Winchester Repeating Arms Company Historic District
Encyclopedia
The Winchester Repeating Arms Company Historic District is a historic district
in New Haven, Connecticut
that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1988. It includes 867 properties, which "include 858 major structures and 131 notable outbuildings." Of these structures, 876 are buildings deemed to contribute to the historical and/or architectural significance of the area, and most of these are residential. However the center of the district is "dominated" by the 75 acres (30.4 ha) tract of the former Winchester Repeating Arms Company
, which contains industrial buildings.
The district includes and surrounds the old Winchester plant later run by U.S. Repeating Arms; the plant was important to both of its adjoining residential neighborhoods. Some of the plant has been operated by Science Park at Yale, a business incubator with Yale University associations.
Two speculators who were very successful with such residential development were Joseph Sheldon and John W. Bishop: "these men were the moving force behind the 19th-century development of virtually all of the properties which currently line both sides of Admiral and most of Henry Streets, as well as the construction of most of the houses along the southwestern side of Munson Street directly opposite the Winchester complex.
Their work is depicted in accompanying photo 22 (51, 49, 43, 41, 39 Henry St.), photo 12 (49, 53, 55, 59 Admiral St.) and accompanying photo 9 (206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, and 220-22 Munson St.).
neighborhood of New Haven, and moved to Bridgeport in 1866. It relocated back from Bridgeport to New Haven in 1870, to the current location in the district. The original buildings which it built are no longer existing The firm grew, having more than 600 employees by 1887 and "well in excess of 1,000" by the early 1900s.
and Dixwell neighborhoods defined by the city of New Haven, Connecticut
.
The 1987 NRHP nomination document reads: the "255-acre district includes most of the southern and northern portions of the city's Newhallville and Dixwell neighborhoods, respectively."
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1988. It includes 867 properties, which "include 858 major structures and 131 notable outbuildings." Of these structures, 876 are buildings deemed to contribute to the historical and/or architectural significance of the area, and most of these are residential. However the center of the district is "dominated" by the 75 acres (30.4 ha) tract of the former Winchester Repeating Arms Company
Winchester Repeating Arms Company
The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American maker of repeating firearms, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The Winchester brand is today used under license by two subsidiaries of the Herstal Group, Fabrique Nationale of Belgium and the Browning Arms Company of Morgan, Utah.-...
, which contains industrial buildings.
The district includes and surrounds the old Winchester plant later run by U.S. Repeating Arms; the plant was important to both of its adjoining residential neighborhoods. Some of the plant has been operated by Science Park at Yale, a business incubator with Yale University associations.
Significance
According to the district's 1987 nomination document:The district is historically significant for two reasons. First its core encompasses the extensive surviving portions of the industrial complex developed by the former Winchester Repeating Arms Company, one of the nation's foremost late 19th- and early 20th-century armament manufacturers. Second, the district as a whole forms New Haven's most nearly intact and cohesive surviving example of the inherent relationship between the growth of modern industry and the emergence of large working-class residential neighborhoods, a relationship typically associated with the development of many of the nation's northeastern urban communities during the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Criterion A). The district is architecturally significant for three reasons. First, its core embraces numerous examples of period industrial structures. Second, the majority of these structures were built for the Winchester Repeating Arms Company according to designs provided by Leoni W. RobinsonLeoni W. RobinsonLeoni W. Robinson was a leading architect in New Haven, Connecticut.He was a charter member of the American Institute of Architects.He designed several buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including:...
, one of New Haven's premier late 19/early 20th-century architects. Finally, the district's predominantly residential perimeter areas encompass a host of relatively intact single- and multi-family workers' houses as well as several significant examples of commercial, religious, and municipal buildings dating from this same era. As a group, these perimeter-area buildings represent a variety of important and popular vernacular architectural styles of the era, including late Greek RevivalGreek Revival architectureThe Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
, ItalianateItalianate architectureThe Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
, Gothic RevivalGothic Revival architectureThe Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
, Queen Anne and Colonial RevivalColonial Revival architectureThe Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own...
(Criterion C).
Residential development
Residential development in the district included development of tenement buildings for one, two or three families. Examples are as depicted in accompanying photo 2 (134-36, 138-40, 142-44, 146-48 Mansfield St.), photo 4 (166-68, 162-64, 156-58, 152-54, 146-48 Sheffield St., photo 5 (220-30 Division St.), photo 13 (567 Dixwell Ave.), photo 16 (552-54, 558 Winchester Ave.) and photo 20 (368, 370, 374, 378 Dixwell Ave.).Two speculators who were very successful with such residential development were Joseph Sheldon and John W. Bishop: "these men were the moving force behind the 19th-century development of virtually all of the properties which currently line both sides of Admiral and most of Henry Streets, as well as the construction of most of the houses along the southwestern side of Munson Street directly opposite the Winchester complex.
Their work is depicted in accompanying photo 22 (51, 49, 43, 41, 39 Henry St.), photo 12 (49, 53, 55, 59 Admiral St.) and accompanying photo 9 (206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, and 220-22 Munson St.).
Industrial development
The Winchester firm had started operations on Union Street in the Wooster SquareWooster Square
Wooster Square is a neighborhood in the city of New Haven, Connecticut to the east of downtown. The name refers to a park square located between Greene Street, Wooster Place, Chapel Street and Academy Street in the center of the neighborhood...
neighborhood of New Haven, and moved to Bridgeport in 1866. It relocated back from Bridgeport to New Haven in 1870, to the current location in the district. The original buildings which it built are no longer existing The firm grew, having more than 600 employees by 1887 and "well in excess of 1,000" by the early 1900s.
Streets
Streets in the district include:- Mansfield Street
- Accompanying photo 1 depicts houses at 72, 76, 82 Mansfield St.
- Accompanying photo 2 depicts 134-36, 138-40, 142-44, 146-48 Mansfield St.
- Accompanying photo 3 depicts 182, 184 Mansfield St.
- Sheffield Street
- Accompanying photo 4 depicts 166-68, 162-64, 156-58, 152-54, 146-48 Sheffield St.
- Accompanying photo 6 depicts the Shelton Avenue School, at 155 Sheffield St.
- Division Street
- Accompanying photo 5 depicts 220-30 Division St.
- Winchester Avenue
- Accompanying photos 7, 8, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 depict the Winchester Repeating Arms Company complex, at 275 Winchester Ave., with some other properties also in view in some of the photos
- Accompanying photo 16 depicts 552-54, 558 Winchester Ave.
- Accompanying photo 23 depicts the McKesson and Robbins factory building, at 182 Winchester Ave.
- Munson Street
- Accompanying photo 9 depicts 206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 220-22 Munson St.
- Thompson Street
- Accompanying photo 10 depicts Newhall's Boarding House, built in 1860, at 55-57 Thompson St.
- Ivy Street
- Accompanying photo 11 depicts the Ivy Street School, at 1-41 Ivy St.
- Admiral Street
- Accompanying photo 12 depicts 49, 53, 55, 59 Admiral St.
- Dixwell Avenue
- Accompanying photo 13 depicts 567 Dixwell Ave.
- Accompanying photo 14 depicts 495 Dixwell Ave.
- Accompanying photo 17 depicts 459 Dixwell Ave., with decorative bargeboardBargeboardBargeboard is a board fastened to the projecting gables of a roof to give them strength and to mask, hide and protect the otherwise exposed end of the horizontal timbers or purlins of the roof to which they were attached...
- Accompanying photo 20 depicts 368, 370, 374, 378 Dixwell Ave.
- Accompanying photo 21 depicts 287-89, 297-301 Dixwell Ave.
- Shelton Avenue
- Accompanying photo 15 depicts 140 Shelton Ave.
- Accompanying photo 19 depicts 7-11, 13-15 Shelton Ave.
- Newhall Street
- Accompanying photo 18 depicts 141, 145-47 Newhall St.
- Henry Street
- Accompanying photo 22 depicts 51, 49, 43, 41, 39 Henry St.
Relationship to neighborhoods
The district is located in the NewhallvilleNewhallville
Newhallville is a neighborhood in the city of New Haven, Connecticut, named for industrialist George Newhall.As delineated on city planning maps, Newhallville is bordered on the north by the town of Hamden, on the east by Winchester Avenue, on the south by Munson Street, on the southwest by...
and Dixwell neighborhoods defined by the city of New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
.
The 1987 NRHP nomination document reads: the "255-acre district includes most of the southern and northern portions of the city's Newhallville and Dixwell neighborhoods, respectively."
See also
- Winchester Repeating Arms CompanyWinchester Repeating Arms CompanyThe Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American maker of repeating firearms, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The Winchester brand is today used under license by two subsidiaries of the Herstal Group, Fabrique Nationale of Belgium and the Browning Arms Company of Morgan, Utah.-...
- U.S. Repeating Arms CompanyU.S. Repeating Arms CompanyThe U.S. Repeating Arms Company. Inc. is the current business name of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, famous for making Winchester rifles....
- Dixwell (neighborhood)
- Newhallville (neighborhood)
External links
- Winchester Repeating Arms Company Historic District, New Haven Preservation Trust website (text excerpt from NRHP nomination)