Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Connecticut Lace Works, Inc. 1922-ca.1970
• Dresden Lace Works, Inc. 1910-1922
• Muller Gloria Silk Mills 1903-1922

Use (Historic)

• Apparel & Accessories
• Textiles

Largest Documented Workforce

450 (1922).

Historic Narrative

The Muller Gloria Mills were organized in Norwalk, Connecticut by Richard Muller in 1903. The company manufactured silk and cotton fabrics and employed roughly 200 hands by 1910. This was the same year that an American division of the Dresden Lace Works, a well-established German company and the largest lace manufacturer in the world, was incorporated in the United States. The American branch of the Dresden Lace Works was organized with $225,000 in capital and specialized in the production of corset lace. Richard Muller served as the firm’s first vice-president and its leading domestic officer. He also provided space for the new lace mill by erecting a two-story addition atop one of his weaving buildings where 26 large and considerably expensive lace looms were installed by the end of 1910. The Muller Gloria Mills also provided power to the new venture and the two companies shared common office space. The Desden Lace Works plant provided employment for 250 hands, thus bringing the total under Muller’s control to over 450. On December 7, 1918, control of the Desden Lace Works was sold to Richard Muller by an agent of the ‘Alien Property Custodian,’ a government office that seized and controlled properties belonging to the enemies of the United States during World War I. Muller purchased the business for $135,000 and quickly moved to reorganize the firm as the Connecticut Lace Company, Inc. The name change, however, does not appear to have taken effect until the early 1920s. By 1922, the Connecticut Lace Company employed 150 hands operating 26 looms and 22 sewing machines, while the Muller Gloria Mills employed 300 hands operating 300 looms and assorted dyeing, bleaching, and finishing machinery. The two firms continued to operate in tandem through the 1930s, however, by the 1940s the Muller Gloria Mills had been folded into and served as a division of the Connecticut Lace Company, Inc. The latter remained in business until the early 1970s, whereupon it was supplanted by a variety of small industrial and commercial tenants, including two lace companies, Aristocrat Laces, Inc. and Blore Laces, Inc. The plant presently houses mixed industrial, commercial, and artist work spaces.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly nine (9) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1903, 1907, 1908, 1910, ca. 1910, ca. 1960, ca. 1970.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill
• Powerhouse
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Muller Gloria Mills plant is comprised of roughly nine primary adjoining and freestanding blocks located on the north side of Muller Avenue, north of Muller Avenue’s intersection with Slocum Street. The oldest blocks appears to be two one-story red brick blocks situated at the northwest corner of the plant. These were built in 1903 and consist of a 138’ x 188’ red brick weave shed, and a 66’ x 104’ combined engine room, boiler room, and machine shop. The manufacturing block has segmental-arched window openings and a sawtooth monitor roof with round windows in the gable ends of each monitor, while the boiler plant and machine shop has segmental-arched windows and both gabled and shed roofs. A round brick chimney adjoins the south elevation of the boiler room. A one-story, 70’ x 188’ red brick addition was erected adjoining the south elevation of the weave shed in 1907. This is similar in design to the earlier block yet has taller monitors and lacks the circular windows in the gable ends. Another one-story addition, this measuring roughly 56’ x 275’, was built adjoining the south elevation of the 1907 block in 1908. This was raised to three stories and a three-story stair tower erected at the center of its west elevation in 1910. The completed building is of brick pier construction and has segmental-arched window openings with 18-over-18 double-hung wood windows on the first and second stories, 12-over-12 double-hung wood windows on the third floors, and stone window sills. The window bays rise to a corbelled brick cornice and exposed rafter tails line the roofline of the low-pitch front-facing gable roof. An adjoining cluster of four primary one-story blocks stands roughly 95’ east of the original manufacturing building. Three of the blocks are located at the northeast corner of the plant and were erected in 1903 and ca. 1910. They form an overall footprint of roughly 135’ x 190’ and consist of a dye house, storehouse, and office. Each can be delineated by its roof, these being of sawtooth monitor, clerestory monitor, and combined sawtooth and shed roof construction, respectively. The dye house is the earliest of the three buildings and it mimics the design of the original weave shed. A one-story, 116’ x 230’ concrete block addition was erected adjoining the south elevation of the ca. 1910 office building ca. 1970. This is of a plain design and has a concrete foundation, large loading bays with roll-up style doors, and a flat roof. A similar block was also erected adjoining the north elevation of the 1903 weave shed around 1970. This stands one story tall and measures roughly 188’ x 35’.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Concrete Block

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Clerestory Monitor
• Flat
• Monitor
• Sawtooth

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The complex is in fair condition. Although some of the window openings have been infilled with brick, the majority have been preserved and retain their original windows. Overall, the complex appears to be well maintained and structurally sound.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (30 Muller Avenue) totaling 7.1 acres located on the north side of Muller Avenue, north of Muller Avenue’s intersection with Slocum Street.

Adjacent To

• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 5/ 47/ 133/ 0 / Link →

Acreage

7.1

Use (Present)

• Mixed-Use
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

12/10/2015

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, 1951, 1965, 1970, 1985.
8. Sanborn Map Company, 1922, 1950, 1958.
9. Norwalk Directory; Various editions.
10. The Norwalk Hour, 1910.
11. Norwalk; Grant, Lisa Wilson, 2014.