Historic Church Street Blocks - Historic Burlington Project University of Vermont

Bank Street to Cherry Street, East Side

By Christopher Rizer

A Map of this block, reflecting it as it stands in 2018
Fig. 1. This map shows the block of Church Street between Bank and Cherry as it exists today. Made by Chris Rizer, 2018.
Compilation of the 1869, 1889, 1919 Sanborn Maps
Fig. 2. From left to right, the 1869, 1889, and 1919 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps show the growth of this block of Church Street over 50 years. Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Vermont.

Burlington, for its rich and storied past, quite deserves the name “Queen City,” and evidence of this past is easily found in the block of Church Street between Cherry and Bank. As is discussed in the National Register of Historic Places listing for the historic district, Burlington underwent four major periods of commercial growth. The first was in the 1820s and ‘30s when the canals connected the city to Montreal and New York. The second was in the 1860s, following the arrival of the railroads. The third was a national trend, during the Roaring ‘20s. Finally, the fourth was in the 1980s, when Church Street Marketplace began to take shape.1

Evidence of all four can be found on in the history of this block, though nothing survives from before 1864. Both Payn’s and Nelson’s Blocks at the north end were built in the wave following the railroads, the Montgomery Ward Building was built at the tail end of the company’s massive expansion during the 1920s, and the two modern buildings at the southern end were built in 1974, just before conversion to the walking mall.

#38-44 Church Street

Beginning at the north end of the block, the building that currently occupies southeastern corner of Church and Cherry Streets is a three-story Italianate block with a pressed sheet metal facade, though it is not the first to exist in that space. It was preceded by a building known to Burlington residents as the Concert Hall Building. Little is recorded about its early history, but it was standing as least as early as 1830, based on comparisons of the 1830 Ammi B. Young map and the 1853 Presdee & Edwards map.2 Its age is also attested by the fact that, as early as 1850, residents were so familiar with the building as to negate the need for an address in advertisements and notices.3 As for the building itself, an 1860 ad for the Burlington Sentinel describes their office as “on the ground floor of Concert Hall, between the stores of C.F. Staniford and C.W. Wingate.”4 Thus, we know it was at least the width of three storefronts and two stories. This is supported by a February 1863 ad for H.M. Phelps’ marble works, which listed his business as “in Concert Hall building under the Times Office.”5 His advertisement also confirms the location of the building, as the 1862 Wainwright map lists the Marble Works on this corner.6

Shortly after Phelps’ ad was placed, the Concert Hall either burned or was demolished. It was quickly replaced by Edward H. Payn, a gunsmith and metalsmith, after whom the building takes its name of “Payn’s Block.” By December of the same year, the masonry work was nearly finished, and workers had begun removing the scaffolding.7 Four months later, in April of 1864, another notice announced that the interior would soon be finished.8 The end result was a three-story Italianate-style commercial block with space for three stores on the first floor and rental space, either for offices or lodging, on the second and third. This new space was quickly seized upon by businesses, organizations, and private individuals alike.

Payn's Block, circa 1880
Fig. 3. This stereoview, taken from the intersection of Cherry and Church Streets, shows Payn's Block between 1878 and 1887, based on the presence of E.H. Payn's store, which left the building in 1887, and the Commercial College, which was founded in 1878 and left the building the same year as Payn. Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Vermont.

One notable early resident, that the Burlington Free Press made it clear that they did not support, was the local Democratic Party Committee. On August 19th, 1864, the Press noted that “the local Democrats have organized recently, whether as “Knights of the Golden Circle,” “American Knights,” or under some other title, we are not informed. They have rented a room in Payn’s Block and hold weekly meetings.”9 Among their number were John B. Wheeler Jr., son of the late University of Vermont President Wheeler, and Captain John B. Lonergan, a Union veteran of the 13th Vermont Infantry who later received the Medal of Honor for his actions at Gettysburg. For those of us, myself included, who aren’t generally 19th-Century American historians, the Knights of the Golden Circle were a radical splinter group of Confederate sympathizers, though the name was also used as an insult against Democrats who called for peace as the Civil War attained a higher cost in both blood and money, which is likely the case here.  

