Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Connecticut Co. ca. 1925-ca. 1950
• G. and O. Mfg. Co. ca. 1950-1981

Use (Historic)

• Transportation

Largest Documented Workforce

Unknown.

Historic Narrative

Streetcar operations in New Haven effectively began in 1860 with the organization of the Fair Haven and Westville Railroad. Service under this company began with horse-drawn cars on May 6, 1861, and was electrified by the 1890s. While the Fair Haven and Westville Railroad initially served sections of the eastern part of New Haven, numerous additional street railway companies were soon formed to meet the needs of customers throughout the remainder of the city. Included among them at various periods of time were the New Haven and West Haven Horse Railroad, the Winchester Avenue Railroad, the West Shore Railway Company, the New Haven and Centreville Horse Railway, the Whitney Avenue Horse Railroad, the State Street Horse Railroad, and the New Haven Street Railway. Over the course of the second half of the 19th century, the Fair Haven and Westville Railroad moved aggressively to absorb the numerous other streetcar lines operating in New Haven during the late-19th century. The firm acquired financial control of the last independent competitor operating in the city, the Winchester Avenue Railroad, in 1901, and on May 20, 1904, the latter entity was merged with the parent company. The Fair Haven and Westville Railroad was acquired by the Consolidated Street Railway Company, a subsidiary of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, just three days later. In 1907, executives at the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad organized a new entity, the Connecticut Company, for the purpose of consolidating the railroad’s extensive network of streetcar lines and the various companies that operated them. The Consolidated Street Railway Company was included in this merger, thus giving the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad effective control of all trolley services in New Haven, Bridgeport, Hartford, New London, Stamford, and Waterbury. The only Connecticut cities outside of the Connecticut Company’s network were those in Bristol and Danbury. This system of streetcars continued to operate into the 1920s, however, during the 1920s and 1930s many lines were discontinued and replaced with bus service. The last streetcars to operate in Connecticut ceased operation in New Haven in September 1948. The Connecticut Company maintained an extensive network of support services for its trolley lines, including car barns, repair facilities, and power stations. These were scattered throughout the city and were upgraded or replaced as needs arose. The trolley barn and repair facility at the corner of Grand Avenue and Haven Street was built ca. 1925 and was maintained until streetcar service was ended in 1948. Around 1950, the building was acquired by the G and O Manufacturing Company, a maker of automobile and airplane radiators that was organized in New Haven in 1915 and operated the Grand Avenue facility, designated as ‘Plant H,’ as a supplement to its primary factory on Winchester Avenue. G and O occupied Plant H until 1981 when operations were moved to Gando Street in New Haven under its parent company, Transpro, Inc.

Number of Existing Buildings

Two (2) adjoining primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

ca. 1925.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The Connecticut Company’s former Grand Avenue streetcar barn and repair facility is comprised of two primary adjoining blocks located on the south side of Grand Avenue, at the southwest corner of Grand Avenue’s intersection with Haven Street. The main and original block was erected ca. 1925 is a one-and-a-half-story brick pier structure measuring roughly 70’ x 210’ overall. It has a raised concrete foundation, large rectangular window openings with concrete sills, a plain concrete cornice (this also serving as the window lintels), a stuccod façade with an arched parapet and concrete cornice, and a front-facing gable roof with a 5’-tall clerestory monitor. The façade is of a generally symmetrical design consisting of a central garage-style door opening flanked by a large window on each side and with a large arched window in the gable end. A small pass-through door is located west of the garage door. A five-sided, two-story engaged tower with a cross-gable hipped roof is located at the northwest corner of the block set back roughly 7’ from the façade. This has several rectangular window openings with concrete sills and multi-pane metal sash, and a pass-through door with a multi-pane fanlight above. The facility’s second block adjoins the main block’s west (side) elevation. It is a one-story, 30’ x 194’ red brick building similar in detail to the main block. It has a plain stuccoed façade with a single load bay and a flat roof with three sawtooth monitors.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Concrete

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Clerestory Monitor
• Flat
• Gable
• Monitor

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The complex is in fair condition. The exterior walls are in need of repairs and most of the original windows throughout the complex have been replaced or infilled.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (424 Grand Avenue) totaling 1.62 acres located on the south side of Grand Avenue, at the southwest corner of Grand Avenue’s intersection with Haven Street.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 174/0736/00300. / Link →

Acreage

1.62

Use (Present)

• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

10/08/2015

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; Clark, Richard, 1859.
6. Atlas of New Haven County, Beers, Ellis & Soule, 1868.
7. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1965.
8. Sanborn Map Company, 1901, 1911, 1923, 1950.
9. New Haven City Directory; Various editions.
10. History of the City of New Haven to the Present Time, 1887.
11. A Modern History of New Haven and Eastern New Haven County, 1920.
12. New Haven Streetcars; Branford Electric Railway Assoc., 2003.
13. Western Connecticut Trolleys; Connecticut Motor Coach Museum, 2007.