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Intersection of Ledge Road & Shelburne Road from East UTM 18 0642594E, 4924864N |
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| Louis McAllister took this photograph of Shelburne Road in 1937. He was standing in the middle of Ledge Road, looking west towards Shelburne Road. Visible across the street are houses at # 75/77 Shelburne Road to the right and #83 Shelburne Road to the left. To the far right Locust Street runs west from Shelburne Road and several houses are visible in the distance. (For further discussion of this neighborhood click here). A multiple family dwelling built around 1900, #75/77 Shelburne Road has housed between two and four families at a time. It was briefly a “tourist home” called the Ledgemere in the early thirties run by Mrs. Anna E. McGee and her husband Raymond McGee. [1] It was also around this time that the two-storey bay windows on either side of the front façade were added to the original house. [2] The porch spanning the width of the front of the house was also a later addition. When this photograph was taken in 1937, the building was vacant. [3] To the south of this building is #83 Shelburne Road, built around 1925. Very similar in structure to #29 Shelburne Street, and built at roughly the same time, it has a gambrel roof with a three bay dormer across the front façade. In 1937 it was the home of Rae V. Parrott, proprietor of Parrott Shoe Shop on Church Street. [4] The traffic circle at the right was installed to slow traffic at the intersection of Shelburne Road, South Willard Street, Ledge Road, and Locust Street in 1936. White metal posts strung with white metal chains form the circle. Arrows on these posts direct traffic right. At the end of Ledge Road, a smaller traffic device, along with painted lines on the road, also directed traffic.[1] Burlington City Directory, 1934 (Burlington: H. A. Manning Co., 1916-1986). |
Subtle changes have occurred since 1937 and are visible in this photograph. At #75/77 the shingle siding has been replaced with vinyl siding. The front porch has also been removed and a smaller entry portico put in its place. The slate roof has been replaced with asphalt shingles, interestingly except above the bay window projections. At #83 Shelburne Road, shutters have been added to the windows. However, the wooden clapboards and slate roof remain. In function, buildings remain residential houses.
A more dramatic change to the landscape in this photograph is the loss of the large elm trees lining the west side of the street in 1937. Some smaller trees and shrubs are visible, but now two large streetlight poles have taken the place of the trees in front of #75/77 and #83. To the right, the residential neighborhood down Locust Street is now hidden by the growth of these smaller trees. The curbing at the right visible in 1937 has been smoothed to enlarge the parking lot entrance for the gas station at #616 South Willard Street. The traffic circle has also undergone modifications. It is now a raised island filled with grass. The metal sign in the middle of the island reads “Burlington Welcome to Downtown Waterfront” directing drivers north towards this area of the city, where the majority of traffic is headed. A simple painted arrow at the end of Ledge road direct cars to turn right, and the metal posts around thie traffic circle in 1937 have been removed. |
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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 |
