Atlantic Mills
also known as Atlantic Delaine Company
A long-standing and intact example of mill architecture from the late 1800s, available as studio and commercial space
images of this Property
40 images: Press to view larger or scroll sideways to see more. Contributions from the Rhode Island Photograph Collection and the Rhode Island Mills and Mill Villages Photograph Collection, Providence Public Library; Christopher Martin, Quahog.org; Google Earth; and the Library of Congress
Copyright prevents the display of these images: Steve Dunwell portfolio — Black and white photo of both domed towers with their original lanterns
About this Property
Current Events
Atlantic Mills, almost 20 years after most of these photos were taken, is still home to the Big Top Flea market and various industrial and commercial spaces. Some windows have been replaced and upgraded, but largely, the Mills and their condition are the same.
Links
- Atlantic-mills.com for leasing information
- @atlantic_mills on Instagram for photos and for DMs about leasing
History
Sanborn Maps show incredible details of this complex that was so large, two different plates were needed in the earlier maps. If you’d like to dive deep, check them out on the Library of Congress website:
- 1889–1900 Sanborn Insurance Map, Volume 3, Plate 277 (which is mostly Riverside Mills to the northwest)
- 1889–1900 Sanborn Insurance Map, Volume 3, Plate 278
- 1920–1921 Sanborn Insurance Map, Volume 4, Plate 11
- 1921–1951 Sanborn Insurance Map, Volume 4, Plate 11
- 1921–1956 Sanborn Insurance Map, Volume 4, Plate 67d
A two-story, double-hip-roofed office building as well as the four-story Cotton Mill were still standing in a 1972 aerial photo. The nearby one-story commercial space/grocery store was built by 1981. The Boiler House no. 18 was still standing in a 1951-1952 aerial photo but gone by 1961. It was not included in the 1956 map, so was demolished between 1951 and 1956.
From the “Industrial Sites and Commercial Buildings Survey (ICBS)” by PPS and the AIA, 2001-2002, hosted by ProvPlan.org (now defunct)
Atlantic Mills is a complex of buildings fronting on Manton Avenue with the Woonasquatucket River, its original power source, running behind the complex. The main building (120 Manton Avenue; 1871 and 1882) is a three-and-one-half-story, brick building notable for its two domed towers and granite balustrades; one cupola survives. Other buildings include a four-story brick mill (1871), a three-story brick mill (1893) designed by F.P. Sheldon, and a four-story brick mill (1899). The Woonasquatucket River passes through the complex with at least three small bridge crossings of steel beam construction.
25 Aleppo Street stands a gasometer and storehouse associated with Atlantic Mills. The 50’ diameter brick structure was constructed in 1852 and connects to a mid-twentieth century, one-story brick and cinderblock building fronting on Manton Avenue. Originally used as a gasholder by Providence Gas Company (see separate entries) in a process of releasing flammable gas from the heating of coal in a retort, the structure was later used as storage for Atlantic Mills. Gasworks were commonly associated with large-scale textile mills of the nineteenth century. The structure was built at the same time as the earliest of the Atlantic Mill buildings across Aleppo Street. This facility is one of three surviving gas plants in the city of Providence (others are located in Elmwood and the Wanskuck Historic District). Further down Aleppo Street (plat 63, lot 441) is a one-story, hip-roof, brick building with corbelling below a wood cornice. This building was part of the gas manufacturing plant and, along with the gasometer, was part of the Atlantic Delaine complex across the street.
The original Atlantic Delaine factory was located near the junction of Hartford, Plainfield, and Manton streets. The company was founded in 1851 by General C.T. James to manufacture delaine — a wool muslin, which was one of the earliest mass produced worsteds. In 1863 the company commissioned architect Clifton A. Hall to design a new mill. What was built was a three-story, brick, pier-and-spandrel style mill on Manton Avenue. It had an unusual round-domed tower that was topped by a glass lantern. This mill had its own gasometer, as the company chartered its own gas company, and built the complete works to supply light for its mills. The worsted mill contained rooms for worsted, spinning, spoiling, warping, and dressing. It also had a water tank on the roof and fireproof vaults in the basement to store wool and other goods.
The company went bankrupt in the Panic of 1873 and the buildings were eventually sold at auction and incorporated as Atlantic Mills by the new owners. In 1882 a new mill was erected next to the 1863 building, and was almost identical (including the domed tower).
Over time other buildings were added to the complex, including a four-story brick mill for dyeing and finishing, a three-story worsted mill, a brick office building, and another four-story brick mill. This last building had segmental arch windows, granite sills, and a slightly pitched roof.
