Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Abcon Environmental, Inc. 2000s
• National Pipe Bending Co. 1883-1980s

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products

Largest Documented Workforce

25-49 (1939).

Historic Narrative

The origins of the National Pipe Bending Company date to 1880, when a group of industrialists led by Horace C. Bigelow and including M.F. Tyler, George D. Martin, and A.G. Hornstein organized the Pipe-Bending Company in New Haven, Connecticut for the manufacture of coiled and bent iron, brass, and copper tubing to be used by plumbers, boilermakers, and gas and steam fitters. In 1883, the firm was incorporated as the National Pipe Bending Company, with Simeon J. Fox serving as president and treasurer, and M.F. Tyler holding the position of secretary. The company initially occupied a two-story, 50’ x 150’ shop on the north side of River Street in the vicinity of Lloyd Street, however, the need for larger quarters led to the construction of a new plant at the southeast corner of River and Lloyd Streets in 1890. After a few years in operation the National Pipe Bending Company diversified its output through the development of a variety of products related to water heaters. Among these was the firm’s National Feed Water Heater, which soon became one of the country’s most popular devices used to pre-heat feed water used in steam boilers. The company also developed and marketed its National Oil Separator, which separated oil from exhaust steam. By the 1930s, the National Pipe Bending Company was manufacturing a diverse range of steel, cast iron, and copper storage water heaters, as well as instantaneous water heaters and oil heaters. During the early-to-mid-20th century the firm also ranked among the country’s largest fabricators of bent and coiled tubing, this used in heating, cooling, and chemical processing operations. By the 1970s, after several decades of declining sales, the National Pipe Bending Company began to phase out the manufacture of stock retail items in favor of specializing on custom work related to the industries the firm had supported throughout its history. This primarily consisted of custom-engineered units and components for heat transfer systems, which led to marginal growth during the early 1980s. Business stalled again by 1984, whereupon the business was merged with the neighboring Bigelow Company, a manufacturer of boiler plants organized in 1883. Both operations were closed by the firm’s parent company, the Etherington Company, during the 1980s.

Number of Existing Buildings

Five (5) adjoining primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1890, ca. 1900, ca. 1911.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill

Architectural Description

The former National Pipe Bending Company plant is comprised of roughly five primary adjoining blocks located on the south side of River Street, at the southeast corner of River Street’s intersection with Lloyd Street. The three oldest buildings associated with the property were erected in 1890. The most prominent is a three-story, 107’ x 40’ red brick pipe bending and machine shop located at the corner of River and Lloyd Streets and extending east along River Street. This has segmental-arched window openings with stone sills on the first and second stories, rectangular window openings with stone sills and lintels on the third floor, a denticulated and corbelled red brick cornice, and a low-pitch side-gabled roof. All of the windows retain the iron hardware that formerly supported protective shutters, and a painted sign that reads, ‘ABCON ENVIRONMENTAL INC.,’ the name of the building’s last tenant, is located on the block’s north elevation. The other two 1890 blocks adjoin the south elevation of the pipe bending and machine shop. One is located at the western end of the elevation and is a two-story, 32’ x 20’ red brick testing room that has a mix of segmental-arched and rectangular window openings with stone sills on the first story, segmental-arched window openings with stone sills on the second floor, a denticulated and corbelled red brick cornice, and a flat roof. The third 1890 block adjoins the south and east elevations of the two aforementioned buildings, respectively. This block housed additional pipe bending space and was enlarged from 62’ x 95’ to 62’ x 184’ ca. 1911. The entirety is of red brick and steel-frame construction and although the building is in an advanced state of deterioration a variety of significant details can still be seen, these including its segmental-arched window openings, stepped brick parapets, and clerestory monitor roof. The final two blocks associated with the factory were erected on the east side of the plant ca. 1900. The first is a two-story, 60’ x 96’ red brick building that adjoins the east elevation of the 1890/ca. 1911 pipe bending shop. The second building is a two-story, 42’ x 225’ red brick block that adjoins the east elevation of other ca. 1900 building. These structures are of similar design, both having segmental-arched window openings on their gable ends, stepped brick parapets, and low-pitch front-facing gable roofs. The side elevations of the easternmost block have either paired or continuous courses of rectangular window openings with double-hung sash (this perhaps the result of later alterations).

Exterior Material(s)

• Wood

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Clerestory Monitor
• Gable
• Monitor

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Fair, Deteriorated

Condition Notes

The complex is in fair to deteriorated condition. Many of the exterior walls are in need of repairs and a number of the original windows throughout the complex have been infilled or are damaged. Several of the blocks at the rear of the plant are in an advanced state of collapse.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (142 River Street) totaling 2.05 acres located on the south side of River Street, at the southeast corner of River Street’s intersection with Lloyd Street.


Located in the River Street Historic District.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 165/0609/00100. / Link →

Acreage

2.05

Use (Present)

• Abandoned

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. Leading Business Men of New Haven County; Mercantile Publishing Co., 1887.
12. A Modern History of New Haven and Eastern New Haven County, 1920.
13. Hartford Courant, 1907, 1930.
14. Roth, Matthew and Bruce Clouette. 1988. River Street Historic District National Register Nomination No. 88003213. National Park Service.