Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• A.W. Pickett Wholesale Grocers 1922-ca. 1930
• General Time Instruments Corp. ca. 1947-ca. 1965
• IGA Grocery Co. ca. 1930-ca. 1937
• Ripley Company, Inc. 1946-ca. 1947
• Seymour Manufacturing Co., Connecticut Special Machine Div. ca. 1965-ca. 1985
• Trilby Products Co. ca. 1985-Present (2015)
• United Cinephone Corp. ca. 1940-1946

Use (Historic)

• Clocks, Precision Equipment
• Electrical Equipment

Largest Documented Workforce

10 (1941)

Historic Narrative

The former United Cinephone Corporation plant was originally constructed as a warehouse for A.W. Pickett Wholesale Grocers in 1922. Pickett occupied the building until around 1930, whereupon the company was absorbed into the Independent Grocers Alliance (IGA). By 1937 IGA had vacated the building. Around 1940, the warehouse was acquired by the United Cinephone Corporation, a producer of photo-electric switches and sensors. United Cinephone was organized by renowned American inventor George C. Devol, Jr. in 1932, and before moving to Torrington the firm maintained a plant in Long Island City, New York, where it produced a line of photoelectric cells and vacuum tube control systems. Devol sold his interest in United Cinephone in 1940, after which the company relocated to Torrington. A Hartford Courant article published just one year after the United Cinephone Corporation’s relocation identifies the leading position the firm held in the cutting edge industry of photo-electric technologies at the time. Noted as the 'third or fourth largest maker of photo-electric equipment in the country' in 1941, its primary competitors were listed as General Electric, Westinghouse, and a company called Photo-Switch. United Cinephone’s success was largely based on a device called the 'Sun-Switch,' which used photo-sensitive circuits to automatically control a litany of lighting systems such as aircraft beacons, airport lights, street lights, billboards, factory buildings, schools, and retail stores. Like many Connecticut firms the company redirected its efforts during World War Two and after the conflict it was credited as having made critical contributions towards developing the electronics and radar devices used in the cutting edge B-29 Superfortress bomber. In 1946, the United Cinephone Corporation was absorbed by Ripley Company, Inc., another designer and manufacturer of electronic equipment. The Torrington operations were moved to Deep River, Connecticut, by United Cinephone’s former president, Louis P. Ripley, in 1946, whereupon the New Litchfield Street plant was occupied by the Seth Thomas Clock Division of the General Time Instruments Corporation. General Time acquired the Haydon Manufacturing Company, a Torrington-based manufacturer of timing devices and other instruments, the following year and the conglomerate used the former Cinephone plant for various purposes up until 1965 when it passed to the Connecticut Special Machine Division of the Seymour Manufacturing Company. This held the building until around 1985 when it was acquired by the present occupant, the Trilby Products Company, a machinery design and manufacturing firm.

Number of Existing Buildings

Two (2) blocks.

Dates of Construction

1922, ca. 1985

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former United Cinephone Corporation plant consists of two adjoining blocks located on the east side of New Litchfield Street roughly 230 feet north of Albert Street. The original building is a two-story red brick block erected in 1922. The building has an irregular footprint and measures roughly 100’ x 82’ overall. It has a concrete foundation, red brick walls, corbelled brick cornice, tile coping, and a flat roof. Fenestration primarily consists of paired, multi-pane hopper style steel sash with concrete sills. The entry is located on the west elevation and is set in a recessed opening. It has a wood paneled door with glass lights, this flanked by sidelights and with a multi-pane transom above. A one-story concrete block addition is located adjacent to the brick building’s north elevation. This was erected to house a warehouse and shipping department ca. 1985. The building measures roughly 54’ x 63’ and has a concrete foundation, concrete block walls, two loading bays with roll-up garage style doors, and a flat roof.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Concrete Block

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Flat

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The complex is in overall fair condition. The building appears to be structurally sound, however, some deterioration and staining is visible along the exterior walls and a number of the steel window sashes are rusty.

Specific Location

One 0.6 acre parcel on the east side of New Litchfield Street (US 202) roughly 230 feet north of Albert Street.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 116/011/001 / Link →

Acreage

0.6

Use (Present)

• Industrial
• Other: Trlby Innovative, LLC., heat sealing equipment/consultation https://www.trlby.com

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

12/22/2014

Bibliography

1. List of Connecticut Manufacturers, 1922, 1924, 1930, 1932.
2. Directory of Connecticut State Manufacturers, 1936, 1939.
3. Atlas of Litchfield County, F.W. Beers & Co., 1874.
4. Industrial Directory of Connecticut, 1947.
5. Register of War Production Facilities in Connecticut, 1951.
6. Sanborn Map Company, 1884, 1891, 1901, 1909, 1915, 1924, 1931, 1949.
7. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1965.
8. The Hartford Courant, 1941, 1946.
9. The History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, 1918.
10. Torrington Register Souvenir Edition, 1897.