About Us
The Gardella Family
Eighty years after Norwalk resident Louis Gardella turned a passion for boating into a business, his family is still carrying on the tradition. Since humble beginnings in 1936 as Connecticut’s first Chris Craft dealer, Rex Marine Center has grown to one of the largest recreational and commercial marine operations in the Northeast. Now in their fourth generation the Gardella’s continue to offer the best in sales, craftsmanship, service, equipment and storage. Stop by and say hello, our friendly and knowledgeable staff are here for you 7 days a week.
Pictures from the Past
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- Circa 1950
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- Louis J Gardella, Founder. 1905-1995 A rare photo to catch Lou sitting, for a staged pic, yet. He did recognize the value of good promotion even though he seemed to prefer manual labor.
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- Similar to another, circa 1948 , shows some Water St. Oyster houses, too. The REX building shown was formerly home to the Sealship Oyster Co.
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- Circa 1960; left to right: Bill Gardella, Sr; LJ Gardella, founder
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- Another classic, circa 1948. Love those cars, too. The greatly enlarged restaurant became “The Pier” and was a local landmark until closed for building code non-compliance circa 1985- could not justify costs to bring it up to modern codes, for a seasonal restaurant.
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- Yes, that boat IS in a swimming pool , part of a boat show, at the pool club Lou built, circa 1960. He had the WOW factor even before family friend, Stew Leonard.
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- The old Elco “Sheila” in the photo, partial view, stern-to, was the Coe family boat. They would stay on her at Rex when they came up to visit family. This photo is circa 1960.
