The Kraus Corset Factory is a historic industrial property at 33 Roosevelt Drive in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, United States. The oldest portion of the large brick building, built in 1879, faces Third Street, while a c. 1910 addition extends along Roosevelt Drive. It is the only major building to survive from Derby's period of

corset A corset /ˈkɔːrsɪt/ is a support garment worn to constrict the torso into the desired shape and Posture correction, posture. They are traditionally constructed out of fabric with boning made of Baleen, whalebone or steel, a stiff panel in th ...

manufacturing. It was built by Sidney Downs, one of Derby's leading businessmen of the period. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on February 12, 1987. It has been converted into apartments.

Description and history

The Kraus Corset Factory is located adjacent to downtown Derby, extending mainly along Roosevelt Drive (

Connecticut Route 34 Route 34 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Route 34 is long, and extends from Newtown near I-84 to Route 10 in New Haven. The highways connects the New Haven and Danbury areas via the Lower Naugatuck River Valley. ...

) northwest of Third Street. The factory is composed of two structures, the main 1879 block, and the c. 1910 addition. The main block is built of brick and is three stories in height, with nine bays facing Third Street and ten facing Roosevelt. The windows are set in segmented-arch openings, with stone sills. Shed-roof dormers project from the roof faces. The addition is a wood-frame structure, also three stories in height, but with a fully-exposed basement level facing the street. The factory's main block was built in 1879 by Sidney Downs, a prominent local businessman who had previously engaged in other corset-making partnerships. He leased this factory to Leopold Kraus whose firm employed about a quarter of Derby's corsetmakers. This business was only successful into the early 1890s, and had been swallowed by competition by 1896. The site next housed businesses engaged in a variety of metalworking pursuits related to corsetry, and in 1907 it was acquired by Sterling Pin. Pinmaking was another major business in Derby, and Sterling expanded the plant to manufacture pins, hairpins, clasps and eyes, and other small wire-based products. It remained in business at this site into the 1970s.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Buildings and structures in Derby, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in New Haven County, Connecticut Industrial buildings completed in 1879 Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Corsetry Textile mills in the United States 1879 establishments in Connecticut

Description and history

See also

References