Over the next two decades of Payn’s Block, a number of businesses came and went including a milliner, grocer, crockery, and an independent commercial college.10 The only constant was that of Payn himself, who was constantly expanding his business. In 1867, he changed his title from that of simply gunsmith to include engraving, locksmithing, and stenciling.11 By 1869, he had hired three more employees, indicative of a heavy workload.12 His largest expansion came in 1879, when he listed not one, but two branch locations further down Church Street and on Murray Street.13

Payn's Block, 2018
Fig. 4. Payn's Block today, viewed from the southwest. Photo taken by Chris Rizer, 2018.

In 1887, Payn consolidated his various offices and sold his space at 38 Church Street to the American Clothing Company’s Red 46 Department Store, managed by Robert and Mrs. F. Levin.14 Like Payn, this business also expanded rapidly, and within twenty years, the company owned the entirety of Payn’s Block and half of the neighboring Nelson’s Block.15 They occupied all three floors of both buildings until the late 1920s when the department store closed, likely due to the onset of the Great Depression. During this time, a total span of nearly over thirty years, they made three major additions to Payn’s Block. The first was in 1910, when they built a major rear addition that nearly doubled the length of the first floor. An advertisement in September of that year announced that “all goods in the reserve stock rooms, basements, second and third floors must be disposed of at once to make room for the builders.”16 The second came in 1917, when the upper floors were gutted and rearranged to create better show rooms.17 Last, but certainly not least, the current pressed metal facade was added to both Payn’s and Nelson’s Blocks circa 1925 to unite the two buildings.18

Since the closing of Red 46, little has changed of either building, and both have hosted a number of businesses. Today, Payn’s Block houses Dear Lucy, Pokiworks, and Uncommon Grounds.

#46-50 Church Street

Nelson's Block, 2018
Fig. 5. Nelson's Block today, viewed from the southwest. Photo taken by Chris Rizer, 2018.

Continuing south, the next building is Nelson’s Block, which, as was previously mentioned, has been intertwined with Payn’s Block since the beginning of the 20th century. Though, prior to 1906, it has its own unique history.

The current structure, three stories in height and originally an Italianate commercial block similar to Payn’s and many others constructed during this time, was likely built in 1866. There are few details concerning its construction, but as it is first mentioned in the 1867 city directory, it was likely finished soon before.19 It was also likely a joint venture between Henry J. Nelson, a furniture manufacturer, and Augustus Barrows, a grocer, as they owned neighboring buildings on the lot in 1862, which themselves were less than a decade old, and were the first businesses in the new building in 1867.20

Barrows’ business left the building by 1885 and was replaced by a dry goods store and others, eventually leading to the Red 46 Department Store’s expansion into the space in 1906.21 Nelson’s business, on the other hand, remained in the building up until his death in April of 1910, after which it was also sold to the American Clothing Company to complete their acquisition of Payn’s and Nelson’s Blocks.22

Today, Nelson’s Block is home to the Catamount Store and Fjällräven Burlington.

#52-58 Church Street

In the center of the block, there are two buildings that offer a stark contrast: the 1929 Montgomery Ward Building (#52-54) and a modern commercial building (#56-58). The modern structure will be discussed in more detail as it relates to #60-78 Church Street.

The first known buildings on this lot, as early as the 1830 Ammi B. Young map, were the Chittenden County House, where the county sheriff/jailor lived, County Jail, and an associated barn. The original buildings were average sized frame buildings, but they were all destroyed by fire on January 29th, 1851. Luckily, both were insured by the Aetna Insurance Company for $3,000 of their $5,000 value.23 While it wouldn’t cover the full cost of replacement, it surely went a long way towards the construction of a new brick County House and Jail and replacement of the barn, both of which were completed by 1853.24 Between 1862 and 1869, the jail was remodeled and almost doubled in size. It was transformed from a traditional home with an ell that contained the jail to a formal jail with a forward wing that contained the jailor’s quarters.25 This expansion corresponds to a decade of extreme population growth in Burlington which brought forth a need for larger public facilities of every kind.

