Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Torin Corp. 1969-1982
• Torrington Mfg. Co. 1965-1969

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products

Largest Documented Workforce

n/a

Historic Narrative

The Torrington Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1885 for the production of brass furniture nails. The firm was the first in the country to successfully manufacture and market this type of hardware (see #2736 and 2757 on Franklin Street and Franklin Drive respectively, for further company history). By the mid-20th century, the company's Air Impeller Division was producing fan blades and blower wheels used in heating, cooling, and ventilation. Starting in the 1950s, the company commissioned architect Marcel Breuer to design a number of facilities. The first commission for the Torrington Manufacturing Company (later the Torin Corp.) identified in the Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) papers at the Archives of American Art was in 1953 for a facility in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Breuer's office completed eight commissions for the company through the early 1970s, four of which are located in Torrington. The company name change to the Torin Corporation occurred in 1969, as part of a campaign of modernization. In the 1980s, the Torin Corporation was bought by the Clevepak Corporation and its facilities were gradually sold and closed. The Franklin Avenue factory buildings were demolished in 2015.

Number of Existing Buildings

One

Dates of Construction

1965

Architect

Marcel Breuer and Associates (Herbert Beckhard)

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration

Architectural Description

One-story flat-roofed rectangular building with pre-cast stone wall panels. Designed by Herbert Beckhard in Marcel Breuer's office (Breuer and Beckhard also designed Torin's 1971 Technical Center in Torrington, not yet located). The pre-cast wall panels were featured in a number of Breuer projects of the period, for example including the Becton Center at Yale University. A lower level is recessed into the earth

Exterior Material(s)

• Concrete

Structural System(s)

• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Flat

Roof Material

n/a

Power Source

n/a

Condition

Excellent

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

One 6.79 acre parcel on the west side of Kennedy Drive south of Route 8.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 236/007/002 building 1 / Link →

Acreage

6.79

Use (Present)

• Commercial

Form Completed By

Charlotte Hitchcock

Date

December 2016

Bibliography

1. Breuer papers at Archives of American Art, accessed via:.
2. Smithsonian Institute website.
3. Smithsonian Institute website.
4. See Record #2757 for further bibliography.