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Intersection of Ledge Road & Shelburne Road from South UTM 18 0642582E, 4924864N |
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| Louis McAllister took this photograph October 29, 1940 where Ledge Road meets Shelburne Road. Our view is looking north across Ledge Road with South Willard Street and Shelburne Street visible to the left. A new concrete radius sidewalk has been newly installed to connect the north side of Ledge Road with the east side of South Willard Street. In this image, work has just been completed resurfacing the old concrete ramp with plant mix asphalt. [1]
The more things change, the more they stay the same. As with any road construction project today, it appears that one man is working while four others stand and watch. The man to the far right of the photograph also looks like a passerby who wanted to observe the action. McAllister also noted on the reverse of this photograph that the small concrete island and the sign post behind the $1.00 sign at the far left of the photograph were removed and resurfaced with asphalt a few days after this photograph was taken. According to McAllister, the work was necessary to provide a sidewalk for children in the area going to and from the Adams School on South Union Street and the Parochial School on Locust Street. [2] Behind the construction work, is the Shell Gas station at #616 South Willard Street. Newly erected in the same year this photograph was taken, it was briefly run by Arthur J. Carron. This gas station replaced an earlier house at this site demolished in 1936. [3] Beyond the gas station and a line of tree limbs, the roof of the All Saint’s Chapel, now a Greek Orthodox Church on South Willard Street is visible. To the left at the intersection of South Willard Street and Shelburne Road is #44 Shelburne Street. The Shell gas station visible in 1940 was constructed in 1937. Called the South End Service Station, in the City Directory, it was run by Gardner G. Shufeldt. [4][1] Louis McAllister, "Burlington Street Department Photographs." (Burlington: Bailey-Howe Library Special Collections, UVM, ca. 1926-1945). |
Today, the sidewalk so carefully constructed for the children of the neighborhood is gone. However a sign warning vehicles of walking children makes it seem likely that there is still a concern about children walking to schools in the area. The building in front of us at #616 South Willard Street is still a gas station though it is now know as the Rotary Mobil, as it has been since 1988. [5] Clear alterations have been made to the building, including a new roof. The gas pump has also been moved from the left side of the building towards the center of the lot (probably so cars can access it from either side) and a second shed-like building has also been constructed on the site to the right of the original gas station.
No longer visible behind the short shrub trees, which have replaced the elm trees standing in 1940, is #44 Shelburne Street. The site remained a Texaco gas station under several different owners until the early sixties. The City Directory then lists a variety of short-lived businesses at this location including at a Drug Store, Variety Store, and even Butcher Shop. The present building, a Century 21 Real Estate Office opened in 1980. [6] [5] City Directory, 1988. |
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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 |