Circa 1890 view of Church Street
Fig. 6. This circa 1890 view of Church Street shows the Barrows Block (far left) soon after its construction in 1888. Note the closest store sign, "Miles and McMahon," one of the major businesses in the building until bought out by the Boston Store in 1897.

It existed in this state, quite literally, until 1887. From 1869 to 1887, very little had been done to maintain the building other than patchwork repairs “again and again at considerable expense; but inmates find no difficulty in breaking through it when left to themselves a short time.”26 Thus, a decision was made to sell the building and lot to the highest bidder and construct a new jail on Main Street. That buyer, at a price of $12,000, was a real estate corporation owned by Augustus Barrows, Lewis M. Barrows, and H.L. Bundy.27

Barrows and Bundy then put up a four-story commercial block at a cost of approximately $30,000, which was finished in April of 1888.28 On the first and second floor were commercial spaces, tenements on the third, and a grand ballroom on the fourth, which was often rented by various civic organizations like the Knights of Pythias.29 Of the commercial interests in the building, by far the two largest were Miles and McMahon’s Boots & Shoes and the Boston Store, owned by M.J. Leo and P.F. McLaren. Between the two, they employed upwards of twenty people and occupied almost the entire first and second stories until 1897, at which point Augustus Barrows died and the J.W. McAuslan Company bought the Boston Store and the rest of the building.30

Montgomery Ward Building 2018
Fig. 7. The Montgomery Ward Building, viewed from the southwest. Photo taken by Chris Rizer in 2018.

They continued operating the Boston Store until 1908, when it was sold to the Fisher Bros, who then sold it to the Rutland Combination Cash Store.31 During their ownership, the tenements above caught fire but were quickly saved by the fire department through use of a chemical suppressor that did little damage to the lower floors.32 The building was then sold to the Green Brothers’ Store, who operated it until a fire destroyed the building in 1929.33

Following the fire, the Montgomery Ward Company bought half of the lot to build a new two-story department store. Its design was based on a standard model for the company’s stores, and the building was finished in December of that year, opening on the 28th.34 This is the building that stands today at #52-54 Church Street. Since the department store’s closure in 1961, it has hosted a number of businesses. Today, it is home to Designer’s Circle and Homeport.

#60-78 Church Street

The southern end of the block is currently home to a small shopping center, though it, like 56-58 Church Street, has a rich history.

Stetson's Row, circa 1930
Fig. 8. This photo, taken by Louis McAllister in the 1930s, shows Stetson's Row as it was rebuilt following the 1851 fire and upgrades made in the 1920s. Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Vermont.

In 1830, this was the most developed section of the block, known as Stetson’s Row or Stetson’s Block and home to three brick buildings.35 A fourth store was added between then and 1851, but it was for naught, as the same fire that destroyed the County Jail destroyed Stetson’s Row as well. In fact, it began in a cellar at the far southern end of the row, near the corner of Church and Bank Streets. From there, it spread north, consuming everything in its path until it was stopped by the fire department and volunteers. Reports following the fire express amazement that they were able to stop it at all, attributing the success to the layer of ice that encased the buildings as the firefighters tirelessly to keep the buildings wet and their water lines from freezing. Remember, this fire was in late January, and the same reports state that it was 15 degrees below zero.36

56 Church Street, 2018
Fig. 9. #56 Church Street, viewed from the west. This is the southern half of the Jail and Barrows Block Lot, which was destroyed along with Stetson's Row in the 1974 fire. Photo taken by Chris Rizer, 2018.

