National Register of Historic Places

Armstrong Rubber Company Building

New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut
Listed
April 29, 2021
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
100006451

About this property

The Hotel Marcel (formerly the Armstrong Rubber Company Building or the Pirelli Tire Building) is located in the Long Wharf district of New Haven, Connecticut, United States. The nine-story building was designed by modernist architect Marcel Breuer in the Brutalist style and originally functioned as an office headquarters for the Armstrong Rubber Company. Since 2022, it has operated as a Hilton hotel with 165 rooms. Over the years, the building has received extensive commentary from architecture critics, particularly for its massing or shape. The building is listed on the Connecticut Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places. The Hotel Marcel's massing is composed of a two-story base, originally used for research and development, and a five-story upper section, originally used as offices. The two sections are separated by a two-story air gap with three massive piers. The facade is made of Mo-Sai concrete, with recessed windows and an entrance to the east. The base originally contained warehouses and research laboratories extending further west, although most of the base was demolished in 2003. The structural system is made of steel and concrete, with the upper floors suspended from a series of trusses. Inside, there is a ground-floor lobby and lounge, with hotel rooms above and an event space on the top floor. The modern hotel is a zero-energy building, relying on solar panels. The building's site includes a freestanding concrete sign to the northeast. The Armstrong Rubber Company acquired the site in 1966 and developed its headquarters there from 1968 to 1970. Pirelli acquired Armstrong Rubber in 1988 and moved out of the building in May 1999. For the next two decades, the building was predominantly vacant, being used only for occasional events such as art exhibitions. Following an unsuccessful attempt in 1999 to build a mall on the site, the building was sold to Westfield Group and then to IKEA, which demolished part of the base. The architect and developer Bruce Redman Becker bought the building in January 2020 and began converting it into a hotel that September. The hotel opened in May 2022.

Location

500 Sargent Dr.
New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut
41.29652, -72.91872

Categories

ARCHITECTURECOMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

New Haven Railroad Station
Industrial
0.4 mi
Wooster Square Historic District
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0.6 mi
Strouse, Adler Company Corset Factory
Industrial
0.6 mi
Trowbridge Square Historic District
Listed
0.7 mi
Ninth Square Historic District
Listed
0.7 mi

Nearby Battles

Raid on New Haven (Connecticut)
1779Revolutionary War
0.9 mi

Questions about this property

When was Armstrong Rubber Company Building listed on the National Register?

Armstrong Rubber Company Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 29, 2021.

What type of historic resource is Armstrong Rubber Company Building?

Armstrong Rubber Company Building is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Armstrong Rubber Company Building?

The period of significance for Armstrong Rubber Company Building is recorded as the industrial era.

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