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Head of Shelburne Street Looking South, 1931 UTM 18 0642568E, 4925113N |
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| This photograph was taken on April 27, 1931, at the head of Shelburne Street. We look south, from where South Union and St. Paul streets come together. The photograph shows this intersection just prior to a road-widening project completed during 1932 and 1933. The Annual report for 1932 gives a synopsis of this project, which included widening the road an average of 12 feet and constructing integral curbing and gutter on the west side of the street, from the intersection of St. Paul Street (show in this photograph) south to Englesby Ravine (where Prospect Parkway intersects Shelburne Road). In addition, the project included removal of the streetcar tracks, still visible in this photograph. [1]
At the time of McAllister’s photograph, this portion of Shelburne Road was residential and there are several houses visible. #20/22 Shelburne Street, the two-storey gable front house at the left of the frame is no longer standing. The first mention of the structure at this site is in 1890. [2] At the time McAllister took his photograph, #20 was the home of Daniel Meacham, a carpenter and #22 was the residence of Katherine Finney, employed at the University Shoe Shine Parlor at 113 Church Street. [3] Further south, #36 Shelburne Street, with its white clapboard siding and turned porch railings is also visible. This house is not visible on an 1890 map of the city and was probably built around 1900. The first resident to live here mentioned in the City Directory is Desire P. Smith, who also ran a “Grocery and Fancy Good’s” establishment at this address. [4] When McAllister took his photograph in 1931, it was the home of Bessie M. Truman, a widow. [5] On the right side of the street, we get a good view of #29 Shelburne Street in the foreground. This two-storey house with a gambrel roof and a three bay dormer at the front was newly built at the time of this photograph. It first appears in the City Directory in 1930, the home of William J. Humphrey. [6] The sign “The Manor House Tourist Guest” in front of #29 actually advertises a guesthouse located at 567 St. Paul Street run by George W. Hosmer. [7] Further south down the right side of the street, the chimneys of #35 and #43 Shelburne Street are also visible. Like its neighbor to the north, #35 Shelburne Street was built around 1930. It’s first resident was Richard H. Spear, proprietor of Spear Brothers Contractors. [8] The flared eave along the south side of the house is a feature still visible today. The house at #43 Shelburne Road was built around 1918. In 1931 it was the home of Mabel Beatty. She and her husband Samuel moved to this house in 1926, but her husband died a year later, leaving Mabel the proprietor of his company S.J. Beatty & Co, at 54 ½ Church Street. [9] Also noteworthy are the large elm trees lining either side of the street. They give a sense of permanence to the view of the neighborhood and probably provided a wonderfully shaded, residential feel to this portion of Burlington in 1931.[1] Burlington City Annual Report, 1932 p. 219-220. |
Today, the streetcar tracks are gone. In addition, Marion Street is now visible at the left. In 1931 there were only hints of a dirt path cutting in front of #29 Shelburne Street. Marion Street first appears on a map of the city drawn by George C. Stanley, the City Engineer in the 1932 Annual Report [10] and Marion Street was officially “accepted” as a street by the City of Burlington in 1933. [11] Along the right side of the street #29, #35 and #43 Shelburne Street are much unchanged, though #35 and #43 are now hidden behind foliage. The picket fence at the side lawn of #29 is now gone, but the building itself remains intact. From 1936 until 1992 it was the home of H. Douglas Rutter, [12] who lived there until his death at the age of 92. A UVM graduate, he was employed at Hagar Hardware for nearly 40 years as a salesman, traveling throughout Vermont. [13] Across the street is a different story. Where #20/22 Shelburne Street stood in 1931, there are now two new buildings, numbered 573 and 570 South Willard Street. One of these (number 573) is the visible box-like three-storey building clad in vinyl siding. Both this and #570 are residential buildings. According to City Directory information, the previous building at this site was demolished around 1941 and these new structures built shortly after. [14] In contrast, #36 Shelburne Road remains much as it was when McAllister took his photograph. The lattice skirting the porch has been recently replaced with pressure-treated lumber, but in style it matches the original. The large pine tree in the side lawn is gone, giving us an even better view of the building. As with the other buildings visible in this image, it remains a residential home today. The last noticeable change in the 74 years since McAllister took his photograph is the loss of the large elms lining the street. Bushier trees have taken their place, and while some of them are large, they are fewer in number and their varied shapes and sizes give the street a much different feel. A brick crosswalk across Marion Street shows evidence that this remains a residential neighborhood, but the wider, more open pavement makes this homey residential street of the thirties feel much more like the throughway to Burlington’s downtown that it is today.[10] Annual Report, 1932 p. 219-220.
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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 |