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Historic Buildings by name

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Gray's Carriage Works of 183 South Champlain Street was the factory for John K. Gray's prosperous carriage building business. Gray bought the lot in 1848 from Lyman B. Porter and built the factory shortly thereafter. Gray was the protégé of Simon Willard and Truman Seymour two of Burlington's first carriage-makers. Gray and John D. Perrigo took over Seymour's shop on Pearl Street when Seymour left Burlington in 1830. Perrigo died seven years later and Gray bought out the entire business, eventually moving to Champlain Street, right off of the railroad lines. Gray died in 1861 leaving his son Charles B. to run the business.1 It was soon more prosperous as ever, doing $16,000 worth of business a year, according to the 1870 census. The Carriage Works included a blacksmith's shop for the carriage's iron and five years worth of lumber stored in a separate building. Click here to read more.

Guilford-Hand House of 181 South Union Street This circa 1835-45 brick house displays the characteristics that were so popular for Greek Revival houses in Burlington in the 1840's and 1850's: it is two-and-a-half stories in height, three bays wide and has a pedimented gable facing the street. A distinctive feature here is the elegant semi-elliptical blind fanlight in the gable, instead of the peaked window that more typically is found in the gable of contemporary Greek Revival houses in Burlington. (1) The Italianate front porch and the two-storied side porch also lend a sense of distinction to the building. Early residents include R. Guilford in the late 1850's and attorney E.R. Hard in the 1860's.

H. O. Wheeler School , constructed in 1904, is a two-story, hip roofed, U-shaped, brick structure, nine bays wide and five bays deep, rising from an ashlar-faced, redstone foundation and highlighted by elements suggesting the Colonial Revival and Romanesque styles. The school overlooks a major neighborhood intersection in Burlington, Vermont's Old North End, where Archibald Street, Spring Street, and Elmwood Avenue meet. The building is clearly a fine representative example of the large, symmetrical, Colonial Revival school buildings built during the first quarter of the twentieth century identified in the Vermont Historic Preservation Plan's "Education" historic context.

Heman Crooker House of 318 North Street was built in the late 1840's as a patterned, 2 story, Greek Revival houses in the author's section that was built of solid brick. Heman A. Crooker, who the house is named after, was a mason, and came from a family of masons. City records show that Mr. Crooker acquired a piece of property at this rough address in 1865, but that deed of sale refers to other property Mr. Crooker owned directly next door. Heman is though to have built this house and many of the other similar structures. Unique to this property is the veneered-brick garage that sits behind the house along the western property line. Fine brickwork around the roofline and large wooden doors in both the front and gable end make the garage a most interesting structure. Heman had a daughter, Fannie, and a son, Heman Jr. Heman Jr. also worked as a mason and a carpenter. Click here to read more.

Henry Loomis Stable of 20 North Williams Street is a two and a half Colonial Revival brick rectangular volume capped with a gable roof and is set back from North Williams Street. A one by one bay gabled roof portico shelters the first story entrance. The house faces south to North Williams Street and a wood frame garage has been added to the North façade. The house was built circa 1844, about the same time as the Loomis-Van Patten house at 380 Pearl Street. The houses original function was a horse stable for the Loomis ­Van Patten house. In 1924, it was remodeled into a colonial revival house. (1) The renovation /conversion was made by Clarence White. (1) The house makes a significant contribution and is a well preserved example of a renovated Colonial Revival

Ian Shattuck House of 301 College Street The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation's survey of College Street considers that this Greek Revival house was built circa 1835. (1) However, David Blow's research indicates that Ira Shattuck, partner in the Shattuck & Cottrell stagecoach business, bought the land in the 1840's and occupied the house until his death in 1885. Later occupants included W.H.S. Whitcomb, an agent for the Equitable Life Insurance Company, whose family lived here until 1912, followed by the family of Dr. Clifford A. Pease from 1913 to 1961. (2) This house has a great stylistic similarity to nearby number 289 College Street: both houses are gable-ended three-bay structures with full pediments that contain elliptical fanlights. Number 301 is graced by a simple but well-detailed front door with narrow sidelights and a side porch with an enclosed upper story.

Issac Smith House of 219 North Winooski Avenue was built in 1848. This building is an example of a the brick, Greek Revival houses so popular during this period. The main entranceway is identical to that of 318 North Street, though the door sits on opposite sides of the front façade. This veneered structure had a substantial pair of additions added to its rear prior to 1889. The Sandborn maps show few other changes to the plan up to the present day. However, an attic inspection revealed that there was a substantial fire in the rear addition around1920, judging from the repair materials and techniques used. Much of the charred wood remains and has been "sistered" with new material. An odd feature of the main house is that there are no windows in the front bay of the southwest façade. Click here to read more.

J. C. Saxe House of 177 South Union Street This rather unusual house, the result of two building programs (Greek Revival circa 1845, with Italianate alterations circa 1870) has been called an extraordinary architectural gem in the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation's survey of S. Union Street. (1) The house's screen of fluted Doric columns "in antis" between the one-story wings at the front of the building provides a stylish sheltered vestibule for the front door. Interestingly, some of the decorative elements from the 1870's alterations, such as the first and second story window lintels, are noted as being made of cast iron. The belvedere with the "bellcast" (concave) mansard roof is another 1870's addition to the house. An early owner of the property, circa 1857, was J.C. Saxe, a distinguished man of many accomplishments: poet, lawyer, newspaper editor, attorney general of Vermont and candidate for governor.

Johnson House of 590 Main Street was built for Moses Catlin in 1806 at the corner of Main Street and University Place where the University of Vermont's Morrill Hall now stands. The building is a two-story, frame structure with a hipped roof, and retains historic clapboard siding beneath the exterior vinyl siding, which covers the house today. Originally, the house was built as part of a twenty-two acre farm, which Catlin lived in for three years before selling it to John Johnson, Vermont's first surveyor, in 1809. Johnson designed and engineered the construction of numerous important buildings and bridges in northern Vermont and beyond, including Grasse Mount (1804) and Old Mill (1825-9) in Burlington Click here to read more.

Judge Torrey Wales House of 52 North Winooski Avenue was built in the 1840's. This high style example of the Greek Revival style is unique among the other examples of the style on North Winooski Avenue. It was likely constructed for Judge Torrey Wales. Wales was a distinguished member of the community who served as Mayor of Burlington (1867-68), a state representative (1868-69, 76), and probate judge (1862-98). Edwin, Aaron, and Moses Spear purchased the house when Wales moved to College Street (1870's). They lived and maintained a store in the building, which remained in the family through the 1830's. (1) At present the building has multiple apartments. Five bays by three bays with brick bearing walls on a stone foundation the pedimented front facing gable features an oculus window. The wood truss roof with asphalt shingles has Gothic Revival influenced cross gables, which were added at a later date.

Klifa Club of 342 Pearl Street was built by Horace Loomis in 1800. It is probably "the oldest remaining structure on Pearl Street"(33). Loomis owned a very large tract of land around the house, reaching from Pearl to North Street and from Willard to Prospect Street. Loomis was involved in the leather business and built a stone tannery across the street. This tannery was even listed as such on the De Beers Atlas of 1869. The Federal style house was eventually embellished by a Greek Revival style porch in the 1840s (34). The maps of the mid-18th century, including the Wainwright, Walling and Beers Atlas, all show that the Loomis family owned most of the surrounding land and buildings. During that time, the Loomis residence was a center of Burlington social life. Loomis was host to Henry Clay and President William Henry Harrison (35) among many others. Click here to read more.

Lawrence-Williams House of 57 North Union Street is a Greek Revival house with the long side porch is at least as early as 1853 since it appears on the Presdee & Edwards map of Burlington produced that year, as the property of Judge Asahel Peck who may have used it as a rental investment. Judge Peck was later to be the governor of Vermont. From circa 1865-1890 it was the residence of Newell Lawrence, who was a teammaster. Judd Williams, who was in the well-drilling business, acquired the house in 1899 and his descendants were still living there in the late 1970's when the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation surveyed N. Union Street

Leavenworth Block (currently the Executive Block), was built in 1847 for Henry Leavenworth, a lawyer, at a cost $20,000. The location was chosen because of its proximity to a proposed railroad on the site of the present fire station on Winooski Avenue. When the proposed depot was moved to Maple Street, land values dropped precipitously. Leavenworth sold the building in 1860 for $5200. (1) The three-story building is divided into four sections by what appear to be piers. Each section is three bays wide and has retail space on the first floor. Brick load bearing walls rest on a stone foundation. Examination of the front and side façades is not possible because of siding applied in the mid-70's. The rear of the building shows stone sills and lintels on delivery entrances. Windows show flat arches. (2)

Loomis-Austin House of 43 South Williams Street is a two and one half story brick Greek Revival structure. The central mass is a three by two bay volume capped with a full pediment gable roof and sits on a stone foundation. Asymmetrical wings flank the central mass and are capped with hipped roofs. The houses east façade borders on South Williams Street and set back from the street edge. The first floor of the central mass is penetrated by two six over six sash double-hung windows and a paneled entrance door. The windows have stone lintels and sills. The entrance has a stone lintel and flanked by three quarter sidelights. The second story fenestration consist of three six over six sash double-hung windows, with shutters. Greek Revival moldings make up the full pediment gable end. The tympanum has a centered six light fixed window with a gable arch lintel. This lintel is typical in Burlington neighborhoods during this period. The one by two bay wing to the south is a one story rectangular volume capped by a hipped roof.

Loomis-Van Patten House of 380 Pearl Street is located at the corner of Pearl Street and North Williams. The structure is a rectangular three by three bay volume. Originally this house was a two story structure. It was not until 1939 (1) when the third story was added. The south façade, or Pearl Street elevation, presents as a three bay structure with a two story centrally located pavilion entrance. Windows are symmetrically located with the third story windows composed of shorter proportions. The windows are two over two sash double-hung with cast iron lintels for the first two stories (3). The central pavilion has a gabled cap and a second story balcony supported by ornate cast iron brackets. The entrance is a double leaf door with a semicircular head. The paneled door if framed with "rope" brick molding. The west façade is also a three bay structure, however, the windows are offset to the north and align vertically.

Lyon House-Acacia Fraternity of 404 College Street was originally constructed circa 1844 as a three by two bay Greek Revival style house and later converted to its current Italianate appearance. The house presents as a single rectangular volume constructed of brick. The roof is a hipped pyramidal low pitched profile. The roof is capped with a cupola which also has a hipped roof. Supported at the eaves with Italianate brackets. The College Street façade is articulated with a centered recessed entrance and portico. The portico also supports a second story bay window with paneled square columns. Flanking either side of the entrance are two over two sash double hung windows that have ornamental cast iron lintels and wood sills (2). Italianate brackets that help define the paneled frieze support the cornice of the roof. An ell addition was added (The exact date of construction was not documented) and incorporates a one by four bay porch.

Master builder John Johnson constructed Pomeroy Hall on Main Street, south of University Place, in 1828 to house the Medical College, one of only about twenty in the country. Originally, the building was a two-and-a-half story brick, rectangular structure, and 45-by-36 feet, with a gable roof. The "footprint" of this building can be seen on Ammi Young's 1830 Plan of Burlington. It was probably designed, like the Middle College building, in the Federal style popular at the time. No photographs of the original have been located but a materials list indicates seventeen windows on two main floors, two exterior doors, a fan light over the main entrance, and four cellar windows. Click here to read more.

Merchant's Bank of 212 Battery Street was incorporated by Timothy Follett and H.S. Noyes on November 10, 1849 with a capital of $150,000.(1) The three story four bay building has distinctive Greek Revival features, including simple pilasters with entablature, stone lintels and sills, and a corbelled brick frieze at the top. Presumably, the prosperity of this waterfront area allowed Follett to amass enough capital to open the bank and build the structure. Good economic times did not last long, however, and the bank was forced to leave the building. Its new location on College Street allowed it to profit, and in 1870 the Merchant's Bank was said to have a capital of $700,000 after having bought out First National Bank.(2)

Moore-Woodbury House of 416 Pearl Street has retained much of it's original shape. (1) The Moore-Woodbury House, at 416 Pearl Street was built around 1815 by George Moore, a prominent member of early Burlington Society. This house, unlike its neighboring house, the Seymour house, remained in the Moore family until the mid 1800s. In 1886, Urban Woodbury who served as Mayor of Burlington as well as Governor of Vermont, acquired the house. (2) In the late 19th Century additions were made, which include the oriel window on the eastern wall, and the two story porch on the western side. Additional Victorian style details were also added at this time. These additions serve to magnify what already was a large and stately home. A home that served the needs of a prominent statesman entertaining influential guests, including William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Taft. Click here to read more.

Mrs. T.C. Mills House of 150 North Union Street is a pedimented gable brick Greek Revival design that was so popular in Burlington in the 1840's and 1850's, complete with the characteristic peaked window in its gable. This house was built circa 1845, perhaps contemporaneously with its neighbor at number 144 N. Union Street. In 1865 this house was the residence of Mrs. T.C. Mills. From 1885 to 1900 it was the home of W.H. Hale, who owned a shoe store.

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