June 13, 1931; Louis L. McAllister

October 22, 2006; Brandee Wagner: 180641718E; 4924020N; 146ft.

This photo was taken from the railroad tracks on Flynn Avenue, looking east.  The building on the left is actually the first in a series of three buildings that run north from that point perpendicular to Flynn Avenue.  All of these buildings were addressed as 207 Flynn Avenue.  The small 1-story building seen on the left of the photo was used by the Vermont Milk Chocolate Company for the extent of their occupancy in the complex. 

As the first inhabitants of the space, coming in 1919, the Vermont Milk Chocolate Company remained in the buildings until 1943.(1)  Throughout the years, by looking at the Sanborn maps for the time period, one can see how the space needed and used by the company waxed and waned, probably depending on how business was.  The United Maple Syrup Company and the Everpure Ice Corporation were also inhabitants of this space. The more industrial-looking building on the right housed the Vermont Structural Steel Corporation.(2)  Prior to the Vermont Structural Steel Corporation’s long tenancy there, the buildings associated with the offices were occupied by the Burlington Shoe Company,(3) which became Lakeside Shoe Company in 1899, when it was purchased by the owner of a competing Burlington shoe manufacturing company by the name of Hubbard.(4)  With no directory listing for the address between 1903 and 1907, it can be assumed that the building stood vacant for that time until the Vermont Structural Steel Corporation came in 1907.(5) 

The steeple far in the background is that of Saint Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church.  This local parish church as built in 1902 to serve the large French Canadian population rapidly filtering into the Ferguson & Scarff Addition and the surrounding areas.(6)

The house two-tone house closest to the Vermont Structural Steel complex is number 255 Flynn Avenue.  Leo Trottier and Arthur Giroux were the first inhabitants of this address, in 1926.(7)  By the time the photo was taken in 1931, only Athur Giroux was listed as the only occupant. (8)

(1) Manning's Burlington & Winooski Directory for year 1919-1943 (Springfield H.A. Manning Co).

(2) Insurance Map of Burlington, VT (New York: Sanborn Map Company, 1919, 1929, 1938, 1942, 1960, 1978); Manning's Burlington & Winooski Directory for year 1907-1988 (Springfield H.A. Manning Co).

(3) Manning's Burlington & Winooski Directory for year 1892 (Springfield H.A. Manning Co).

(4) Manning's Burlington & Winooski Directory for year 1899 (Springfield H.A. Manning Co).

(5) Manning's Burlington & Winooski Directory for year 1907 (Springfield H.A. Manning Co).

(6) Go to: St. Anthony's Information

(7) Manning's Burlington & Winooski Directory for year 1926 (Springfield H.A. Manning Co).

(8) Manning's Burlington & Winooski Directory for year 1931 (Springfield H.A. Manning Co).

The buildings at 207 Flynn Avenue have remained in use consistently since 1931, when the McAllister photograph was taken.  A very short list of its occupants since 1931 would include the Westinghouse Electric Company and the Canada Dry Bottling Company; (1) The Canada Broom Handle Company and General Electric;(2) McAulliff Inc. McAPCO (office products), North Star Leasing, and Bull HN Information Systems.(3)   Currently, they house a very eclectic mix of businesses, ranging from a deli, a women’s pilates center, an art gallery, and a few small manufacturing operations.

The small gable-roofed building on the left, to the rear of the 207 complex was originally part of the Vermont Milk Chocolate Company’s production space, and disappeared sometime between 1942 and1960,(4) probably shortly after the company left in 1943.(5)

The Vermont Structural Steel Corporation occupied the buildings on the left up until 1988.(6)  In 1992, the structures associated with the Vermont Structural Steel Corporation complex housed Burlington Sanitation and Flynn Avenue Scrap.  Prior to this, the buildings had been used primarily more and more as office space rather than manufacturing space.  This particularly can be seen in the 1960s, as the directories listed the Vermont Structural Steel Corporation’s office along with a few others, including a real estate office, at this address.

Clearly the office building has been replaced by a newer two-story brick building with a wooden clapboard addition.  It is unclear when the replacement took place.  Currently, the addition to this building houses an antique shop, while the rest of the Vermont Structural Steel Corporation complex seems to be used either as storage or not used at all.

(1) Manning's Burlington & Winooski Directory for year 1951 (Springfield H.A. Manning Co).

(2) Manning's Burlington & Winooski Directory for year 1957 (Springfield H.A. Manning Co).

(3) Manning's Burlington & Winooski Directory for year 1992 (Springfield H.A. Manning Co).

(4) Insurance Map of Burlington, VT (New York: Sanborn Insurance Company, 1942, 1960).

(5) Manning's Burlington & Winooski Directory for year 1943 (Springfield H.A. Manning Co).

(6) Manning's Burlington & Winooski Directory for year 1988-1990 (Springfield H.A. Manning Co).

Next: Flynn Avenue looking west from Briggs Street intersection.

Back to: Ferguson & Scarff Addition Map.

Back to: Flynn Avenue looking east from west of the train tracks.

Back to: Burlington, Vermont: South of Pearl Street & Colchester Avenue.