Two businesses lost nearly everything, another was able to save its wares though the building still suffered from heavy water damage, and twelve families were put out of house and home in the middle of winter because of this fire. To make matters worse, the buildings were only lightly insured, meaning they could likely not be immediately rebuilt.37 Yet, by 1869, the entire row had been rebuilt and expanded in the fashionable Italianate style. That year, the Row consisted of three frame buildings that housed six businesses.38 Beginning at 60 Church Street and working south, they were W.W. Wood’s Boots & Shoes, C. Storrs and Son’s Market, David Valpee’s shoemaking, a milliner, Henry A. Mooney’s Boots & Shoes, and Moody Haskell’s shop and home.39

Stetson's Row, 2018
Fig. 10. #60-78 Church Street, viewed from the northwest, roughly the same angle as McAllister's photo from the 1930s. This is the building that replaced Stetson's Row following the 1974 fire. Photo taken by Chris Rizer, 2018.

Twenty years later, in 1889, expansion was still ongoing on Stetson’s Row. W.W. Wood had rebuilt his store in brick and added a third story. The neighboring store, then vacant, had been slightly enlarged, and the four businesses at the southern end had been unified into a solid mass.40 With the exception of a two-story brick rear addition to Wood’s building (though no longer Wood’s) and the rebuilding of Mary Currier’s Ladies Clothing Store at 66 Church Street in brick, along with the usual turnover in businesses, there was little change in this section of the block until 1974.41 That year, disaster struck yet again, and a fire destroyed essentially the same area that it had in 1851. The southern half of the former County Jail and Barrows Block lot and all of Stetson’s Row were once again in need of replacement. This time, they were replaced with two modern concrete block commercial buildings with brick veneers. The first, built in 1976, filled the other half of the Barrows lot as was previously mentioned, and currently houses Banana Republic. The other, built in the same year, is a small two-story shopping center that houses four or so businesses.42

The addition of these two buildings brings us to the present-day on this block of Church Street.


NOTES

1. National Register of Historic Places Nomination: Church Street Historic District, Chittenden County, Vermont. Burlington, VT: Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, 2010; "History," Church Street Marketplace (Church Street Marketplace Department, City of Burlington), accessed at www.churchstmarketplace.com.

2. Ammi B. Young, Plan of Burlington Village, [map] (Burlington, Vermont: 1830), accessed through Special Collections, University of Vermont Library, October 30, 2018, http://cdi.uvm.edu; Presdee and Edwards, Map of Burlington Vermont, [map] (New York, NY: 1853), accessed through Special Collections, University of Vermont Library, October 30, 2018, http://cdi.uvm.edu.  

3. “Boots! Boots!!,” Burlington Free Press, June 28, 1850, 3, accessed at www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.  

4. “Removal,” Burlington Free Press, July 20, 1860, 3, accessed at www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.

5. “Chittenden County Marble Works,” Burlington Free Press, October 9, 1863, 3, accessed at www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.  

6. C. Wainwright, The Village of Burlington, Vt, [map] (Burlington, Vermont: 1862), accessed through Special Collections, University of Vermont Library, October 30, 2018, http://cdi.uvm.edu.

7. “Accident,” Burlington Free Press, December 18, 1863, 1, accessed at www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.  

8. “Brief Locals,” Burlington Free Press, April 15, 1864, 1, accessed at www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.  

9. Burlington Free Press, August 19, 1864, 2, accessed at www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.  

10. Sanborn Map Company, Burlington 1869, Sheet 01, [map] (New York: Sanborn Map Company), accessed through Special Collections, University of Vermont, October 30, 2018, http://cdi.uvm.edu; Sanborn Map Company, Burlington 1885, Sheet 03, [map] (New York: Sanborn Map Company), accessed through Special Collections, University of Vermont, October 30, 2018, https://cdi.uvm.edu .

11. Burlington City Directory and Business Advertiser (Burlington, Hiram H. Hart, Publishers, 1867), 33.

12. Burlington City Directory and Business Advertiser (Burlington, Free Press Association, Publishers, 1869), 67.

13. Burlington City Directory and Business Advertiser (Burlington, Free Press Association, Publishers, 1879), 87.

14. Burlington City Directory for 1890 (Burlington, L.P. Waite & Co., Publishers, 1890), 164.

15. Sanborn Map Company, Burlington 1906, Sheet 23, [map] (New York: Sanborn Map Company), accessed Special Collections, University of Vermont Library, October 30, 2018, https://cdi.uvm.edu.

