The waterfront of Burlington, Vermont is an area that has seen constant change over the past two centuries. The buildings and industries that have defined this area have transitioned from thriving lumber yards in the early nineteenth century to a roaring railroad industry of the mid-nineteenth century, only to be supplanted by the oil and gasoline business and then completely transformed into a central community recreation area. These changes can be traced through the buildings that once occupied these streets, the people who have lived and worked within these neighborhoods, and the businesses and industries that have utilized the resources of the waterfront. In researching the region north of College Street along the waterfront, certain buildings have become prevalent in discerning a timeline of events oriented around the people and businesses that have inhabited them. Through tracking the changes of the Lake Champlain Yacht Club house, the Pioneer Shops and J.R. Booth's Lumber Company, the Follett House, and the Moran Municipal Generating Station, a coherent string of events have emerged from the documentation of the past to provide a clear picture of the development of the northern shore of Burlington's waterfront.
