Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• FLABEG Technical Glass U.S. Corp. 2009-Present (2015)
• Naugatuck Glass Co. 1937-1956

Use (Historic)

• Other: Glass manufacturing

Largest Documented Workforce

50-99 (1939).

Historic Narrative

The Naugatuck Glass Company was founded in 1927 by Winfield S. Witherwax, a resident of Waterbury, Connecticut. Witherwax was formerly employed by the New England Watch Factory of Waterbury, and he applied this experience in establishing his own firm, which specialized in the manufacture of both curved and flat thin glass products used in such applications as the mirrors in women’s compacts. The Naugatuck Glass Company began operations in a shop at 63 Elm Street in Naugatuck that was shared with the Davis Feed Store. Witherwax did not move from Waterbury to Naugatuck until 1932, and his glass shop remained on Elm Street until 1937. In 1937, a new dedicated plant was erected in Naugatuck northeast of the intersection of Church and Bridge Streets. This was enlarged during the mid-1960s and early-1980s. The Naugatuck Glass Company remained a world leader in the production of cosmetic mirror and other flat glass products into the early-21st century, however, the firm supplemented this work with the manufacture of glass products for the aerospace industry during the early 1980s. In 2008, this prowess drew the attention of management at FLABEG Technical Glass, a German manufacturer of glass products established in Nuremberg, Germany in 1882. FLABEG acquired the Naugatuck Glass Company with the intention of applying the American firm’s expertise towards the production of thin glass to be used in solar energy technologies such as parabolic-reflector power stations. FLABEG continues to operate the Naugatuck plant.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly four (4) adjoining primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1937, ca. 1965, ca. 1980.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The Naugatuck Glass Company plant is comprised of four primary adjoining blocks located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Church and Bridge Streets. The original factory was erected in 1937 and is a one-story, 160’ x 180’ red brick block situated at the core of the present complex. The building has a concrete foundation, brick piers with concrete caps, large rectangular window openings with concrete sills and brick lintels (some infilled with brick and others with multipane metal sash), concrete coping, and a flat roof. A large metal sign with metal lettering location along the roofline of the building’s facade (west elevation) reads, ‘THE NAUGATUCK GLASS CO.’ Later additions adjoining the original factory’s west and south elevations. A one-story, 58’ x 156’ red brick block was erected adjoining the original block’s south elevation ca. 1965. This has a concrete foundation, rectangular window openings with concrete sills and brick lintels, multipane metal sash with pivot-style openings, tile coping, and a flat roof. Another addition, this a storage and shipping block, was built adjoining the south elevation of the ca. 1965 block around 1980. The latter building is one story tall and measures roughly 75’ x 120’. It has a concrete foundation and siding and a flat roof. The final primary block was erected adjoining the west elevation of the original factory ca. 1980. This housed additional office space and has a triangular footprint measuring 93’ x 125’ x 84. The one-story block is of reinforced concrete construction and has concrete wall panels, glass ribbon windows, and a flat roof. The windows on the façade are set back from the plane of the building below a tall, concrete paneled cornice.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Concrete

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Flat

Roof Material

• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The complex is in fair condition. Although sections of the exterior walls are in need of cleaning, the mill appears to be structurally sound. Many of the windows in the plant’s original block have been infilled with brick.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (451 Church Street) totaling 4.78 acres located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Church and Bridge Streets.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 047/1900. / Link →

Acreage

4.78

Use (Present)

• Industrial

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

11/05/2015

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, 1887, 1892, 1897, 1904, 1910, 1923, 1960.
9. Waterbury Directory; Various editions.
10. History of Naugatuck, Connecticut, 1948.
11. History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, 1918.
12. Hartford Courant, 1983.