By the late 1880s the company was known for its worsted and cotton-wrap fabrics. The Atlantic Mills operation was the largest in Providence, employing over 2000 workers and its impressive mill complex was a noted Olneyville landmark. The company expanded into khaki manufacturing at the turn of the twentieth century (which proved successful since the government used khaki to manufacture uniforms). Atlantic Mills was bought out by the A.D. Julliard Company in 1904, who continued to run it for nearly fifty years until it, like many New England textile companies, went out of business (Woodward 1986; RIHPHC 1981; Kulik 1978).
Today the former worsted mill complex is used by a variety of commercial enterprises. Some of the businesses located there include a furniture store, a carpet warehouse, and a nightclub.
From “RHODE ISLAND: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites”, Gary Kulik and Julia C. Bonham, 1978
The Atlantic Mills, also known as the Atlantic Delaine Company Mills, had a national reputation for its worsted and cotton warp fabrics, which were used primarily for womens’ dress goods. In the late 1880s, the Atlantic Mills, which then employed 2,100 operatives, housed expensive specialized machinery, mainly of foreign manufacture. Steam engines powered 41,620 worsted spindles, 34,368 cotton spindles, 58 double cards, 47 combs, and 2,160 looms. None of the machinery remains. The main 3 1⁄2-story, brick mill is extant. It was built in two stages: the east wing, 162’ X 205’, in 1871, and the west wing, 162’ X 206’, in 1882. The structure has twin cylindrical towers which have domes with copper-trimmed cupolas. Both domes are now painted in red and white stripes, and a granite balustrade separates the domes from the brick towers.
The original 1851-1852 building, 310’ X 70’, remains, though it has been heavily altered with only one floor left standing. It is now a supermarket. Built at the east side of the 1871 mill is a complex that was used for dyeing, finishing, and crabbing (crabbing is a machine operation using alternating hot and cold running water to reduce shrink age in worsteds and woolens). The mill, built c. 1871, is a 4-story, brick structure, 210’ X 104’. Another worsted mill was constructed behind the domed mill in 1893. It is a 3-story, brick building, 244’ X 100’.
The newest mill on the site was completed in 1899 and is located on Hartford Avenue. This 4-story, brick building has segmental-arch windows, granite sills, and a near-flat roof. Two storage houses remain on Aleppo Street. One is an 1852 circular structure, fifty feet in diameter and originally used as a gas holder; the other is a 1-story brick building, 138’ X 32’. The main mill is now used as a retail store.
Credits: The Industrial Advantages of Providence, Rhode Island, 1899; Interviews with Peter Parisi, Leo Brynes, 20 February 1976; Associated Mutual Insurance Company Drawings: 6 July 1897, 17 December 1910.
In the News
Ongoing coverage can be found by Katy Pickens from the Providence Preservation Society in her ongoing blog articles.
“A HIDDEN GEM” — Pending sale of Atlantic Mills leaves tenant businesses at risk
by Wheeler Cowperthwaite
Providence Journal | August 27, 2024 (abridged)
The owner of the Atlantic Mills in Olneyville has put the giant mill building up for sale after backing out of a deal with the city and the Providence Redevelopment Agency to buy the sprawling property.
Listed on commercial real estate websites on Aug. 2 for $5 million, it was listed as “pending” on Friday [August 23]. The site is listed as 4.75 acres and comprises three buildings. It houses the Big Top Flea Market, multiple furniture retailers, artists and light manufacturers.
As the property has gone from being for sale to “pending,” those who work in the building say they are worried about being kicked out of one of the cheapest manufacturing, warehouse, and office spaces in the city, which could mean the end of business for some of them. The four-story complex encompasses 348,000 square feet, housing offices, manufacturing and everything in between.
It is owned by the Howard & Eleanor Brynes LLC. Howard Brynes died in 2023, at age 83.
Reached by phone, the listing agent, Robert Fox of Century 21’s Seyboth Team, said to check back in a week, but that no one affiliated with the property was willing to talk to the media […]
A thriving community resource
Unlike downtown Providence, where offices have remained empty since the pandemic, the Atlantic Mills is almost full, with an estimated 88% of its occupiable space leased. The fourth floor in one of the two mill buildings is neither rented nor built out to be rentable.
“Class A” real estate downtown, mostly office buildings, is renting for an average of $22 per square foot, a price well beyond what the tenants in the Atlantic Mills are paying for space in a much older building.
Inside the mill’s wide, well-lit hallways, the Olneyville Neighborhood Association holds language classes at night, a carpenter builds orders for hospitals, a metal worker fabricates giant shade structures and a restaurant supplier that makes deliveries as far away as Florida and New Hampshire uses the mill as his sprawling warehouse space. Big Nazo even houses its creature shop in the mill building.
Alvin Candelario runs Candelario Supplies LLC out of the mill building, occupying two sprawling spaces he uses as a warehouse for his restaurant supply company.