16. “Great Alteration and Expansion Sale,” Burlington Free Press, September 29, 1910, 15, accessed at www.chroniclingamericaloc.gov.  

17. “Builders are Busy,” Burlington Free Press, May 3, 1917, 9, accessed at www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.  

18. Sanborn Map Company, Burlington 1926, Sheet 04, [map] (New York: Sanborn Map Company), accessed through the Library of Congress, October 30, 2018, www.loc.gov.

19. Burlington City Directory and Business Advertiser (Burlington, Hiram H. Hart, Publishers, 1867), 65.

20. C. Wainwright, The Village of Burlington, Vt; Burlington City Directory and Business Advertiser (Burlington, Hiram H. Hart, Publishers, 1867), 65.

21. Sanborn Map Company, Burlington 1885, Sheet 03.

22. Burlington City and Winooski Directory (Burlington, L.P. Waite, Publishers, 1911), 158.

23. “Destructive Fire,” Burlington Free Press, February 7, 1851, 2, accessed at www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.

24. Presdee and Edwards, Map of Burlington Vermont.

25. C. Wainwright, The Village of Burlington, Vt; Sanborn Map Company, Burlington 1889, Sheet 03, [map] (New York: Sanborn Map Company), accessed through Special Collections, University of Vermont, October 30, 2018, https://cdi.uvm.edu.

26. “Chittenden County Jail,” Burlington Free Press, November 19, 1886, 5, accessed at www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.

27. “Sale of the Old Jail,” Burlington Free Press, January 28, 1887, 5, accessed at www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.

28. “Our Building Interests,” Burlington Free Press, July 22, 1887, 3, accessed at www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov; “Home Matters,” Burlington Free Press, March 02, 1888, 4, accessed at www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.

29. Sanborn Map Company, Burlington 1889, Sheet 03; “Home Matters,” Burlington Free Press, March 02, 1888, 4, accessed at www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov; “Knights of Pythias Ball,” Burlington Free Press, April 3, 1902, 8, accessed at www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.

30. Burlington City Directory for 1890 (Burlington, L.P. Waite, Publishers, 1890); Burlington City Directory for 1898 (Burlington, L.P. Waite, Publishers, 1898), 60; Sanborn Map Company, Burlington 1900, Sheet 17, [map] (New York: Sanborn Map Company), accessed through Special Collections, University of Vermont, October 30, 2018, https://cdi.uvm.edu.  

31. “Boston Store Sale,” Burlington Free Press, October 15, 1908, 16, accessed at www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov; “Boston Store Sold,” Burlington Free Press, April 14, 1910, 4, accessed at www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.  

32. “Fire in Barrows Block,” Burlington Free Press, December 7, 1911, 7, accessed at www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.  

33. National Register of Historic Places Nomination: Montgomery Ward Building, Chittenden County, Vermont. Burlington, VT: Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, 1991.

34. Ibid.

35. Ammi B. Young, Plan of Burlington Village.

36. “Destructive Fire,” Burlington Free Press, February 7, 1851, 2, accessed at www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov; “The Fires Yesterday,” Burlington Free Press, February 7, 1851, 2, accessed at www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.  

37. Ibid.

38. Sanborn Map Company, Burlington 1869, Sheet 01.

39. Burlington City Directory and Business Directory (Burlington, Hiram H. Hart, Publishers, 1867), 45.

40. Sanborn Map Company, Burlington 1889, Sheet 03.

41. Sanborn Map Company, Burlington 1942, Sheet 02, [map] (New York: Sanborn Map Company), accessed through the Library of Congress, October 30, 2018, www.loc.gov.

42. National Register of Historic Places Nomination: Church Street Historic District, Chittenden County, Vermont. Burlington, VT: Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, 2010.