Frozen in Time: The Historic American Engineering Record
The State Pier was never a candidate for the National Register of Historic Places, but in 1985 it was admitted to the Historic American Engineering Record. Established by the National Park Service, the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Library of Congress, the HAER documents exemplary sites and structures with photographs and written descriptions which are preserved at the Library Of Congress. Inclusion in the HAER does not guarantee their physical preservation, however. Among the subjects of the Historic American Engineering Record are bridges, ships, railroads, factories, dams, canals, parkways and roads - and piers.
These photographs taken for the HAER file capture the Pier in one day of its life as a place for conventional shipping operations. The Navy was leasing the east side and nearby moorings, so the absence of the submarine tender Fulton indicates that it had been temporarily relocated.
The large freighter on the west side shows up in five images, and a leafy remnant of the East New London neighborhood is still in place.
Excerpts from the application for inclusion in the Historic American Engineering Record:
“The State Pier is part of a 30 acre complex owned by the State of Connecticut. The major component is the pier itself, a granite-lined, earth filled structure with aprons on pilings at either side for unloading cargo….Depressed tracks run down the center of the building to facilitate loading and unloading of railroad cars…. Interior elevators transfer cargo to upper floors…One story sheds on either side of the main building provide additional storage space.”
The builder is noted as New London’s T. A. Scott and Company.
Below: Tracks approaching the warehouse; interior views.
Descriptive text accompanies the photographs, which are housed in the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
"The Connecticut State Pier is significant as a typical example of early 20th-century pier engineering and as one of the earliest attempts by the state government to encourage economic development by means of a major public improvement. It was built with the hope that substantial shipping would result from the Pier's access to the Central Vermont Railroad, which connected with major lines in the Midwest and Canada. While only a modest success economically, the pier provided an important port facility to the U.S. Navy in both world wars."
Below: More interior views and a bollard