Like all the tenants canvassed for this story, he is worried about his future in the building and the future of his business, after searching for other spaces he could rent if he’s forced to leave.
The cheapest he can find is $10,000 a month, double what he is paying and a price he cannot afford. If he were forced to move, he said it would take him six to eight months, shuttling supplies from one site to another while still handling sales.
If new owners significantly increase the rent, he is facing the same problem: He can’t afford it.
For Candelario, the people who work in the mill are like family. When the laundry company needs a truck, they borrow his. When he needs a pallet jack, he borrows theirs.
Forging a future amid uncertainty
In the basement, Iron Mountain Forge and Furniture owner Carley Ferrara was working on cleaning up her shop, biding her time until her daughter’s school starts in a week. Ferrara recently moved into a larger manufacturing space in the basement of the mill, where she forges metal furniture, a giant shade structure, railings for school buildings and the carts for Imagination Playgrounds.
Just this month, Ferrera spent $17,000 to upgrade the electrical system for the new, larger shop space she moved into just down the hall.
“We’ve been worried about a sale for six years now,” she said.
If the building is sold to someone who wants to kick everyone out and turn it into something else, she does not know what she, and the six people who work for her, not including interns, will do. Like Candelario, she has priced new rental spaces and none are affordable (an estimated increase in cost of 400%), and if she were to buy instead, even fewer options would be available. Either way, her costs would likely triple.
“This is one of the last affordable mills in the state,” she said.
Like Candelario, Ferrara said the mill building is a community unto itself. She led a tour of the side of the property, where one tenant has planted a garden between the river and the building (with dahlias and sunflowers vying to be the tallest), and created an outdoor space for people to have lunch or just hang out.
In May, an HGTV show filmed her in her new, expanded workshop space. She joked that by the time the episode airs (she isn’t allowed to say which show), orders will come streaming in but she’ll be out of a shop.
A woodshop that cannot exist anywhere else
On the second floor, the smell of cut wood permeates Mike McNulty and Sergio Garcia’s shop as table saws screech. McNulty and Garcia moved into the Atlantic Mills in 2019, building cabinets, lockers and sundry other items for hospitals, schools and other industrial spaces.
The mill was the perfect place. The rent is affordable, but perhaps more important, it has enough power, working loading docks and plumbing so each unit can have its own bathroom.
When McNulty was looking for woodshop space in 2019, before he found the mill, there was nothing. Warehouse spaces were just that: warehouses, without the electrical wiring to allow for light manufacturing or anything but a single shared bathroom.
“We call this a hidden gem,” McNulty said.
The hallways are well lit and painted, the building is safe, there is plenty of parking available except for the weekends when the flea market is open, and the rent is reasonable.
Like the rest of the tenants, McNulty has explored other options, as the threat of a sale has loomed over them for years, but all the other spaces he has seen have been inadequate and way too expensive. If the mill closes, he will just close up shop, after years working in other successful careers, although Garcia said he did not know what he would do.
He runs a real estate businesses out of a suite next door to his wood shop and delivers plywood to other tenants in the mill building with another of his businesses.
What happened to the deal with Providence Redevelopment Agency?
In September 2022, the Providence Redevelopment Agency voted to buy the mill building from Howard & Eleanor Brynes LLC for $3.9 million to preserve the building and keep the tenants there. Estimates at the time totaled $15 million in maintenance, upkeep, repairs and remediation.
Providence Planning Director Joe Mulligan, who “inherited this situation” along with Mayor Brett Smiley, said the estimate was purely speculative and based on the sheer size and scale of the building.
“The building is in terrific condition, for its current use,” he said.
The original timeline was for the Providence Redevelopment Agency to purchase the building in October 2023, a year after entering the agreement. That deadline came and went without closing of the deal. In August 2023, the agency put out a request for information, looking for partners to help with redevelopment.
The city also ordered an environmental assessment which came in June, he said.
After that, in July, two years after entering the purchase-and-sale agreement and a year after the deal was supposed to close, the owners backed out of the deal, Josh Estrella, a spokesman for Smiley, wrote in an email. […]
The environmental assessment
The environmental assessment cast doubt on the feasibility of turning the sprawling mill building into housing, or adapting it for use in early childhood education, without “significant remediation or modification,” Mulligan said.
“Under the current use, everything is fine,” he said. “We’re hoping that the current use, in that location continues, regardless of ownership.“ […]
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Cowperthwaite, Wheeler. “‘A HIDDEN GEM’ - Pending sale of Atlantic Mills leaves tenant businesses at risk.“ Providence Journal (RI), PFO-Journal ed., sec. News, 27 Aug. 2024, p. A1. NewsBank: America’s News, https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=NewsBank&req_dat=D4BD6B42F1AB4706B5E1244D477DEE03&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews/19B369822F72F518. Accessed 30 Aug. 2024.