From Excelsior Needle Co. to Timken: The Rise and Fall of Torrington's Standard Plant

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The Standard Plant and a Century of Making Things It was a hot May week in 2023, and J and I were already sweating through our shirts before we even made it to the entrance. We turned into the driveway off North Elm Street and passed a large Caterpillar backhoe holding up the red, white, and blue at the top of the arm. Patriotic machinery. Only in Connecticut. We moved toward the back of the complex with our eyes open, scanning for any sign of people or activity. We found cameras instead. A few of them, well-positioned across one of the buildings and up on an electrical pole, covering angles that made our original entry plan useless. We backed off, found a Plan B, and stepped into a dark room washed in tinted green light, then took the stairs down to ground level. The former Standard Plant sits along North Elm Street at a sunken grade, one story, with another building rising over the roadway to the far right when you're standing in front of it from North Street. It's the kind o...
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Abandoned 705



From commerce to residential.

This commercial building will be no more within 30 days. Come spring the construction phase will have already begun. I investigated this building a good month back to poke around and see if I could get inside before the wrecking ball devoured its walls. On the day in question, due to the proximity of another towering residential complex, people were outside and I didn't want to be greeted by the cherries and berries because I was squeezing my backside through a back window.






So I settled myself with some exterior shots and machinery that would end this commercial property for good. According to its history, this building was purchased in 2013 by a developer for millions of dollars to become the group's new headquarters but upon inspection, revealed many numerous additions that were unsuitable for renovation purposes. Flipping the switch the developer then proposed to the city council to turn it into a residential property complex. After proposing new traffic changes, parking space, and a reduction in residential units the council approved the plan and now the city block where this property sits will feature a new nine-story apartment building.

Location: Underseal until demolition, demolished in 2018

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