Journal takes tour of old Lambert Kay building

WINSTED — While structural problems exist in several portions of the building, most of the old Lambert Kay factory on Lake Street seems to have held up pretty well.

The town has owned the Lambert Kay property for four-and-a-half years. The controversial deal to purchase the building for $1 was approved by voters at a town meeting in October 2002.

According to Interim Town Manager Mark Douglass, who gave The Winsted Journal a tour of the building, most of the ground floor has been utilized as a storage facility to hold furniture from residents evicted from their properties.

On the ground floor there were multiple mattresses, television sets, chairs and even a bag or two of laundry lying around. Douglass said some of the evicted tenants have come by to pick their items up, others just “pick and choose� and leave certain things behind.

The roof on one portion of the building has fallen in, leaving a wide open space where the weather comes in. Scattered throughout the ground floor are old machines that were used by the former factory.

Douglass explained that while the town was able to sell some of the old machines, those that remain are not Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliant, making them harder to get rid of.

The second floor of the building consists of practically empty rooms where factory work and the administrative offices once were.

Douglass said the town has often let the Winchester Police Department use the second floor for tactical shooting practice, which is why several target practice posters were seen throughout the space.

While there were no factory machines on the second floor, there were some leftover reminders of the Lambert Kay company, including safety posters and even markings on a wall about a Lotto betting pool.