243 North Prospect Street

St Josephs School (Roman Catholic) is a Greek Revival and Second Empire building that is presently being used as an adult nursing home[1].  This building was constructed as a school, circa 1860, for the catholic children in the Old North End and stood just south of the second French Catholic church, built in 1850.

The congregation of the North End had grown too large for the buildings, and a larger church was constructed on Allen Street.  St. Josephs was kept as a boys school and convent for the Sisters of Mercy and was expanded on the west side in 1896. 

            The original section of the building shows traces of Greek Revival beginnings.  The massing of the original structure included an addition off the back.  Earlier than 1890[2], the convent constructed a large ell off of the rear addition.  Today, all that shows is a ghost of the former addition. 

            The building went through enormous transformations throughout its life as a school.  The Greek Revival details were eradicated in favor of the Romantic Second Empire.  A mansard roof was added, and somewhere along the way, the building lost its large additions.  The keystone date is 1896, which is the date of the remodeling, not the date of original construction.

           


[1] Scott, Gloria.  Historic Sites and Structures Survey, (Montpelier, VT. Div. For Historic Preservation.) n.d.

[2] 1890 Hopkins Map of Burlington