Westerly view of North Street from intersection at Park Street, L.L. McAllister, circa 1930

         In this pre-1930 photo we see 73/75 North Street and 74 North Street (73/75 appear on the left and 74 on the right). We also see streetcar tracks running down the middle of the street, along with several potholes. Also pictured are utility poles, a mailbox and an automobile in the distance. The building at 73 North Street (which was later renumbered as 75 North Street) was built around 1900, as structural evidence would suggest, compounded with the fact that it appears on the 1900 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map and maps after that date, but not earlier. It spent much of its life as a shop on its first floor with a residence above until between 1922 and 1923 , when the walls that separated numbers 73 and 75 were removed, creating one large shop with residences above{1}. Some of its shop uses include a barbershop , a grocery store and an auto garage{2} .

         The building at 75 North Street was built around 1900, as indicated by Sanborn maps. It was a multiple-use building that housed businesses with rental space above that was often occupied by either the business' proprietor or laborers who worked in near-by shops and factories. 75 North Street was separate from 73 North Street until c. 1922/1923 when the two became one business space. Though the business space doubled, the space on the second floor still retained its use as two individual rental spaces.A building occupying the spot that 74 North Street sits on appears on a 1900 Sanborn, and its footprint is similar to the building that remains there at present. While, the National Register Nomination for the North Street historic district dates it as c.1910 , I believe a more likely date to be c.1900. This building, like so many others on the street, was mixed-use shop and residential space on the first and second floor.{3}

{1}Burlington City Directory: 1922. H.A. Manning Co. Springfield, MA. Burlington, Winooski, South Burlington and Essex Junction, VT Year Beginning January 1st 1922. / Burlington City Directory: 1923. H.A. Manning Co. Springfield, MA. Burlington, Winooski, South Burlington and Essex Junction, VT Year Beginning January 1st 1923

{2}Burlington City Directory: 1929. H.A. Manning Co. Springfield, MA. Burlington, Winooski, South Burlington and Essex Junction, VT Year Beginning January 1st 1929

{3}National Register of Historic Citations for the City of Burlington VT

Westerly view of North Street from intersection at Park Street, Michaela Hutchins, October 18, 2005. UTM coordinates (NAD 83) 0641589, 4927220.

          This is a present day shot showing 74 and 75 North Street (74 on the right and 75 on the left) We can see that the storefront on 74 has been altered. Also, the addition of crosswalks and traffic lights has changed the street itself, while the removal of utility poles uncluttered the intersection. The use for 75 North Street has remained the same since 1930, though many businesses and tenants have come and gone. At present the shop is vacant. Its physical appearance is nearly the same as it was in McAllister's photograph.Today, the use for 74 North Street has changed significantly, along with the appearance. While the weatherboard on the second store remains intact, the large shop windows on the first floor have been boarded up and the entrance moved to the side. The building is currently being used as offices.