Hygienic Ice Company Buildings

Classic red-brick factory buildings, with a four-story tower punctuating its two wings, were built in 1924 by the Hygienic Ice Company, and added the modest, but solid, "scale house" on the corner. The ice company functioned here until 1952. By then it was sharing space with the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 478. The union moved to the Scale House and stayed until 1960. It was a dental laboratory between 1965-1989 and a Dunkin' Donuts since 1997 and still present in 2017. Evidence suggests the factory buildings were vacant until 1991 when the Adult Probation Department became and occupant. Home to the New Haven Regional Children's Probate Court since 2009.

The land at 867-889 State Street has long been home to commerce and industry, even before the Hygienic Ice Company purchased the site from William Miller in 1893. Before this purchase, the Waterproof Sole Company and East Rock Axel Works Company had each used 881 State as their home base for 3 and 12 years, respectively.



Yet despite this past use, the Hygienic Ice Company would make a much more significant mark on the space during its 59-year stay. Although a factory already existed, the Hygienic Ice Company decided in 1924 to tear down the old scaled brick structure, which had been built in stages between 1867 and 1888, and create a very similar one in its place for $50,000. The two-story building, labelled 881 State Street, was to stand 144’ in height and would vary between 39.75’ and 74’ in depth. (The final measurements, however, would include a 160’x76’ north wing and a 100’x76’ south wing.)



Four years later, the company decided to add a scale house right at the intersection of State and Humphrey. For $1000 (plus a $3 fee), the one-story brick building would have a shed-style, genasco-covered roof. The original building permit states that the building would measure at a mere 18’ by 14’, but it eventually grew to 40’ by 50’. With these new facilities, the Hygienic Ice Company was soon able to produce 125 tons of ice each day during the winter and during summer months that figure skyrocketed to 325 tons per day. In 1951, the Hygienic Ice Company shrank, and decided to share the factory space with the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 478. The next year Hygienic Ice Co. left the space entirely, and the union relocated to the scale house, which became 889 State St. The organization remained there for 8 years, and following a three-year vacancy, the scale house became the home for Seavon Dental Lab, Inc. from 1965 until 1889. The space would remain empty again until 1997, when Dunkin Donuts, the present owner, purchased the property at 889 State, which remains a Dunkin Donuts as of 2015.



Unlike the scale house, the larger factory was unable to adapt to new owners with the same speed and efficiency. According to city directories, the first mention of occupancy after 1952 does not appear until 1991, when the Adult Probation Department relocated to a part of this building under the address 867 State Street. The other part of the building, 871 State, has seen a wide range of organizations in last the last 15 years. In 1993, the Center for Employee Assistance moved to the building, and somehow the space also served as the residence of Joann Donegan. A year later the Alcoholic Services Organization moved inside.. Six years later, Cornerstone, Inc. joined the slew of offices in the building. From 2009 to 2015, 871 State has served as the home of the New Haven Regional Children's Probate Court.



Daniel Silk, 2009