Part of the Seat For Your Soul Project
A Seat For The Soul – is a project presented by Linda Mickens & Storytellers New Haven. Urbanminers participation includes the production of six benches, including ” A New Haven Bench” ,all from locally reclaimed materials. A different artist took a basic bench and made it into their art piece.. All of these benches will be revealed on the 26th. The bench pictured below is a “raw” bench before the artist transformed it. At the show on the 26th you will be able to see the transformed bench and photos of all the finished benches will be added to this site after the show.
A New Haven Bench
This bench is made from materials from places in New Haven. The montage of photocopies, business cards and objects are about these buildings.
Part of reusing reclaimed materials is that they carry a story. With this New Haven Bench, I attempt to demonstrate more overtly that these materials not only represent the buildings they come from, but also the history of the function of the buildings.
New Haven, Ct., like all cities and towns across the country, is continuously replacing buildings by demolishing the old ones and then, sometimes, building new ones ( or creating parking lots). But we find that the deconstruction and subsequent reuse of materials from buildings slated for removal most often does not happen. Instead, all the materials are discarded. Of the buildings in this story, three no longer exist and another will be gone soon. Some buildings have been renovated providing period materials.
In order to redirect large volumes of materials from the waste stream, we also need to see the value in repurposing materials into useful objects, in order to help develop markets and thus incentives for saving these irreplaceable materials on a larger scale. Saving these elements preserves history.
The good news is that over the last twenty-five years many local craftsmen, mill shops and contractors have reused and repurposed salvaged materials at an increasing rate. This has been assisted by the development of “Building Materials Reuse” stores, the increasing costs of importing materials, and the market demand for “rustic” materials in restaurants and shops, as well as the convention of preserving historic elements.
“A New Haven Bench” attempts to capture some of the rich New Haven history, by repurposing parts of New Haven buildings.
Not only is there the importance of the buildings but also the importance of what went on IN the buildings. Personally, for me, this includes a history of family that worked in New Haven, including myself. The G&O and Sargeant artifacts reference a time when manufacturing was supreme in the area. When individuals could have a lifetime career in manufacturing related work, as my father did at G&O, starting as a “stock boy” and ending as a Senior Managing Engineer.
Researching this project I found that not only my father but also my uncle and grandfather worked at G&O for a time. Back in the later 40’s before my father started working at G&O full time in 1951, he worked at Sargent. My mother worked for Sargent 20 years later.
The Bench components
Reclaimed Flooring. Materials from 384 Davenport including the maple flooring on the face of this bench, from a project still underway. From about 1970 to 2023, Quality Plumbing was located in the “White Building” at 384 Davenport Avenue. This building originally built in 1913 was a dealership for White Automobiles until about 1942.
Over 2,000 square feet of this flooring, as well as 1,000 sq ft of sub floor, is being salvaged and reused., thanks to the effort of the current owners, Buffalo Holdings, Inc., and Urbanminers,Llc.
“The White Company was a car manufacturer out Cleveland, Ohio. The first automobiles were made in 1900 under the leadership of Rollin White, son of the founder of the White Singer Sewing Machine Co., with a patented steam generator. This facility appears to have been a sales and service outlet.”
https://connecticutmills.org/find/details/the-white-company
https://nhpt.org/endangered-properties
From 1942 to 1970 the same building was a roller skating rink under two different owners., the “Eli Skating Club” until 1956 , and then “New Haven Rollaround” until about 1970.
The frame is a salvaged maple bed frame. Found at New England Reuse in North Haven, with the original sales tag tied with the original string to a bed post. As the tag indicates, the bed frame was originally from Acme Furniture in New Haven on State St. According to Robert Greenberg, grandson of the founder of Acme Furniture, Acme moved from State Street to Crown Street in 1968. So apparently the bed frame went from the State Street address to the store on Crown Street in New Haven and it stayed there until the recent closing of Acme Furniture. Then the bed frame was donated through New England Reuse in North Haven. ( See article here: https://www.newhavenindependent.org/article/acme_furniture_closing
The Seat. The Seat consists of two factory flooring planks, from the later 1800’s to early 1900’s and recently donated by a New Haven area artist from the renovation of a building on Derby Avenue in New Haven. Typical of factories of the period ( late 1800’s to early 1900’s) the boards are 2 ½ inches thick by 6 inches wide ,tongue and groove Yellow Pine.
The Details. There is a reference to the New Haven business Grand Paint ( in the frame around the Acme tag). “ Family owned and operated for over 30 years we supply a wide range of items for your home, rental property, or commercial location.” https://www.facebook.com/grandpaintco/ .Personally I have been shopping at Grand paint since the 1980’s.
The plaster lath of the small frame is from a recent renovation of a 1913 New Haven building on St. Ronan Street. The lath is a token of the truckloads of materials we salvaged from this building including doors, sinks, stair railings, 2×4’s ,cabinets and workbenches.
The escutcheon plates are from a New Haven building, (though I can’t recall which one. )
The three brass plates and business cards are from G&O Manufacturing. They are test stamps for radiator core production from the heat transfer company G&O Manufacturing that was located on Winchester Avenue in New Haven. Typical of an important manufacturer in New Haven, founded in 1915 ,supplying radiators to the very first cars, “new” diesel trains and for aircraft engines. Fortunately I have some amazing historical details thanks to my father saving them.
Note the shape of the punched hole indicated on the patent plaque.
Door Hinge The door hinge dates back to about the turn of the last century. ”
“Founded in 1810 in New Haven, Connecticut, by Joseph Sargent, SARGENT has since grown into a renowned brand that is recognized for its innovation, reliability, and superior craftsmanship. Today, Sargent Manufacturing is a part of the Assa Abloy Group, a global leader in access solutions.
The company’s headquarters is still located in New Haven, Connecticut, where it employs over 300 people and serves customers in nearly all industry sectors including healthcare, K-12 and higher education, hospitality and commercial office and, most recently, cannabis growers, distributors and retail outlets.” ( Sargent website)
[ Page in Progress]