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Head of Shelburne Street Looking South, 1932 UTM 18 0642568E, 4925113N |
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This historic photograph was taken by Louis McAllister at the head of Shelburne Street facing south. Taken on December 7 of 1932, it shows this section of Shelburne Road after the completion of a street-widening project undertaken during 1932 and 1933. The Annual report for 1932 gives a synopsis of the 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 (now where Prospect Parkway intersects Shelburne Road). The widening project also included removal of streetcar tracks. [1] At the immediate left of this image, the porch of #10 Shelburne Street is just visible. According to David Blow, the building was constructed around 1850 and is one of two surviving district school buildings in Burlington. It served as a primary school for District 10 until 1874 when Adams School on South Union Street was built. At this time the Howard Hose Company of volunteer firemen acquired the building for storage of their fire cart. [2] A map of the city from 1890 also labels it as such. [3] In 1892 Burlington organized a paid professional fire department and the Hose Company moved. This structure was then converted into a private dwelling. In 1932 when this picture was taken, it was the home of Emma M. Shortsleeve, a widow. [4] The distinctive roofline and gothic window of the brick building at #14 Shelburne Street is just to the south. It was also built ca. 1850. Along with several other buildings along this stretch of Shelburne Road, it was originally part of the Drew farm. An 1890 map of Burlington labels it the home of Lumen Drew, who also owned the A. A. Drew Meat Market further south down Shelburne Street. [5] By 1932, it was the home of George L. Tiffany. [6] Further south still is #20/22 Shelburne Road. The two-storey, gable front house is no longer standing. The first mention of the structure at this site is in 1890. [7] In 1932 #20 was the home of Daniel Meacham, a carpenter and #22 was the residence of Katherine Finney, who was employed at the University Shoe Shine Parlor at 113 Church Street. [8] A sign for “The Manor House Tourist Guests” is attached to one of the elms lining the street at the right side of the street. It advertises a guesthouse located at 567 St. Paul Street run by George W. Hosmer. [9] Beyond this, Marion Street is visible, though still unpaved. Marion Street first appears on a map of the city in the 1932 Annual report drawn by George C. Stanley, the City Engineer and it was officially “accepted” as a street by the City of Burlington in 1933. [10] Further south on the right side of the street, the gable roof of #25 Shelburne Street is just visible above high hedges. This house was built 1929 and was the longtime residence of Buel Baldwin, and his wife Sarella. They are listed as the occupants in the City Directory of 1929. Baldwin was a cashier at Howard National Bank on Church Street. He died in 1954, but his wife continued to occupy the home until the mid-sixties. [11] Beyond this are #29 Shelburne Street and #35 Shelburne Street, both discussed in detail in the previous photograph description. Though it is December, the presence of the large elm trees lining this portion of Shelburne Road, give the neighborhood a permanent, stately air.[1] Burlington City Annual Report, 1932 p. 219-220. |
When viewing the contemporary photograph of this pair, the first thing one notices is the street sign in the middle of the frame and the new concrete curbing with brick accents clearly define where St. Paul and South Union Streets divide. This sign along with the large number of power lines, give the scene an urban feel. To the left, the porch of #10 Shelburne Road is now hidden behind a massive hedge planted sometime after McAllister took his photograph. It has been altered as well, with square posts replacing those from 1933 and an addition built off the south side. There is little trace of District School 10. As it was in the thirties, this building is now a private residence, though it spent two decades in the fifties and sixties as the home/office of Ulysse J. Campbell and his Real Estate and Construction Co. [12] At #14 Shelburne Street, the roofline remains unchanged, though the front porch has been altered. A wider modern window has replaced the distinctive gothic window on the second storey of the gable end. It has continued to be a private residence since the thirties. The largest changed to this side of the street is the disappearance of #20/22 Shelburne Road. Where this building stood in 1932, there are now two new buildings, numbered 573 and 570 South Willard Street. The roofline of #570, set far back from the street is just visible behind #14 and number #573 is the box-like three-storey building clad in vinyl siding beyond this. Both are residential buildings today. According to city directory information, the previous building at this site was demolished around 1941 and these new structures built shortly after. [13] To the left, the lack of a wide-angle camera lens has cut off #25 Shelburne Street from view. It is, however, still intact, and still a single-family residence. More visible is #29 Shelburne Road, beyond Marion Street. From 1936 until 1992 it was the home of H. Douglas Rutter, [14] 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. [15] The loss of the elm trees lining this street also change the scene dramatically. 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. The wider, more open feeling of pavement makes this homey residential street of the thirties feel much more like the throughway to Burlington’s downtown that it is today. [12] City Directory, 1944-1960.
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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 |
