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| Industry | Clay industry |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1879 (As Perth Amboy Terra Cotta Company) |
| Founder | Alfred Hall |
| Defunct | 1943 |
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Headquarters | Perth Amboy, New Jersey, U.S. |
The Atlantic Terra Cotta Company was established in 1879 as the Perth Amboy Terra Cotta in Perth Amboy, New Jersey due to rich regional supplies of clay. It was one of the first successful glazed architectural terra-cotta companies in the United States. [1] [2]
Alfred Hall had previously owned a company that produced porcelain and household wares but was inspired to begin production of Architectural terra cotta after receiving advice from his nephew. Hall attempted to dominate the market for Architectural terra cotta, but his success led to the formation of multiple regional competitors in the 1880s, such as the New Jersey Terra Cotta Company, the Standard Terra Cotta Company, and the Excelsior Terra Cotta Company. [1]
The demand for architectural terra cotta grew dramatically in the last two decades of the 1800s, with total annual industry profits rising from one million dollars in 1890 to eight million in 1900. [1]
Between 1906 and 1907 the Perth Amboy Terra Cotta Company, the Excelsior Terra Cotta Company, the Standard Terra Cotta Company, and the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company of Staten Island merged together, with the newly formed corporation named after the latter group. The sheer size of the new group allowed it to become the leading manufacturer on the East Coast and secure contracts producing terra cotta for much of the steel-frame construction in the Northeast. [1]
At the time of the merger the company had four plants, in Perth Amboy and Rocky Hill, New Jersey, Staten Island, New York, and Eastpoint, Georgia. [3]
In 1921 the company was charged with violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and colluding with competitors by sharing pricing information with other manufacturers of terra cotta. The company weathered that difficulty and subsequent fines, but was hit hard by the Great Depression, when construction of skyscrapers paused and terra cotta ornamentation suddenly seemed unjustifiably expensive. [1]
Prevailing architectural attitudes favored materials such as glass, metal, and concrete and the company's work diminished over the next decade. The company ceased operations in 1943. [3]
Some of the company's most notable projects include the Flatiron Building (1901), the Woolworth Building (1910), the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1928), and the United States Supreme Court (1932). [2] [4]
Additionally, the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company and its predecessors contributed significantly to the architecture of Perth Amboy, which features a total of 111 structures with terra cotta detailing or facades. [1]
Perth Amboy is a city in northeastern Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 55,436. Perth Amboy is known as the "City by the Bay", referring to its location adjoining Raritan Bay.
Tottenville is a neighborhood on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York City. It is the southernmost neighborhood and settlement in both New York City and New York State, as well as the westernmost neighborhood in New York City. Tottenville is bounded on three sides by water: the south side abuts the New York Bight while the west and north sides are bordered by the Arthur Kill. Nassau Place, Bethel Avenue and Page Avenue form the neighborhood's eastern border.
Ulysses Anthony Ricci (1888–1960) was an American sculptor known primarily for his architectural sculpture. Born in New York City, Ricci was an apprentice at the Perth Amboy Terra Cotta Works in New Jersey from 1902 to 1906.
Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) is the commonly used name for modern-day Conrail, an American railroad company. It operates three networks, the North Jersey, South Jersey/Philadelphia, and Detroit Shared Assets Areas, where it serves as a contract local carrier and switching company for its owners, CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway. When most of the former Conrail's track was split between these two railroads, the three shared assets areas were kept separate to avoid giving one railroad an advantage in those areas. The company operates using its own employees and infrastructure but owns no equipment outside MOW equipment.
The Chemical Coast is a section of Union and Middlesex counties in New Jersey located along the shores of the Arthur Kill, across from Staten Island, New York. The name is taken from the Conrail Chemical Coast Line, an important component in the ExpressRail system serving marine terminals in the Port of New York and New Jersey.
Glazed architectural terra cotta is a ceramic masonry building material used as a decorative skin. It featured widely in the 'terracotta revival' from the 1880s until the 1930s. It was used in the UK, United States, Canada and Australia and is still one of the most common building materials found in U.S. urban environments. It is the glazed version of architectural terracotta; the material in both its glazed and unglazed versions is sturdy and relatively inexpensive, and can be molded into richly ornamented detail. Glazed terra-cotta played a significant role in architectural styles such as the Chicago School and Beaux-Arts architecture.
The Grace Building is a heritage-listed building of the Federation Skyscraper Gothic style that houses a bar, hotel, cafe and restaurant and is located at 77-79 York Street in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia.
The Raritan Bayshore is a region in central sections in the state of New Jersey. It is the area around Raritan Bay from The Amboys to Sandy Hook, in Middlesex and Monmouth counties, including the towns of Perth Amboy, South Amboy, Sayreville, Old Bridge, Matawan, Aberdeen, Keyport, Union Beach, Hazlet, Keansburg, Middletown, Atlantic Highlands, and Highlands. It is the northernmost part of the Jersey Shore, located just south of New York City. At Keansburg is a traditional amusement park while at Sandy Hook are found ocean beaches. The Sadowski Parkway beach area in Perth Amboy, which lies at the mouth of the Raritan River, was deemed the "Riviera of New Jersey" by local government. In recent years many of the beaches on the Bayshore area have been rediscovered and upgraded.
Architectural terracotta refers to a fired mixture of clay and water that can be used in a non-structural, semi-structural, or structural capacity on the exterior or interior of a building. Terracotta pottery, as earthenware is called when not used for vessels, is an ancient building material that translates from Latin as "baked earth". Some architectural terracotta is actually stronger than stoneware. It can be unglazed, painted, slip glazed, or glazed. A piece of terracotta is composed of a hollow clay web enclosing a void space or cell. The cell can be installed in compression with mortar or hung with metal anchors; such cells are often partially backfilled with mortar.
The Center for Brooklyn History is a museum, library, and educational center founded in 1863 that preserves and encourages the study of Brooklyn's 400-year history. The center's Romanesque Revival building, located at Pierrepont and Clinton Streets in Brooklyn Heights, was designed by George B. Post and built in 1878–1881 by David H. King Jr., is a National Historic Landmark and part of New York City's Brooklyn Heights Historic District. The CBH houses materials relating to the history of Brooklyn and its people, and hosts exhibitions which draw over 9,000 members a year. In addition to general programming, the CBH serves over 70,000 public school students and teachers annually by providing exhibit tours, educational programs and curricula, and making its professional staff available for instruction and consultation.
The Tottenville station is a Staten Island Railway rapid transit station in the neighborhood of Tottenville, Staten Island, New York City. Located near Main Street and Arthur Kill Road, it is the southern terminus on the main line and the southernmost railway station in both New York City and New York State.
The Grueby Faience Company, founded in 1894, was an American ceramics company that produced distinctive American art pottery vases and tiles during America's Arts and Crafts Movement.
The Perth Amboy Ferry Slip, located on the Arthur Kill in Perth Amboy, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, was once a vital ferry slip for boats in New York Harbor. It was added to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The ferry slip was restored in 1998 to its 1904 appearance. A replica of the ticket office has been constructed and is used as a small museum.
City Hall in Perth Amboy, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, is a historic building built in the early 18th century. It is now the oldest public building in continuous use in the United States. The Perth Amboy City Hall and the Surveyor General's Office were added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 12, 1981, for their significance in architecture and politics/government.
K. M. Oswald Hoepfner was an American sculptor noted for his work as an architectural sculptor.
The Staten Island Railway (SIR) is the only rapid transit line in the New York City borough of Staten Island and is operated by the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority, a unit of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The railway was historically considered a standard railroad line, but today only the western portion of the North Shore Branch, which is disconnected from the rest of the SIR, is used by freight and is connected to the national railway system.
The McClure-Nesbitt Motor Company is a historic automobile dealership in the South of Main neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. It was listed on the Columbus Register of Historic Properties in 2017.
George Washington is a life-size terra cotta statue by the Danish-American sculptor Nels N. Alling and located in the city of Perth Amboy in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The statue of General George Washington was a gift of the Scandinavians of Perth Amboy and dedicated on February 22, 1896.
Nels N. Alling was a Danish-American sculptor who specialized in terra cotta architectural work in the city of Perth Amboy in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. He is known for his life-size terra cotta statue of George Washington located in the city's Market Square.
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