Back at the cherry st site.
 

I was in Meriden this afternoon for some research and decided to stop back by the factory site.

The office building is still standing. In as much disrepair as ever before. Looking no more utilized than it was a year ago, or a few years before that. And for anyone wondering... The stacks of wood pellet fuel pallets are still there. lol.

Attachment 44322

Looks like it has been painted since 2003 --

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...eKevin8x10.jpg

good thing there is a golf shirt in there- with the hat - i would have thought you meant 1903

Brian, It's best not to go there past sundown. Were you picking more bricks out of the building? It's sad how buildings with the historical value such as this one, are so neglected. It looks like the building to the left is getting more attention.

It wasnt that late. It was early afternoon. The pic just looks dark. But i know what you are talking about. Looks shady around there.

You ain't just sayin!

Thanks for posting the new photo, Brian. Maybe we should all pool our lunch money and just buy the place...

What is the building used for now?

I do not know at all. Looks like just storage.

I woild be curious as to who owns it and what the details are. I understand that it was last sold sometime within the past 10 years or so.

I was thinking yesterday that it woild be a neat idea to operate a gun shop oit of it or something.

I'm betting this lady could tell us everything there is to know about the property's current state of ownership:

Irene G. Massé
Meriden City Clerk

Meriden City Hall
142 East Main Street
Meriden, CT 06450
Phone: (203) 630-4030

Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM

I was at the clerks office yesterday searching land records for close to 3 hours.

Here is a few photos from a big Meridan map from 1891.

Attachment 44325

Charles Parker Mayor

Did you determine who owns the building now?

I was not at the clerk researching the building. I was researching a particular Parker employee.

I am not even sure what the technical address of the former office building is today.

Google Maps shows the address as being 16 Cherry Street. I wouldn't put a lot of faith in that number's accuracy, but it's likely pretty close. As that section of Cherry street is blocked off along the railroad tracks immediately to the left of the office, effectively dead-ending it, so it shouldn't be difficult to identify the property's location within the context of a phone conversation.

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5346...!3m1!1e3?hl=en


Bing Maps shows it as being 30 Cherry Street, and also offers bird's-eye views of the proprty:

http://www.bing.com/maps/#Y3A9NDEuNT...UyMFN0YXRlcw==

http://gis.meridenct.gov/meriden/PropertySearch.aspx

Click on 26 Cherry St. for assessment account info

Erick

Last sold in '02 for $66k. What a bargain.

The build date of 1900 doesnt sound right though. Maybe it was last added to at that time. ???

in many cases (at least around here), when the more modern record keeping started they just picked a generic date as a build date for older buildings. We looked at many old homes before picking this one that showed that practice- ours has a historic plaque on it that says built in 1830 (and we know that to be approximate for the start of construction)- but the listing had a generic date


good luck on your research- looking forward to another of your articles

What did the office building originally look like? I assume the overhead door sections did not exist?

Leave the overhead doors in place. I plan to park a couple of rods in there.

I personally think it would be a great place for the PGCA museum, Probably could be bought for a song, I will donate a gun to go to the first raffle to generate funds to buy the place, I know this sounds crazy but what better place for a Parker museum than at the old site where they were made, Gary

I'm with you, Gary. I can't imagine a finer place.

I would ask Edgar about the area. Security might be an issue all the way around. Nice idea if the semantics work out.

Edgar can buy up all the houses on the street in order to clean up the area.

:shock:Do you know something I don't? Where is all this cash coming from? Last I checked, No one has died and left me any money, but if they had, Houses in a Bad section of Meriden aren't very high up the list of things I'd spend it on. I think Brian has me confused with George P.

The PGCA attitude about a PGCA museum has always been "ZZZZZZZZ", even though some fairly good ideas were presented. I somehow agree with them, after many years of discussion and non discussion that a museum would be a difficult project. I'm OK with no museum. However, this building in Meriden could be a bit of Parker Brothers history, even if it were restored and made into something other than a museum, or left empty or near empty.

Does anyone know whatever happened to the machinery? I assume it went to Ilion From there?

I am sure some was moved to illion. Some was maybe absorbed by some of The Charles Parker Co's other facilities/operations. Some maybe left. Parker still owned the factory building after the gun works moved to illion. It was utilized by the company until it burned in 1980. It was used primarily for warehousing and storage for The Univac products at the end if i am not mistaken.

Maybe someone should address these questions to Louis, Bill or Charlie---they just might know the answers.

Allan

Allan, Kevin, Ron, The Parker Story authors and I know the answers. The machinery was shipped to Ilion, was used for a while, but then was put into storage at the beginning of the war. After the war, Remington made a valiant effort to put the guns back into production with the existing machinery, but the machinery could not be brought back up to speed, or operation at all. Some companies were approached to assist in the effort, but it didn't work out. The companies included Griffin and Howe, Frank Lefever and Son, and others. End of story, sort of. There is more, but those are the basics. I don't know if any of us are interested in more of the details, but I have them in my research material. I would love to share this research material if anyone is interested.

Sad seeing old decrepit buildings like that which represented so much more in bygone days. Progress, I suppose. If I lived around Meriden, I'd try to buy it, just for storage and bragging rights if nothing else.

Ed Muderlak rightly or wrongly wrote a different theory about why the Parker gun never resumed production.

I imagine the property taxes on a commercial building in a commercially zoned section of Meriden would be pretty costly.... I wonder how the revenue to pay the taxes and the upkeep on the building would be generated..... Edgar?... George?..... :corn:

Nevermind....:whistle:





.

Just for info, Frank LeFever, in Lee Center, NY, bought the original barrel matting machine from Remington. It stayed in Lee Center (North of Rome, NY) until the 90s and has since dissapeared.

Check Tony Galazan's storage area, I think he owned it at one time after Frank. Bill is correct about the matting machine, I saw it at Frank's shop years ago.

Might Tony be using it to matt the ribs for the $50K Remington Parkers?





.

Dean-----I would think not, with the advent of CNC machines the process can be done more accurately and quicker

And only a dozen of those new Parkers have been built and only about half of them actually sold.

I with someone would get that machine going again or come up with another way to re-matte Parker ribs. That would be an invaluable thing these days.

Our best hope at this point is John Hosford, who is currently able to matte Fox ribs. He can matte any rib really, but it would look like a fox pattern. I am hoping thag he adjusts his operation some in the future to allow for other makers to be done.

Besides, if you want to be 100% correct about things, a CNC matted rib woild just not have the right look. But i guess beggers cant be choosers. But now i am off topic, talking about rib matting and all.

Building Raffle
 

I guess by all the talk the drug dealers and dope heads have taken over the block, I would like to get up to Meriden and see that building before i leave here, I bet you can feel "feel" the presence of the old guys who worked there! Well guess I will not be giving up a Parker for the building raffle, by the way here is the gun I was thinking about offering, Gary

:eek:

:rotf: :rotf: :rotf: