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Facing west near 169 North Street with LaFountain Street entering on the right. August 18, 1930. (18T 0641938 UTM 4927256) At the left side of the frame is the two-story structure of 169 North Street. Below the windows on the second story hangs a sign, which reads “A. Boucher – Funeral Director”. From the early 1900’s to the time of the McAllister photograph, Arsene Boucher occupied the building, using the first floor as a barbershop then later to house his undertaker funeral director business. [1] A Sanborn Insurance Map from 1939 indicates that a building behind 169 was used to house the undertaker’s wagon with storage space for caskets. [2] Beyond this building, the entry hood to 163 North Street is barely visible. This entry hood is a notable feature and provides a clue that would indicate the building was erected sometime at the end of the 19th century. Further down the street the ever-present tower of the Lawrence Barnes School looms over North Street. Across the street from 169 is the three story brick building at 166 North Street. The first floor reveals large storefront windows on the North Street side and loading doors on the LaFountain Street side. It is unclear when exactly this building was demolished and the smaller, one-story brick building that stands currently took its place. Just beyond this building is another, much smaller brick structure at 158 North Street. This two-story, gable-front brick house with a semi-circular fanlight in the gable peak was perhaps one of the oldest structures on North Street. Shown on the 1889 Sanborn Insurance Map as a dwelling, the building was probably built in the early part of the 19th century. [3] Sadly this structure was lost in the rash of fires of the 1970’s. On April 10, 1972 the Burlington Free Press reported, “flames were sweeping the second story of an unoccupied old brick structure owned by Joseph Bartlett.” At the time the building was undergoing renovations. The fire was said to be of “suspicious origin.” [4]
[1] Burlington City Directory, 1902-1903 (Burlington: Hiram S. Hart). [2] Sanborn-Perris Map. Burlington, Vermont. 1939.
[3]
Sanborn-Perris Map. Burlington, Vermont. 1889. [4] (no author given), Burlington Free Press. April 10, 1972, p.13.
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Facing west near 169 North Street with LaFountain Street entering on the right. October 2005. (18T 0641938 UTM 4927256) In the current image above the only buildings that survived (structurally at least) is that at 169 North Street on the left side of the frame, and 163 North Street just beyond that. The windows of the first building have all been replaced and the large window on the first floor has been converted from a commercial style window to a raised position when the building was converted to residential use. From the appearance of the building’s massing in the current image, it would seem that an addition has been constructed on the right (west) side resulting in a central entrance as opposed to the right side entrance the building has in the 1930’s image. The building as 163 North Street managed to retain much of its original material, including the decorative entry hood (though not clearly visible in this image). Across the street a vastly different streetscape is present. The large three story brick building on the corner of North Street and LaFountain Street is gone and a one-story brick building housing the Shopping Bag convenience store has taken its place. After the fire of 1972 [1] a complex of contemporary modern buildings replaced the structure at 158 North Street and expanded to other structures further west on North Street, This image offers a good view of the new ornamental street poles that were installed during recent construction efforts on North Street.
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North Street between North Champlain Street and Elmwood Avenue
Historic Burlington Project Burlington 1890 | Burlington 1877 | Burlington 1869 | Burlington 1853 | Burlington 1830 Produced by University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program graduate students in HP 206 Researching Historic Structures and Sites - Prof. Thomas Visser in collaboration with UVM Landscape Change Program Historic images courtesy of Louis L. McAllister Photograph Collection University of Vermont Library Special Collections |