266 - 237 North Avenue, photograph by Louis McAllister, 1934

GPS reading: 18T 0641068, UTM 4927690

This view was taken from the west side of North Avenue looking south toward Berry Street. Beyond the men involved in the repaving project, 237 North Avenue is visible through the trees. Built in 1922 (or early 1923) as a Packard dealership, the building was operated as Packard Vermont Motors from 1923 through 1927.[1] In 1928, another business, C.H. Goss Co. Autos, opened at this location.[2] At the time that this photo was taken, C.H. Goss was still in business.

On the left, a row of single-family houses is visible. All are two stories and share a gable-front and wing plan. The first, 266 North Avenue has a front bay window and a side porch entry. Built 1890 or 1891, this house was the long-time residence of Fred W. Wakefield. Mr. Wakefield, a sail maker, was employed for years in the family business of James Wakefield “Rigger and Sail maker.” The 1890 Hopkins Map shows a vacant lot at this address with the name F.M.(sic) Wakefield. John L. Sherman, a mechanical foreman for the Rutland Railroad was in residence at this address when McAllister took this photograph.[3]

Just beyond 266 is 262 North Avenue. Built in or around 1888, it has a wrap-around porch with a solid balustrade. The first resident of the house was Jessie A. Ruskin, originally and employee of the grocer S.A. Wagner, in residence at 248 North Avenue.[4] Mr. Ruskin’s name appears in association with this address on the 1890 Hopkins map. In 1934, when the photograph was taken, it was the home of Harold F. Wakefield who worked both as a salesman for the Strong Hardware Company and as a U.S. Deputy Marshal.[5]

Further down the block, 258 North Avenue is barely visible in this photograph. This house was the long-time home of the McBride family. Archibald McBride, a mason, was the first resident of the house. He is shown living at this address in the City Directory of 1889. Later, a Mrs. Fidelia McBride, perhaps Archibald’s widow, is listed at this address and by 1914, a Frederick McBride was living there. At the time of the photograph, it was the residence of a steel worker named Perley G. Coltran.[6]

Beyond 258, 252 North Avenue can be seen with its front porch (actually a wrap-around). Built in or around 1889, Miss Fannie M. Murray is the first resident listed at this address in the City Directories.[7] Her name is also associated with the property on the 890 Hopkins Map. The year McAllister was photographing this block, 252 was the residence of Alfred E. Bushey, a painter and paperhanger.[8]

Just past 252, a bit of the front façade of 248 North Avenue can be seen. Built in or around 1894, the first resident at this address appears to have been a grocer by the name of S.A. Wagner.[9] The 1890 Hopkins Map of Burlington shows Mrs. S.A. Wagner, presumably the grocer’s widow, living at this address. At the time that McAllister took this photograph, it was the residence of a retiree by the name of Carlton L. Livermore.[10]

[1] Burlington City Directory, 1923;1927.

[2] Burlington City Directory, 1928.

[3] Burlington City Directory, 1892.

[4] Amanda Ciampolillo, North Avenue, Burlington 1890 website, www.uvm.edu/%7Ehp206/2004-1890/burlington1890/website/aciampol/northavenue.

[5] Burlington City Directory, 1900;1934.

[6] Burlington City Directory, 1934.

[7] Burlington City Directory, 1889.

[8] Burlington City Directory, 1934.

[9] Ciampolillo.

[10] Burlington City Directory, 1934.

266 - 237 North Avenue, photograph by Tracy N. Martin, 2005

GPS reading: 18T 0641068, UTM 4927690

This view of North Avenue has changed considerably since 1934 when McAllister took his photographs. On the right, 237 North Avenue is now blocked from view by more recent buildings, 267 North avenue (1950), 263 North Avenue (1949), 259 North Avenue (1948) and a three-unit residential building, 245-247-249 North Avenue (1940 or early1941). Loss of the elms and the growth of lower trees mean that many of the house facades on the east (left) side of the street are obscured. Power poles and lines once camouflaged by the elm canopy are now more prominent features. (Today, they run along the east side of the street instead of the west.) The curbs that were constructed by the men in McAllister's image still survive, though they have been cut in several places for new driveways.

Of the houses visible in these images, the closest, 266 remains very much the same, with its first floor bay window and side entry porch intact. The house at 262 is also still recognizable with the same large front porch. Beyond that, what can be seen of 258 appears similar in the contemporary image with the exception of the addition of a picket fence around the front yard. Houses further down the street are not visible in the contemporary view.