky Aircraft Div.) 1948-2015

Use (Historic)

• Transportation

Largest Documented Workforce

Unknown.

Historic Narrative

The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation was organized in College Point, New York in 1925. The firm was founded by Igor I. Sikorsky, a Russian immigrant and engineer who began designing fixed-wing aircraft during the First World War. Upon establishing his company in the United States, Sikorsky began developing numerous large land-based and sea planes, perhaps most notable among these being the Sikorsky Amphibian, a twin-engine sesquiplane developed over several models – the S-34, S-36, and S-38 – that was often referred to as the ‘Explorer’s Air Yacht’ due to its ability to access remote areas in all parts of the world. The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation moved to Stratford, Connecticut in 1928 after the company purchased a 30-acre parcel adjacent to the Bridgeport Municipal Airport. Once operational in 1929, the Stratford plant employed upwards of 1,600 hands and produced all of the firm’s amphibious aircraft. The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation was acquired by the then recently-formed United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (presently the United Technologies Corporation), a firm created by the merger of the Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Company, Chance Vought Company, and Boeing Airplane and Transport Corporation, in 1929. Sikorsky Aircraft remained an independent division of this business and as sales of fixed-wing aircraft slumped after the onset of the Great Depression and into the 1930s, Igor Sikorsky shifted his attention towards the goal of creating an operable rotary-wing craft. Sikorsky became successful in his efforts to produce the first single-engine lifting rotor in the United States on September 14, 1939 when his experimental VS-300 completed its first cable-bound flight. The craft’s first free flight took place on May 13, 1940, and by 1942 Sikorsky had finished designing the R-4 Hoverfly, the world’s first large-scale mass-produced helicopter. During the early 1940s, the Sikorsky Aircraft division of the United Aircraft Corporation established a plant fully dedicated to helicopter production in a factory formerly occupied by the Crane Company on South Avenue in Bridgeport. The company soon became the first to establish an airport exclusively used by rotary-wing aircraft, located just south of the factory complex. By June 1944 there were 30 helicopters manufactured in Bridgeport in use by the U.S. Army Air Force and Royal Air Force in such diverse theaters as Alaska and India. The company’s successes continued in the post-war period and by the late 1940s significant additions to the Bridgeport factory were necessary in order to keep up with demand for the firm’s new heavy lifting helicopters, such as the S-55. The most significant of the plant improvement projects was announced in 1951 when 500,000 square feet of additional office, shipping, and manufacturing space was built along both sides of South Avenue. The Sikorsky Aircraft division of the United Technologies Corporation occupied the Bridgeport plant until 2015 when it was closed as a part of consolidation efforts. The United Technologies Corporation sold the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation to Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin in November 2015.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly five (5) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1912, 1948, 1951, 1980.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation plant consists of roughly five adjoining and freestanding primary blocks located on the east and west sides of South Avenue, roughly 400’ north of South Avenue’s intersection with Barnum Dyke. The oldest portion of the plant stands along the west side of South Avenue at the northwest corner of the complex and was erected by the Crane Company in 1912. The building is a freestanding one-story, 108’ x 50’ red brick block that has served various purposes throughout its history including as a restaurant and a laboratory. It is of brick pier construction and has corbelled brick bay headers, a modillioned cornice, and both flat and gabled roof sections. The two prominent pedimented front-facing cross gables are stuccoed and have half timbered details. The oldest manufacturing block associated with the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation stands 150’ southwest of the aforementioned block on the east side of South Avenue. This was erected in 1948 at the southwest corner of the former Crane Company complex, which has since been demolished. The building is a two-story, 484’ x 220’ steel-frame block with brick apron walls, large multipane ribbon windows, and a flat roof. A metal sign bearing the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation’s logo ¬– a large ‘S’ overlaid by a single golden bird’s wing – remains mounted on the western end of the block’s south elevation. A two-story, 240’ x 150’ ell was erected at the southern end of the 1948 block’s east elevation in 1951. This is of steel-frame construction and has metal sheathing, large ribbon window openings, and a flat roof. A similar two-story, 80’ x 342’ office and shipping block was also erected opposite the 1948 building on the west side of South Avenue in 1951. This block is largely identical to the other 1951 structure, however, all of the window openings have been covered with metal sheathing. The final block associated with the plant stands immediately north of the 1912 building and was erected in 1980. It is a one-story, 86’ x 154’ rusticated concrete block structure with a wide concrete cornice and a flat roof.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Steel

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Flat

Roof Material

• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The plant is in fair condition. Many of the window openings have been painted, however, the original fenestration remains and, overall, the various blocks appear structurally sound.

Specific Location

Two parcels (1000 & 1225 South Avenue) totaling 24.17 acres located on the east and west sides of South Avenue, roughly 400’ north of South Avenue’s intersection with Barnum Dyke.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 13/ 427/ 1 / Link →
• 12/ 424/ 2 / Link →

Acreage

4.8; 19.37

Use (Present)

• Industrial
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

01/22/2016

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, 1951.
13. Life Magazine, 1926, 1928, 1934, 1948, 1953.
14. Sikorsky.com website, About Sikorsky.
15. A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport; Orcutt, Samuel, 1886.
16. History of Bridgeport and Vicinity; S.J. Clarke Publishing, 1917.