New Haven Industrial Heritage Trails

The New Haven Gas Light Co. Office Building, located in 347 Chapel Street, was designed by the prominent New Haven architect Leoni W. Robinson and was built in 1912. The building was owned by the company from 1847 to 1967 but was handed over to the Southern Connecticut Gas Company in 1967 until the present day. The building is two stories tall, with a basement and an attic, and is composed of brick as its exterior wall. The roof structure is of gable/hip and its cover is of clay tiles. The interior wall is drywall and plaster while its floor is vinyl/asphalt and carpet.

The company’s origins dates back to 1847 when in May of that year, the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut granted a charter to Henry Peck, Atwater Treat, Philip S. Galpin, Benjamin Silliman, Jr., and Lucius G. Peck; the New Haven City Gas Light Company was organized by these men with a capitalization of $100,000. The name was changed, however, to the New Haven Gas Light Company in 1854. This company was the first public utility to do business in New Haven and one of the earliest in the United States. New coal gas plant was established by 1861 and after the Civil War, gas replaced kerosene lamps, making the company enjoy a period of uninterrupted growth and prosperity. A new plant was erected in 1885. In the 1890s, electricity for lighting developed, threatening the gas industry. But gas engineers developed other methods to make gas as the ideal fuel for the home and factory, and so the company continued to prosper while new gas plants were constructed in the 1900s.

Leoni W. Robinson (1851 - 1923) was born in Wisconsin but his family moved to New Haven when he was young. His professional practice was established in 1880 and was a member of various profession organizations including the Connecticut Chapter of the AIA, New Haven Historical Society, the Fellow of the AIA, and one of the founders of the New Haven Architecture Club.

^{Network of Surviving Institutional and Commercial Buildings by Leoni Robinson in New Haven:}

<sup>1. New Haven Gas Light Co. Office (1912)
2. Monson Building (1891)
3. New Haven Water Co. (1903)
4. Washington Building (1899)
5. Welch Training School (1883)
6. Hygienic Ice Co. (1919)
7. Quinnipiac Brewery (1882)</sup>

His early training included work at the office of R.G. Hatfield who was the most prominent architect in New York City. Afterwards, he gained experienced for three years in the office of the Government Supervising Architect at Washington where he gained practical knowledge. He also went abroad to Europe in order to study its architecture and architects. He designed and superintended the construction of sixteen of the most modern public-school buildings in New Haven as well as hospitals, public charity buildings, and factory buildings.

Some prominent New Haven buildings that he worked on include the First National Bank Building, Winchester Building on Orange street, Security Insurance Company Building, Winchester Building on Chapel street, remodeling and additions to Exchange Building, No.2 Engine House, Artisan street, Police Station, telephone buildings at New Haven, Bridgeport, Waterbury, and Hartford, Town Hall at Guildford, and the Leader Building. As one critic notes, New Haven’s best residences were also designed by Robinson, including N.W. Kendall, Joseph Porter, F.L. Bigelow, John B. Carrington, F.T. Bradbury and others. His office was located at Nos. 323 and 327 Exchange Building, and as one might notice, his practice became very busy.

His hospital and public charity buildings were the Gifford Homme, the New Haven Hospital, Ives Cottage at New Haven Orphan Asylum, New Haven Dispensary, and hospital at Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania; also in this city, the Home for the Friendless, Odd Fellows Building, and the organized Charities Association. In factory buildings, we might mention important commissions for the Winchester Repeating Arms Co., Sargent & Co., Peck Bros. & Co., The Bigelow Co., National Pipe Bending Co., Quinnipiac Brewing Co., New Haven Wagon and Carriage Co., I. Newman & Sons, and many other too numerous to mention.

^{A sample schedule of the controls imposed by the gas company (L), and gas promotional materials (R)}

By 1927, the controlling interest in the New Haven Gas Light Company was acquired by The United Gas Improvement Company. It is again important to note that it was the first public utility in New Haven and one of the first in the country. The company elected William Boardman as president and erected bituminous coal gas plant with gas lines to the city’s central business district. This meant it supplied gas for 189 streetlights and 1252 private accounts by 1850s. As mentioned previously, new constructions and expansions were made in the latter 19th century while actively distributing marketed informational booklets and cooking classes, leading to more growth in the early 20th century when more plants and facilities were built.