|
Maple Street looking East from Battery Street UTM: 18 0641686 E, 4926010 N 104 feet |
L.L. McAllister |
A.L. Bushey |
This viewpoint is taken from the intersection of Battery and Maple Streets, a former hub of economic activity, owing to the convergence of streets, railways, and the waterfront at this location. In the left-hand foreground of this photo lies the Burlington Coal and Ice Company at 50 Maple Street, built in 1885 as the Lake Champlain Ice Company.(1) Its president and manager is listed in the 1933 City Directory as Peter M. Handy.(2) Visible in this photo are the main building of the Coal and Ice Company and its adjacent coal shed. According to an insurance map produced by the Sanborn Map Company in 1942, the main building was constructed of wooden posts and wooden trusses.(3) In the right-hand foreground lies the Burlington Grocery Company, constructed in 1916. The Burlington Grocery Company, wholesale grocers, lists its President in the 1933 City Directory as Sam C. Blodgett, Vice President Edward F. Holbrook, Secretary Harry T. Bacon, and Treasurer William F. Holbrook. The 1942 Sanborn map shows the Grocery Company at 47 Maple Street, constructed of wood posts and beams with the ground floor being made of concrete. The map also claims that the building was outfitted with an automatic sprinkler system.(4) The next building up on the right is the oven department of the G.S. Blodgett Company, at 53-59 Maple Street. The 1942 Sanborn map notes that the building is constructed with steel beams and a concrete ground floor. The 1933 City Directory lists its President as John S. Patrick, Vice President John J. Raine, second Vice President Harold A. Thompson, Secretary Raymond R. McNall, and Treasurer Roy L. Patrick.(5)(1) Battery Street Historic District. National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form (1976), 20. (2) Directory1933, 211. (3) Insurance Map (1942). (4) Directory, 1933, 211. (5) Directory, 1933, 211. |
Very little has changed at this viewpoint; however, the area has lost the hum a business district as the importance of access to railways and waterways waned during the latter part of the twentieth century. The Burlington Coal and Ice Co. Building still stands, the logo on the southern façade was still visible when the building was listed to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.(6) In the ensuing three decades the building was altered. The former Blodgett building still stands, as does the Burlington Grocery Company building, which also boasts a position on the National Register.(6) Battery Street Historic District, 6. |
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 |
