Virjune Manufacturing Co: Inside Waterbury's Vacant Factory

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J and I were already having a rough day. We'd just driven across town to check out an old industrial site he hadn't visited in a while, only to find it erased. Nothing left but a slab of concrete and chain-link fence. So we took a detour. Sometimes you salvage a disappointing afternoon with a backup plan, even if you're just ticking a box. The former Virjune plant hides in plain sight off Thomaston Avenue. If you drive past in summer, you'll miss it completely. Trees and shrubs swallow the building whole, nature reclaiming what industry left behind. Come winter, though, when the branches go bare and the world turns gray, the red brick skeleton reveals itself. Even then, you have to know where to look. I pulled up old Sanborn maps to trace the building's history. The earliest tenant was an auto body shop in 1922. By February 1950, something bigger had moved in. The map labels it simply "Stamping Wks." No company name. No flourish. Just function. That namele...
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Hidden Gems #1: Old American Flag Door

Old New York vs New New York


Where the hunt is all there is in this sport.

I think I came across an image of this defunct store located in New York City either on Flickr, a stock image resource or a short film. I seem not to recall where I had first seen it. Finding it curious if this place still existed I did the knee deep research and found it right here in my own backyard. It was not until recently this week I was around the neighborhood I ventured to take a look. I found it just as I had seen it online. The old Venetian curtains were now updated and bottom skirt curtains removed from the front windows. It seemed nothing had changed regarding the facade and yearly maintenance on it. Surprisingly, no tenant had taken ahold of the storefront as of 2017. Google images pegs earlier images from 2012 and as of yet no new bottom tenants. In fact, during my research, the occupant of the building and owner was actually born here and has been fighting to keep the property away from grubby developers. To find out more about the man, Jim Torpey, a Vietnam veteran, and the history of this place watch the video below by Danish filmmaker Lea Mathiesen.



In addition, a very colorful piece by Brolga has found its way on the side of the building adding to its value. It seems it was recently done based on Brolga's recent Instagram post a week ago.

Brolga Piece April 2017

On another note, I don't know how far this series will go here in the gentrifying city limits of New York. It is always not feasible to enter every spot there is but sometimes the mystique is a new change of pace and new perspective looking outside rather than exploring within. Stay tuned. 



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