Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Eastern Color Printing Co. 1938-1973

Use (Historic)

• Other: Printing

Largest Documented Workforce

Unknown

Historic Narrative

The Eastern Color Printing Company was incorporated in Waterbury, Connecticut in August 1928 by William B. Pape, owner of the Republican-American newspaper. The firm was mainly organized for the purpose of handling color printing accounts held by the Republican-American, notable among these being numerous contracts to print color covers for the then extremely popular genre of ‘pulp’ magazines. The Eastern Color Printing Company soon began printing a number of tabloid-style color comics, including ‘The Funnies,’ which was produced by Dell Publishing of New York, New York, as well as other color comic sections for various newspapers. In 1933, the Eastern Color Printing Company essentially reinvented American comics after an employee at the firm, Harry I. Widenberg, proposed printing comics as part of promotional advertising giveaways. The first client to do embrace the idea was the Gulf Oil Company, which began distributing a four-page full-color comic known as the ‘Gulf Comic Weekly’ at its service stations. Other, companies such as Standard Oil, Proctor & Gamble, and Shell Oil soon followed suit with the ‘Standard Oil Comics,’ ‘Funnies on Parade,’ and ‘Shell Globe,’ respectively. In 1934, Eastern Color began publishing its own line of comics, ‘Famous Funnies,’ a groundbreaking title in comic book history. The first five issues of ‘Famous Funnies’ were financial losers, however, from the sixth publication onward the Eastern Color Printing Company turned a profit on what would be a 20-year franchise. The Eastern Color Printing Company supplemented incomes from the ‘Famous Funnies’ by continuing to contract publish comics for various newspapers and other comic book shops, among the later at various points being the Marvel and DC comic companies. The Eastern Color Printing Company vacated space shared with the Republican-American at 61 Leavenworth Street in Waterbury in 1938 after a new dedicated plant was built on Commercial Street. The company continued to occupy this location until 1973, when the firm relocated to Avon, Connecticut. The Waterbury plant was in turn acquired by Dileo Brothers, Inc., wholesale grocers, which occupied the facility until the early 2000s.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly seven (7) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

ca. 1920, 1938, ca. 1945, ca. 1980.

Architect

Leo F. Caproni

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Eastern Color Printing Company plant consists of roughly seven adjoining and freestanding primary blocks located on the west side of Commercial Street, just north of Commercial Street’s intersection with West Main Street. The facility’s main block is located near the northern end of the plant and was built in 1938. It consists of a three-story, 250’ x 72’ block of brick pier construction and with a flat roof. The original windows are multipane steel sash with pivot-style openings, however many of these have been covered with aluminum sheathing or the openings infilled with red brick or stucco. A one-story red brick addition erected ca. 1945 adjoins the main block’s west elevation. The block has a curved western wall that mirrors the profile of the neighboring rail line and it extends past the northern end of the main block where a loading dock and several loading bays are accessible from Commercial Street. Two additional blocks erected ca. 1945 adjoin the main block’s south elevation, while two blocks built and occupied by the meat-packing firm Armor & Co. ca. 1920 have since been incorporated into the plant. A final two-story concrete block addition at the southwest corner of the plant was erected ca. 1980.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Concrete
• Concrete Block

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Flat

Roof Material

• EPDM
• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The plant is in fair condition. Most of the original windows have been covered with aluminum sheathing or the openings infilled with red brick or stucco.

Specific Location

One 2.27-acre parcel (23 Commercial St.) located on the west side of Commercial Street, just north of Commercial Street’s intersection with West Main Street.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads
• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 0252-0067-0007 / Link →

Acreage

2.27

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas Karmazinas

Date

11/17/2016

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. Sanborn Map Company, 1884, 1900, 1924, 1962.
6. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1951, 1965, 1970, 1985.
7. History of Waterbury; Pape, William Jamieson, 1918.
8. Comic Book Nation; Wright, Bradford W., 2003.
9. Hartford Courant, 1961.
10. Information, historic photographs and sources for Leo Caproni courtesy Gregg Bateman (2018).
11. Caproni, Leo F., ‘Industrial Buildings’ (1942 booklet)
12. Caproni, Leo F. ‘Leo F. Caproni Architect & Engineer’ (1938 booklet)