St. Paul & Adams Street - Corner of Smalley Park |
September 18, 1940; Louis L. McAllister |
October 22, 2006; Caitlin Meives |
| Taken from the intersection of St. Paul Street and Adams Street, this view looks south down St. Paul Street. On the left is Smalley Park, donated to the city of Burlington on April 23, 1920 by Mayor J. Holmes Jackson and his wife, Caroline Smalley, in memory of Caroline's father. According to David Blow, the couple stipulated that, “. . .if the city should ever fail to use the park for the benefit of neighborhood children, it would revert to the heirs of the donors.”[3]
Further down the street, on the right and only partially visible, is a factory building, #305. The building is situated on the corner of St. Paul and Kilburn Streets and actually continues down the length of Kilburn to Pine Street. At the time of the McAllister image, #305 held the United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service in the front and the Edlund Company's kitchen utensil factory on the back end, facing Pine Street. The Edlund Company had occupied the factory since 1928, while the United States Department of Agriculture had occupied the space since 1938. Prior to this time, Joel H. Gates and Company, Burlington Cotton Mills, and Chase (or Chace) Mills had occupied the factory space. Lane Press may also have occupied the factory building at the time McAllister took the above image. The company first appears at 305 in 1936, is handwritten into the 1938 Sanborn Insurance map, but does not appear on the 1942 Sanborn. According to Blow, Chaney Kilburn and Joel H. Gates constructed the building in 1869 as a furniture factory.[4] The chimney stack also bears an inscription that reads "1869." Just past the factory is a residential, two family house, #315 and #317. In 1940, when McAllister took the photograph, a mechanic named Clarence O. Langlois lived in #315 along with his wife and three other family members. Two couples lived in the other half of the house, #317.[5] Citing the research of Dr. Clifford Pease, Blow notes that the southern half of the house, presumably #317, is the birthplace of President Calvin Coolidge's wife, Grace Goodhue. Her father, Andrew Goodhue, moved to 317 St. Paul between 1875 and 1878 and she was born in 1879.[6] The construction work occurring at the time of the above photograph was part of the St. Paul Street. Asphalt Paving Project. Workers can be seen constructing curbs and gutters along the edge of Smalley Park. [3] Blow, Vol. 1, 67-69. [4] Blow, Vol. 1, 70-71. [5] Burlington City Directory, 1940 (Burlington: H. A. Manning Co., 1940). [6] Burlington City Directories |
The present day view from the intersection of Adams and St. Paul Streets remains much the same. The only addition is Duncan’s AutoService, north of 305. Trees still line the edge of Smalley Park, however, the curb appears to extend farther into the road with the addition of a sidewalk. Edlund Company continued to occupy #305 until 1958 or 1959, the USDA remained until 1948, and Lane Press remained through 1986.[7] Today, the former factory houses a number of professional offices and remains the “. . . oldest surviving industrial building in Burlington.”[8] House #315/317 is still present and holds a law office. [7] Burlington City Directory http://www.lanepress.com/template/100Years [8] Blow vol. 1, 70-71. |
Historic Burlington Project Depression Era Streetscapes: Old North End | 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 University of Vermont Library Special Collections, Louis L. McAllister Photograph Collection |
