H. O.
WHEELER SCHOOL
ARCHIBALD STREET
BURLINGTON, VERMONT
NOMINATION TO
THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
The 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. Despite some minor alterations, which include the removal of the front entry and the addition of a wing for administrative offices and classrooms in 1954 and 1966, the integrity of the design, character, and setting of the school has not been seriously compromised.
The school is located at the head of Elmwood Avenue, an important
link between Burlington's central business district and the Old
North End. Surrounded by a residential neighborhood of small two
story, late 19th century, wooden houses, the H. O. Wheeler School
is a key local landmark. It stands alone. With its fenced playground
to the northwest, the property fills the southern end of the block
formed by Walnut Street to the east, Archibald Street and Elmwood
Avenue on the south, and Spring Street on the west.
The H. O. Wheeler School's symmetrical front facade is divided
into equal thirds with hip-roofed pavilions three bays wide and
four bays deep projecting forward from the outer thirds of the
block to form the "U". The west and east sides extend
out one bay near the center, so that the rear is wider to allow
front-facing side entrances. While the western entrance remains,
the eastern entrance has been bricked over, as a 1954, flat-roofed,
brick addition projects here to the east. The auditorium-gymnasium
and principal's office were added and interior renovations were
made in 1954. The addition is in two parts. The front section
is two stories high and three bays wide with an entrance hall
on the first floor and a principal's office above. In the rear
is a single-story gymnasium which has windows only on its north
facade.
North of the gymnasium addition is a flat-roofed classroom wing,
constructed in 1966, eleven bays long and two bays wide. Poured
concrete piers, painted a contrasting color, separate the bays.
The roof extends out slightly above the piers to form triangular
projections. Each bay is filled with concrete block walls and
full-width sliding windows at the top.
The wing is joined to the 1954 addition (and thus to the main
building) by two parallel arcades, each five bays long with a
courtyard between. The eastern arcade is open, while the western
arcade is enclosed with concrete blocks and windows matching the
style of the rest of the 1966 wing. The scale, design, and siting
of the additions do not detract from the character of the main
building.
Following the 1904 state school standardization guidelines, the
H. O. Wheeler School building was designed with ample windows
to provide natural light to supplement the electric light in the
classrooms. The original 9-over-2, double-hung windows of the
main block have been replaced by modern, "De-Vac" aluminum-framed,
three-part window units with storm sash. The lower two-thirds
of the openings are filled with a double-hung, 1-over-1 windows,
while the upper thirds are filled with insulated panels.
Most of the windows of the main block are topped by splayed brick
lintels and are uniform in size. The window openings in the central
third of the front facade are narrower, however, and the basement
windows are two-thirds the height of the other openings. Across
the rear of the building, the windows were originally divided
into three sections of four windows on the first and second stories.
The first and second story windows of the central third and the
first story windows of the eastern third have been replaced by
bands of six windows which match the modern aluminum replacement
units. A sill course of soldiers runs along the base of the windows
of the main block with a band of stretchers projecting from the
face of the building above and below the soldier bricks.
On the west side, an interior stairwell is marked by distinctive
windows. On each floor the pattern is composed of three segments,
a window of normal width flanked by two narrower windows. The
lower double-hung windows light the west entrance hall, located
between the first floor and basement levels and are similar in
size to the basement windows. Immediately above this set is a
large arch-topped window opening. The upper set of three fixed
sash windows is enclosed in an arched surround with projecting
voussoirs at the tops of the smaller windows and a projecting
keystone with a corbelled cap. The second-story soldier course
of bricks aligns with the horizontal frame member which separates
the arched-top and the double-hung sections of the windows.
In the center of the front (south) facade, the second floor window
and the first floor entrance bays have been bricked in. Within
the recessed third of the front facade, blind arches alternate
with the window surrounds. The arches are marked by corbelled
brick imposts and brick archivolts flush with the facade. Below
the window and above the door are a terra-cotta ornament and a
cast brass name plate which reads "H. O. Wheeler School."
"Ghost" lines of the original roof line of the tripartite
entrance arcade are visible on the projecting side walls.
The hipped roof of the main block is covered with asphalt shingles,
galvanized flashing and galvanized snow slides bordering the eaves.
Rafter tails are exposed beneath the projecting eaves of the main
block. The cornice features a triple band of corbelled brick encircling
the structure. Four massive chimneys rise symmetrically from the
front and rear of the roof. The chimneys are patterned with a
lattice work design of raised bricks.
The building originally had three main entrances, however only
the west entrance is still used for this purpose. Located in a
shallow bay formed by the projecting rear half of the west side,
the entrance faces south and is sheltered by a portico addition
with a hipped roof of corrugated galvanized steel, supported by
steel pipe posts. The portico probably dates from 1954 and does
not contribute to the significance of the building. A poured concrete
stairway leads up a half story to the first story classroom level.
A similar entrance was located on the right side of the building,
but this has been bricked in. The entrance was moved nearby to
the 1954 addition where a set of double doors are located, sheltered
by a shed-roofed portico of materials similar to the west portico
addition.
Historic photos show that the school originally had unsheltered
side entrances. A hipped-roof attic dormer located above the front
entrance was probably removed in 1954.
The interior plan of the main block of the building is essentially
intact with central corridors running east-west on the first and
second floors to open stairs at each end. On both the first and
second floors, three classrooms line the north side. On the south
side are classrooms in the corners and utility rooms and toilet
rooms between. The small toilet rooms were installed on the first
and second floors in 1954. On the first floor, this required that
the main front entrance be removed and the doorway opening filled
with bricks. On the second story, the center window opening was
also filled with bricks.
The interior walls are painted plaster and wallboard. Ceilings
on the first and second stories are 14 feet high and in the eight
corner classrooms and the stairwells, are still covered with the
original patterned, pressed steel. These steel ceilings have embossed
squares (about two feet by two feet), decorated cornices, and
floral medallion center plates. Modern acoustical tile cover the
pressed steel ceilings in the second story corridor and in the
rear center classrooms. The basement level has been converted
to small classrooms and special-purpose rooms with high ceilings
and exposed pipes.
The corridors of the main block and most of the eight corner classrooms
are lined with painted, beaded cypress wainscoting with chair
rails and baseboards. Picture rails also surround the rooms at
the height of the top of the windows. The wooden doors to the
classrooms have three horizontal panels and a single wire-glass
light above. Some doors have original doorknobs and lock sets.
Above the doors are covered transoms.
The stairs rise a half story with each flight with landings between
floor levels. The banisters, with simple square-sectioned balusters,
terminate with square newel posts with corbelled caps. The Georgia
pine floors have been covered by linoleum tile and carpeting.
The interiors of the 1954 addition feature a principal's and administration
offices on the second floor and an entry foyer, gymnasium and
stage, on the first floor. Access to the 1966 addition is gained
from the northwest corner of the gymnasium, through the enclosed
arcade. The interior of this wing features a central corridor
running the length, flanked by classrooms. A small, windowless,
recreation room is located near the center of the wing. The walls
are of painted concrete block with chalkboard boards, bulletin
boards and cabinets. The floors have synthetic tiles or are carpeted.
An extensive renovation and restoration project was completed
in 1994 after the building was documented for this nomination.
As part of this renovation, the original tripartite entrance arcade
was restored to the front facade following the design shown on
historic photographs and the "ghost lines" left on the
flanking walls.